CHARDON, Ohio - Chardon Memorial Field was packed full of roaring fans as everyone gathered together to watch some high school playoff football on a crisp fall evening Friday night. From start to end all you heard was the loud and impactful cheers of the Hilltoppers faithful. In every football game there is always the good, bad and the ugly. Chardon put together a masterpiece of a game against CVCA almost playing to perfection from start to final whistle.
The Good
The whole game was phenomenal. The defense was nearly elite. The Hilltoppers held the Blue Royals to zero points and just 40 total yards offensively. On the very first drive, Chardon showed zero signs of letting off the gas. CVCA won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball.
Chardon quickly stuffed CVCA on a three and out. The defense got the Hilltoppers offense amazing field position that led to a five-yard rushing touchdown by Vinny Colombi with 5:03 left in the first quarter. Chardons defense forced CVCA to punt again the next drive before quickly scoring to take an early 14-0 lead.
Chardon senior defensive lineman Maddox Ciancibello had a huge third down sack for a loss of five yards that was followed up by Beckett Dotson blocking a punt. The defense held CVCA to a season-low just nine yards in the first quarter. The Hilltoppers defense continued its phenomenal play in the second quarter with multiple big plays. The biggest play was a fourth down strip sack by Alexander Ash and Austin Green.
The defense held the offense to just 26 yards. Chardon's rushing game was the MVP of the night, having 300 yards and six touchdowns. The defense only got tougher in the second half holding them to just 14 in the second half and 40 on the night. Chardon put Geauga County on notice with its massive shutout win.
The Bad
Chardon only had two penalties all game and both of them were big ones totaling 25 yards. CVCA gave up 35 yards on four penalties. The Blue Royals' punting was good sometimes and also gave up a great field position to Chardon.
The Hilltoppers and Blue Royals passing game were both nonexistent on the night. Both teams threw for less than 100 yards on the night and the longest pass being 16 yards through four quarters of action.
The defenses on both sides caused multiple pass breakups throughout the game. Chardon and CVCA’s O-lines each were vulnerable at moments allowing enormous pass rushes that got to the quarterback resulting in sacks, penalties, and turnovers.
Chardon’s special teams allowed CVCA to get an amazing field position off of each kick return. The field positions didn’t matter in the end because CVCA failed to take advantage of it.
The Ugly
One team. One name. CVCA put up an ugly performance in a win-or-go-or-go-home Friday. The Blue Royals weren’t up for the challenge that was the Chardon offense. They let Chardon come at them fast and were never able to push back.
The offense looked out of sync and the defense was run down by Chardon's running attack. CVCA quarterback Charley Levak was sacked multiple times, threw multiple passes away due to pressure, and had to escape the pocket every drive. Blue Royal senior running back Logan Scranton had a last game to forget. No Blue Royal was able to get the team going tonight and it resulted in a 42-0 loss.
CVCA’s season came to an end with an ugly playoff loss but Chardon just put all of Region Nine on notice with its impressive 42-0 shutout win. The Hilltoppers will travel on next week to Geneva, who is ranked 10th in the state, and the second seed in Region Nine. This game will be Chardon's biggest test all season. The Hilltoppers are a battle-tested team and will look to make a Cinderella run and get back to the state championship in Canton.
Kickoff will be at 7 P.M.