This edition of Northeast Ohio high school football coverage is brought to you by Floors2U.
It was a wild night at Alumni Field at Lutheran High School West in Rocky River, where the Longhorns fell to Keystone 28-27, after leading for much of the first three quarters.
Lutheran West jumped out to a 21-7 lead in the first half, as Chris Dawson scored a 29-yard rushing touchdown on the opening drive, and quarterback Rory Zackareckis found wide receiver Shawn Naim downfield for a 78-yard bomb.
Mike Felten returned an interception 22 yards to set up a two-yard rushing touchdown for Owen Albers just before halftime.
Keystone got momentum on its side to start the second half, when Mitchell Coe ran back the opening kickoff 91 yards, giving the Wildcats a much-needed boost after what was a stagnant first half offensively.
The Wildcats looked like a different team in the third quarter, as Lutheran West could not get in a rhythm on offense and Keystone running back Kyler Staller scored his second touchdown to tie the game at 21 late in the third quarter and went on to punch in his third score of the night to put his team in front 28-21 with 11:02 left.
The Longhorns would not go down without a fight, as Zackareckis drove his team down the field and completed a 15-yard touchdown pass to Brad Mather with 3:56 to play, which gave Lutheran West a chance to tie the game, but the extra point attempt was no good.
Lutheran West’s defense held their ground and gave the offense a chance with 2:04 to play, but Zackareckis threw three straight incomplete passes at the Keystone 40-yard-line, and the Wildcats would hang on to run the clock out.
Keystone picked up nearly 200 yards on the ground from its two dynamic ball carriers.
Staller did most of his damage in the second half, finishing with 85 yards on 20 carries.
Although Staller scored all of Keystone’s rushing touchdowns, quarterback Bobby Weber carried the team, at times, marching the Wildcats down the field to that set up that go-ahead touchdown.
Weber ran for 90 yards on 22 carries, but did not have a great night through the air, completing 8-of-17 passes for 83 yards and throwing an interception.
Even though Keystone was somewhat one-dimensional on offense, the Wildcats proved their rushing attack, led by a strong offensive line, can get the job done. The defense was superb in the second half and did not break on that final drive, sealing the deal.
Zackareckis put up impressive numbers, throwing for 217 yards, and completing two passing touchdowns, but it was not quite enough in the end.
Naim and Mather combined for 188 receiving yards in the loss, a positive sign for the sophomore and junior, respectively, as they have a great chemistry with the junior quarterback, which could mean bigger and better things to come for the Longhorns.
Keystone improves to 3-1, while Lutheran West falls to 1-3.
The Longhorns travel to Brookside (0-4) and Keystone will host Fairview (0-4) in Patriot Athletic Conference play.
Keystone has a chance to get out to one of its hottest starts in recent memory, while Lutheran West looks to avoid another 3-7 season and can get back on track with a road victory over a conference rival.
Keystone head coach Rob Clarico reminded his team after the game that they entered play against a winless Fairview team in Week 5 of 2015 and hopes his group will learn from history and come out strong.
Clarico mentioned that his team needed a wake up call at halftime and if the Wildcats play like the team that showed up in the second half, they can compete with just about anybody.
“It just clicked in (after halftime),” said Clarico. “We remembered what we can do and it was just determination of we’re gonna’ play like we’re capable of.”
It should be interesting to watch the Patriot Athletic Conference unfold, as Keystone didn’t come into the season as favorites to win the Stars Division, but is in a great spot heading into Week 5.
This recap has been brought to you by Floors2U.
Player of the game: Kyler Staller 3 rushing touchdowns, 85 yards on 20 carries.
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