Akron, OH- Green Street Stadium was the site where the St. Vincent-St. Mary Fighting Irish hosted the Cleveland Heights Tigers. The Tigers came into the Week 9 matchup looking to defend their 8-0 record, while the Fighting Irish came in at 5-2 on the season.
Cleveland Heights received the opening kickoff and it was a very good start for the Tigers. They were able to put together a 10 play, 62 yard drive. The drive came to a close on a 14 yard touchdown run from John Gordon who fumbled the ball at the one but the offense was able to recover. The touchdown gave the Tigers a quick 7-0 lead with 7:03 left in the first quarter.
St. Vincent-St. Mary then got the ball next and it took them in no time to score. On the second play of the drive, running back D’Anthony Kelker broke loose for a 55 yard touchdown run. The Fighting Irish tied up the game at 7 after the extra point.
The next Cleveland Heights drive looked promising at first until running back Marquise Davis fumbled the ball which was recovered by the Fighting Irish.
The turnover helped give St. Vincent-St. Mary some good field position. Shortly after getting the ball, time ran out in the first quarter with the score still tied up at seven.
The second quarter started with the Fighting Irish picking up a 4th down conversion. Right afterwards, Santino Harper ran it into the end zone from 5 yards out. St. Vincent-St. Mary took a 14-7 lead on Cleveland Heights.
The Tigers hoped to get a touchdown back quickly but instead were forced to punt on a three and out.
St. Vincent-St. Mary then was able to come out with the ball and put together a long drive. The drive was highlighted by a key 20 yard run by Kelker before quarterback Markell Carter sneaked it in from one yard out.
The long drive helped give the FIghting Irish a 21-7 lead with 4:44 left in the first half.
It was another quick three and out for the Tigers though and they had to punt once again. Still trailing 21-7, things were not looking good as it was the biggest deficit they faced on the season until this point.
Luckily for Cleveland Heights, they were able to stop the Fighting Irish from scoring and went into halftime still trailing 21-7.
St. Vincent-St. Mary started off with the ball for the second half. It was a very promising drive before Carter threw an interception to Gordon and Cleveland Heights took over at their own 20.
After a big 38 yard run by quarterback Darreon Fair, the drive was able to keep going with another big 27 yard run by Owen Bisker. The drive finally ended with Fair taking it in for a eight yard touchdown run. The Fighting Irish still trailed 21-13 because their extra point attempt was blocked.
St. Vincent-St. Mary got to work with an 11 play, 51 yard drive which ended with Carter taking it in from one yard out for his second touchdown of the game. The Fighting Irish would take a 28-13 lead with 2:13 left in the third quarter.
It would not take long for St. Vincent-St. Mary to get the ball back though. As they held Cleveland Heights to yet another three and out.
Once they got the ball back they were able to score very quickly as Carter connected with Blake Kane for a 26 yard touchdown pass. The Fighting Irish took a 35-13 lead as the third quarter came to an end.
Cleveland Heights would not back down though. They started off the fourth quarter with a 5 play, 75 yard drive in 1:33. Fair threw his first touchdown of the game to Gordon for a 10 yard pass and the Tigers trailed 35-21.
St. Vincent-St. Mary was able to score in no time once again. A big 36 yard pass from Carter to Torell Hopson for 36 yards got things going. Then Kelker broke loose the very next play for a 44 yard touchdown and the Fighting Irish took a 42-21 lead with 8:50 left in the game.
Cleveland Heights needed some offense to stay in the game but instead did the exact opposite. Bisker fumbled on the second play of the drive, and St. Vincent-St. Mary was able to recover the ball and take over at the Tigers 48.
It took just one play for the Fighting Irish to ultimately end this game, as Harper turned on the burners and took it all the way to the end zone to give St. Vincent-St. Mary a 49-21 lead.
Cleveland Heights would not be able to do anything with the chances they had left the rest of the game. St. Vincent-St. Mary was able to take a knee to end this game and secure the 49-21 win over the Tigers.
For Cleveland Heights, the loss drops them to 8-1 on the season. Fair led the way with 134 rushing yards while Bisker had 89 yards.
The win for St. Vincent-St. Mary brings them to 6-2 on the season. They were all about the dominant run game as well. Kelker led the way with 145 yards on 14 carries, while Harper was right behind him with 128 yards on 17 carries.
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