Welcome back to another edition of the "Prep Lowdown with Lou." Four weeks of high school football have come and gone. In this segment, we will take an inside look at some of teams that are making their case as legitimate contenders as they hit the halfway point in another exciting year of gridiron action. We are going to start in Youngstown, where the Lake Catholic Cougars continued to silence the doubters with an another tough win on the road at Cardinal Mooney.
Lake Catholic improved to 4 - 0 after they squandered a late double-digit lead only to dig down deep and pull out an amazing, 27 - 22 win against Youngstown power, Cardinal Mooney. When the smoke cleared, Lake found themselves as the No. 2 ranked team in the Division III State Poll. The Cougars have done it with defense and a power running game that has focused mainly on ball control. Quarterback Mark Baniewicz has been quiet in the passing game as he continues to gain experience as a first year starter, but has made great decisions with the football and has relied on a stable of running backs (Louie Vettel, John Stepec, Evan Gromely) who don't mind sharing the ball, as long as the team wins. But the Cougar defense can't be overlooked. Lake Catholic head coach Mike Bell has the defense playing hard as ever. It's hard to say Bell has done an amazing coaching job because, well, Bell is a great coach. What we can do is make sure that fans in the area are aware of it. His 80 - 36 record as a head coach is a result of consistently having his teams well prepared week in and week out and a strong support staff of assistant coaches.
Next up: The Cougars host Walsh Jesuit before heading into a highly anticipated match up September 30th at Benedictine.
Chagrin Falls needed a last-minute field goal in regulation to help send the game into overtime and the Tigers went on the beat Chagrin Valley Conference foe Aurora, 17 - 10. The crucial road win has a chance to really spark the confidence of the Tigers moving forward. Aurora is no slouch and Chagrin Falls turned in one heck of a defensive effort holding the Greenmen to 12 first downs and 227 total yards. Quarterback Tommy Iammarino was 16 of 24 passing for 154 yards and his only touchdown pass was the game-winner to Billy Cale in overtime. Aurora came up just short in this rivalry game, but the Greenmen should learn a lot about themselves on how they react in the next couple weeks. After two strait trips to the Division IV title game for the Tigers, Chagrin Falls moved up to Division III this year. Head coach Mark Iammarino and company have a long way to go, but a third straight trip to the title game might not be impossible.
Next up: Chagrin Falls hosts Kenston in a game, where the Bombers will try to avenge last year's 27 - 20, loss in overtime.
University School made its presence know in the Premier Athletic Conference by winning its first game since joining the conference this past off season, by taking out previously unbeaten Madison, 20 - 14. Madison has been mentioned often as one of the area's elite teams, but when you commit seven turnovers like the Blue Streaks did against the Preppers, it's hard to beat anyone. US was led by Mr. Everything John McKelvey, who caught a 15 yard TD pass from quarterback Tyler Eden in the second quarter. McKelvey was just getting started. He went on to return an Andy Karlson interception 85 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter and came up with his second interception of the game in the final moments as Madison was driving for a game tying score. The addition of US to the PAC will make this conference one of the area's best and really sets up some interesting match ups as the year goes on.
Next up: US travels to South while Madison hosts Chardon.
The Kirtland Hornets just keep rolling right along. The running back tandem of Christian Hauber and Damon Washington ran all over Hawken as the duo combined for 310 rushing yards and five touchdowns and the Hornets went on to rough up the Hawks, 42 - 8. The defense was at it again, holding Hawken to 169 total yards and only seven first downs. The news out of Kirtland got even better as the week went on as it was announced Hauber has accepted a scholarship to continue his football career at Air Force.
Next up: Kirtland hosts Cuyahoga Hts. while Hawken host upstart Fairport.
Player of the Week: Kareem Hunt - Willoughby South. Hunt pounded out 175 yards rushing on 17 carries and added three TD's on the ground as South went on to crush Geneva, 49 - 21.
Coach of the Week: None other than Lake Catholic's Mike Bell. I mentioned earlier what a solid coach Bell is and his team's 4 - 0 start against four quality opponents is a clear indicator of how important he is to the Cougar program.
Game to Keep an Eye On. US at Willoughby South. US has established that they are going to be a force in the PAC with their win over Madison and South is the three-time defending PAC champion. South coach Matt Duffy has had his hands full with this year's young team, but as I have mentioned before, excuses aren't tolerated around the Rebel program. It was good to see South junior quarterback Casey Klickman bounce back after some early season struggles with a strong outing at Geneva. Klickman was 16 of 19 for 268 yards and three TD's.
That wraps up this edition of the "Prep Lowdown with Lou" and be sure to follow me on Twitter @SweetLou_21 for scores, updates and pics of some of Friday nights action.
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