Rebounded from Last Week's Loss to Hudson to Stay in the Northeast Ohio
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Twinsburg 30, Stow 14 The 11th-ranked Tigers (8-1, 3-1) rebounded from last week's loss to Hudson to stay in the Northeast Ohio Conference River Division title race behind Aaron Macer's 124 yards on the ground and two touchdowns. He also passed for 76 yards. Tailback John Barton chipped in with 67 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Twinsburg at Stow ~ PD Capsule Preview What, when, where: Northeast Ohio Conference River Division game, 7 p.m. at Bulldog Stadium, 3227 Graham Road, Stow. Call 330-689- 5204. Records: Twinsburg 7-1, 2-1; Stow 3-5, 2-1. What to watch: Who would have thought Twinsburg would have its NOC River Division championship at stake heading into Week 9, but that's what last week's upset loss to Hudson has done. It's no secret the Tigers will go as far as QB Aaron Macer, TBs Jon Barton, Sam Burgess and Miguel Hechavarria and WR London Carter and an offensive line which rotates 8-9 players throughout the game takes them, but they're facing a Stow team which has nothing to lose. The Bulldogs' 1-2 punch on offense comes from TB Duane Mitchell and QB Mike Greenwell, who has a solid receiving corps in Kevin Herman, Mike Garrison, Mike Jones and Mike Waggoner and a line headed by C Sam DiSanto and T John Simon. LB Nick Conrad and T Nick Mutaali leads its defense. LBs Nico Gagne-Cross, Myles Campbell, T Brett Gulosh and S Zak Laubscher are the Tigers' defensive leaders. PD pick: Twinsburg. Shocker! Hudson upsets Tiger Football by Rob Barrone - Correspondent ~ Twinsburg Bulletin Twinsburg -- Fans of Twinsburg could be forgiven if they were shell-shocked after the end of its Oct. 15 home game with Hudson. No one could have predicted the Tigers' unbeaten season would end at the hands of the Explorers, who came in at 1-6. But that's exactly what happened. Taking a 14-0 halftime lead, Hudson held off a Tigers second-half rally. When the Explorers recovered a Twinsburg onside kick with 1:18 to play the upset was complete as Hudson held on for the 14-11 shocker. Twinsburg fell to 7-1, 2-1 in the Northeast Ohio Conference River Division, while Hudson improved to 2-6, 2-1 in the division. Twinsburg, Hudson, Stow-Munroe Falls and Elyria all stand at 2-1 in the divsion with two weeks to go. The Explorers unveiled a new look on offense, running the "Maryland I" formation. Hudson gained 180 yards on the ground and had only five passes all night Twinsburg nearly broke through Hudson's defense nearly breaking it on the games first three plays, but things would soon turn sour for the hosts. The first three plays went for 14, 29 and 11 yards on runs by Miguel Hechavarria, Aaron Macer and John Barton. Twinsburg then began to go backwards as Hudson's defense stiffened after the drive reached the 10 yard line. Two one-yard losses sandwiched a holding call on Twinsburg. On fourth and nearly 25 to go from the 25, Tigers coach Mark Solis went for it but the pass fell incomplete. On the next play, Hudson fumbled with Brett Gulosh recovering for the hosts. Back in business at the Explorers 22-yard line, Twinsburg could only gain one yard on three plays. On fourth and nine the Explorers Alan Hanson batted a pass attempt at the line. "Early in the game, we got down in the red zone twice and came away with zero points," Solis said."You can't do that. You can't let a team like this hang around. [The Explorers] pushed us around tonight. They wanted it more than we did ...hats off to those kids." Hudson's next drive stalled after reaching the Twinsburg 30-yard line and David Nelson's punt was downed at the two-yard line. Three plays and nine yards later came a pivotal play in the game. With the first period clock winding down and Twinsburg facing a fourth and one from their own 11, Hudson coach Tom Narducci called timeout to force the Tigers to punt into the wind. Solis countered the move by going for it. A run into the center of the line was stuffed for no gain. "That's what we do," Solis said. "I don't care where we are on the field. If we can't get one yard then we don't deserve to win and we didn't deserve to win tonight. That turnover leads to a score and we lose 14-11. Maybe we're not as good as I thought up front ...if that happens again I probably won't do it." Hudson took three plays and some razzle-dazzle to get into the end-zone. On third and eight, Ben Gedeon took the snap and handed off to quarterback/receiver David Nelson on an apparent end around to the right side. Nelson pulled up and fired a shot to junior tight end Mark O'Connor. The nine-yard touchdown and Mike Ulmer's extra point gave Hudson a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter. The ensuing kickoff was bounced off a Tiger up-man with Ulmer recovering at the Tigers 49. The possession ended with a punt and Twinsburg's London Carter raced 33 yards to set the hosts up on the Hudson 44. Seven plays later another fourth down presented itself and Solis went for it. This time, sophomore Jalen Washington (9-15 passing for 76 yards) hit quarterback/receiver Aaron Macer (17 rushes for 94 yards) for a 10- yard gain and the first down. Two plays later, Hudson' Joey Studer stripped the ball from Barton in the open field. The loose pigskin was eventually recovered by Matt Moleski-Belski at the Hudson eight-yard line. The Explorers would then go on a 92-yard, 13-play, penalty-aided drive. Hudson ground out six first downs on a drive. Gedeon capped the march by taking a pitch the final yard for a 14-0 lead with 1:20 left in the first half. Twinsburg controlled the action after intermission but Hudson's defense made the Tigers work for every yard. The Tigers' first possession of the second half nded with kicker Jake Russell hitting 32-yard field goal at the 4:55 mark of the third quarter. Hudson nursed the 14-3 lead into the fourth quarter and stopped a nine-play march into Explorers territory as a bad snap killed a scoring chance. With time winding down, Twinsburg had one last chance. Driving 71 yards in 16 plays the hosts closed the gap. The drive needed two fourth down and short conversions and ate 5:38 off the clock. Barton's two-yard touchdown and Macer's two-point conversion run made the score 14-11 with 1:19 left. With no timeouts an onside kick was the only hope. The ball did bounce off Gedeon's hand but Haggins was there to recover. "I didn't do a good enough job getting our kids ready," Solis said. "I take responsibility for that. Hopefully we can learn a lot from this loss because we still have a lot to play for." E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3113 BROWNS ANNOUNCE NEW HIGH SCHOOL GAME OF THE WEEK PROGRAM In an effort to further promote the Cleveland Browns dedication to youth football, the Browns are proud to unveil the Cleveland Browns High School Game of the Week, presented by Cleveland Clinic. Starting this season, fans will have the opportunity to select the Cleveland Browns High School Game of the Week throughout the regular season. Four panel members, including Dave Chudowsky (WKYC-TV 3), Matt Florjancic (www.ClevelandBrowns.com ), Mark "Munch" Bishop (WKNR-850 AM) and Mike Snyder (WTAM-1100 AM) will each nominate one game per week. Fans will have the opportunity to cast their vote at http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/community/youth-football/high-school-football.html . Each Game of the Week will be covered by Browns reporters with highlights appearing on www.ClevelandBrowns.com , as well as other Browns programming. Mike Snyder (WTAM) has selected the Twinsburg vs. Stow game next week as his selection. We encourage faculty, students, alumni, etc. to vote early and often for Twinsburg. Note that voting is open now and will close next Wednesday at 5:00PM. Hudson upsets No. 6 Twinsburg: High School Roundup From Plain Dealer and Sun News staff reports, October 16, 2010 12:14 a.m. After starting out the season with five straight losses, Hudson finds itself atop the Northeast Ohio Conference River Division football standings with Stow, Elyria and defending champion and state-ranked Twinsburg. The Explorers (2-6, 2-1) pulled off the unimaginable Friday night, scoring all their points in the second quarter, in handing Twinsburg (7-1, 2- 1) its first loss with a 14-11 victory. Sophomore Ben Gedeon led Hudson, rushing for 131 yards on 24 carries and the winning touchdown on a 1-yard run. A John Barton touchdown from 2 yards out with 1:39 left gave Twinsburg, ranked No. 6 in The Plain Dealer and 12th in the Division I state poll, a ray of hope until Hudson recovered the onside kick. .