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By Dave Alligood
PARMA, OHIO – On a chilly, rainy Senior Night at Byers Field, the Parma Redmen and Holy Name Green Wave clashed to close out their respective seasons, with the visiting Green Wave victorious in a 41-12 thrashing of the Redmen.
With neither team in the playoff picture, this game was more for bragging rights and a chance to finish at 0.500 with momentum for next season.
With the win, Holy Name completed a remarkable second-half resurgence, finishing 5-5 (4-2, Great Lakes Conference) after starting the season 1-4.
Green Wave Coach Dan Wondolowski praised his senior leaders, “I just want to thank my seniors publicly, to start the year 1-4 and then move to 4-1 the second half of the season just shows great leadership and dedication by our underclassmen to follow them.”
While disappointed with the loss, Parma Coach Bruce Saban nevertheless was proud of his team. “We talk about family all the time, and that’s what we focused on at the end of the game. I’m proud of the guys and how hard they played for us.”
Parma finishes the season 4-6, 2-4 in the Great Lakes Conference.
Holy Name started the scoring midway through the first quarter. After Parma gave up the ball on downs, the Green Wave drove down the field on the strength of senior quarterback Joe Carter’s passing and junior running back Evan Nicholas’ running. The drive ended with a Carter 10-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wideout Will Ehrbar.
After trading possessions, Holy Name got on the board early in the second quarter on a 2-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Trevor Dotson. The successful PAT gave the visitors a 14-0 lead.
Parma finally got on the board late in the half as junior Gavin Ziol scampered untouched from four yards out. The PAT attempt hit the left upright for a score of 14-6.
Undeterred by Parma’s drive, Holy Name marched down the field in just under three minutes and scored just before the half on a 1-yard touchdown pass from Carter to senior wideout Andreus Harhalos for a 21-6 halftime lead.
The second half started with more of the same for Holy Name. After nearly losing the ball on the kickoff, they were able to drive down the field again on the strength of Carter’s passing and the running of sophomore back Robert Sherrod, who capped the drive with 2-yard touchdown run for a 28-6 lead.
Sherrod was the third feature back for the Green Wave, a strategy Coach Wondolowski has utilized throughout the season. “It’s been running back by committee all season.”
He gave credit to his staff and offensive line for the success of their running game. “Our O line, our front five, they do a phenomenal job. Coach Slama, our offensive coordinator and OL coach, he gets our guys ready week in and week out.”
Two Parma turnovers led to the final Holy Name scores, one on an interception return, the other on a 2-yard touchdown run by senior fullback Andrew Rodriguez following a Parma fumble.
With a 41-6 score late in the third quarter, the game employed the running clock.
Parma managed a final touchdown midway through the fourth quarter on 12-yard pass from junior quarterback Justin Yates to senior wideout Dylan Herb. This score gave the final result of 41-12.
Though he did not score, former NEOSI player of the week Mark Post still had an impactful last game for Parma as he was a workhorse both on offense and defense as well as performing kicking duties.
Coach Saban was proud of all of his seniors, “It’s not how we wanted the seniors to go out. But on Senior Night, and especially when they’ve played as hard as they did, and they’ve given us such great effort for their whole careers, I told them as soon as they walked off the field, put the score out of their mind, and focus on what they’ve done for the program, what they’ve done for each other.”
Both teams now enter the offseason looking to build and prepare for 2018.
Player of the Game: Holy Name senior quarterback Joe Carter had an effective final game managing the Green Wave offense. His accurate passing was effective in counterbalancing the Green Wave rush attack on a rainy night. He finished with two touchdown passes.
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