Tigers rout Normandy on first road trip by Steve Batko - Correspondent, Twinsburg Bulletin With a 40-0 win over Parma Normandy, the Twinsburg football juggernaut avoided looking ahead, but head coach Mark Solis still wants to get his new-look offense to hit on all cylinders. Meanwhile, the Tigers defense has helped Twinsburg to move to 4-0 overall and a ranking of 19th in Ohio in Division I. Twinsburg's defense is allowing seven points a game to go with less than 175 total yards a contest. The shutout featured Normandy being held to just four first downs and 47 total yards at Byers Field. "Our defense was tremendous and they continue to play well," pointed out Solis. The host Invaders moved to 0-4. While Twinsburg amassed 330 yards rushing on only 38 attempts and finished with 397 total yards, Solis is still searching for more consistency from his offense. "We did generate some yards on offense, but there's still a lot of work to do," Solis said. "We're just not clicking and it's like a car when the timing belt is off. I'm still looking for that complete game on offense with ball control." The Tigers only had 12 first downs and had two turnovers -- one coming on a punt return. Junior London Carter exploded for a special teams score on a thrilling 67-yard punt return, which was the team's lone tally in the first quarter. Jake Russell booted the first of four PATs. "It was great to get that special teams score, but we also fumbled one away again," said the coach. "That's the third time we have fumbled away a punt this year. Those are the type of mistakes that you can't make against a team like Brunswick." Hosting Brunswick on Sept. 24 may the biggest regular season game for the Tigers. Despite allowing almost 28 points a game, Brunswick is 3-1. This is also a Brunswick team that Twinsburg edged in the state playoffs last year. In addition, as Twinsburg hopes to win another Northeast Ohio Conference title, Solis will play against his brother-in-law, Brunswick coach Luke Beal. "It will be an interesting Friday night," laughed Solis. "This is a really huge game for us." Even with the barrage of offense in Parma, Twinsburg's 20-0 halftime lead was a result of only one offensive score -- a 24-yard burst by senior tailback Miguel Hechavarria. Hechavarria finished with a career high 103 yards on eight carries. "Miguel played extremely well as did John Barton and our other backs," offered Solis. After Carter's touchdown, the Tigers scored on a one yard fumble return by junior Dylan Minick, who added five tackles and a sack on defense. Others scores came on a 61-yard scamper by Barton, a seven-yard run by backup junior quarterback Zack Buckeye, and the first throwing touchdown by sophomore quarterback Jalen Washington. Washington, who had four rushes for 46 yards, had a 7-yard touchdown strike to senior Tyler Smith, who had four catches for 38 yards. The athletic 6-foot-1 Washington was inserted for Aaron Macer early on the third series of the game and that trend may continue. "We wanted to get Jalen some reps early in the game and we will look to do that again," said Solis. "We feel comfortable with Jalen in as well." Defensively, senior 215-pound linebacker Nico Gagne-Cross was all over the field. He had 13 tackles, including four for losses plus a quarterback pressure and also broke up a pass. Myles Campbell also had nine stops for the Tigers while Zak Laubscher and Sam Sims also shined. Tre Jones and Chris Rode had interceptions for the Tigers who were without injured senior Anthony Surace (dislocated elbow). Macer had 53 yards passing and eight totes for 42 yards on the ground. Barton had 69 rushing yards while other rushers were Sam Burgess (5-37), DeNorris Turner (2-17), and Jordan Bray (1-11). Burgess had a 12-yard catch while Carter had two for 17 yards. E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3113 Twinsburg 40 - Parma Normandy 0 ~ PD Blurb The Tigers, ranked No. 10 in the area and 19th in the Division I state poll, barely broke a sweat in the Northeast Ohio Conference cross-over game win but got a nice effort from Miguel Hechavarria. The senior tailback collected 105 yards and scored on a 24-yard scamper. The Tigers return home to face Brunswick on Friday. Kick-off is set for 7:00pm. Come on out and cheer on your Tigers! Late stand saves win for Tigers vs. Aurora by Steve Batko - Correspondent, Twinsburg Bulletin It took a fierce goal line stand to decide the Twinsburg-Aurora football game Sept. 10 as the two local rivals added another chapter to its growing rivalry. Twinsburg's defense, which had three second half takeaways, stopped the Greenmen on four straight plays at the Tiger 5-yard line. The stand preserved a 14-7 Twinsburg win at a packed Tiger Stadium. "It was a tough loss in a great high school game," said Aurora coach Bob Mihalik. "We're still young and we had our opportunities, but we won't face anybody as physical as Twinsburg. Our goals still remain the same and we can achieve them." Aurora (2-1) had a chance to steal a win as Tiger coach Mark Solis elected to have his quarterback quick kick deep in its own territory at the 23 out of the shotgun. Aurora senior lineman Choe Samba busted through the middle and blocked the kick by Tiger quarterback Aaron Macer. Aurora recovered the ball at the Tiger five with a golden opportunity with 4:13 left in the gam "I will take responsibility for the call on the blocked punt, that was my fault," said Twinsburg coach Mark Solis. Senior tailback Nick Sivillo got the carries on the goal line sets and got to the 2-yard line, but was stopped on a counter run by a slew of Tiger defenders behind the line with 2:30 left. "Our defense won the football game with that goal line stand, and they had a tremendous game," said Solis. "It's a big win and my hat goes off to the Aurora kids. We are their Super Bowl and they are well coached." The Greenmen did get the ball back at the Tiger 36 with 55 seconds left in regulation. However, Twinsburg's Myles Campbell intercepted a pass to seal the win with 37 seconds left. "This was a game with two very strong defenses," said Mihalik. "Both teams usually like to pass, but this year, I think we're both challenged in that area." Aurora was held to 124 yards and was 2-of-11 on third down conversions. The Greenmen had only 13 yards passing. In fact, Twinsburg's defense held Aurora to just 55 yards and two first downs in the first half. Quarterbacks Jake Smierciak (senior) and Blake Calcei (junior) couldn't get the passing game going. Twinsburg had 257 yards, but had its own offensive woes and managed just 61 yards and three first downs in the second half. "We have a lot of work to do after this win -- especially on offense," Solis said. "I thought our offensive performance was unacceptable. I don't know if it's play calling, but the kids had too many mistakes. We need to get back to fundamentals." Macer, who had 196 total yards, raced 55 yards for a touchdown on the hosts' second possession. He made a ball fake on an end around and cut up the middle for a 7-0 lead with 5 minutes left in the first quarter. The speedy Macer had 16 rushes for 104 yards and was 5-10 passing for 92 yards. London Carter's 38-yard punt return gave Twinsburg the ball at the Aurora 22 on the Tiger's next possession. Carter (89 all purpose yards) then scored on a double handoff from five yards out and Jake Russell's second PAT made it 14-0 Twinsburg with 1:38 left in the first stanza. Macer gave the ball to back Sam Burgess, who the handed off on a reverse to Carter, who was behind Macer. The quarterback faced three defenders alone and got a piece of two of them as Carter stretched across the goal line. However, on Aurora's next punt on the next series, Carter fumbled the ball away as Samba recovered at the Tiger 31. On third and goal, Sivillo scored from three yards out and Kevin Rahill's kick cut the lead in half at 14-7 with 9:22 left in the second stanza. Solis saw his Tiger offense then get stopped twice in Aurora territory on its next two possessions. The first came on downs as the Greenmen defense held at their own 41. The second stop ended 14-play, 76-yard drive by Twinsburg. A superb 22-yard pass from Macer to John Barton looked to be a sure touchdown, but Aurora hit Barton, who fumbled and Sivillo recovered at the 2- yard line. Barton had 39 yards on 11 carries and 61 total yards, while Burgess was held to just 22 yards rushing. Thanks to a Brian Wells run off a fake punt, Aurora moved the ball on its first second half series, but gave it away when Twinsburg's Zak Laubscher recovered a fumble on fourth-and-1 at the Tiger 29.