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11/10 - 7:00 PM Football Final East Canton 6 Cuyahoga Heights 21
HUDSON, Ohio – Kyle Polack scored two touchdowns and then had a late interception to help Cuyahoga Heights defeat East Canton 21-6 in the Division VII, Region 25 regional football semifinal at Hudson Memorial Stadium Saturday night.
Polack found the end zone for the first time on a 19-yard run early in the second quarter to give Cuyahoga Heights (10-2) a 7-0 lead. Then with the game still 7-0 late in the third quarter, quarterback Sam Shafer found Polack for a 6-yard touchdown in the back left corner of the end zone to give the Redskins a 14-0 lead.
“Coach had a great play call and it was great to execute,” Polack said. “I have a lot of trust in Sam after playing with him over the years. It just felt good to do what I can to help us win.”
With East Canton (8-4) trailing 14-6 and trying to start a drive late in the fourth quarter, Hornets quarterback Cody Vacco dropped back to pass. He let it fly over the middle of the field and Polack tracked it down for an interception with 2:46 left.
On the ensuing drive, Shafer scored on a 19-yard run to give Cuyahoga Heights the 21-6 lead and put the game on ice.
The interception by Polack was the fifth of the game forced by the Redskins defense, with two interceptions and three fumble recoveries. One of the fumble recoveries came on a fumble at the Cuyahoga Heights 1-yard-line as East Canton was going in for a score with 8:11 left in the game and the Redskins leading 14-0.
“Turnovers were big and I’m sure they weren’t happy with how they took care of the ball,” Cuyahoga Heights coach Al Martin said. “Both teams were a little sloppy tonight. Our defense was the one team on the field that was consistent all night.”
That defense was stout for Cuyahoga Heights all night long. It held an offense that was averaging 44 points per game over the last three weeks to just six points and 203 total yards of offense.
“We were looking forward to see how our defense played,” Martin said. “We feel like we have made a lot of progress and tonight the kids showed we have made a lot of progress.”
The only score for East Canton came on a 4-yard run by Nathanael Suntheimer with 5:32 left in the fourth quarter to cut the Cuyahoga Heights lead to 14-6. The Hornets attempted and converted on an onside kick but it was nullified by a penalty. They then tried a pooch kick that was recovered by the Redskins.
Cuyahoga Heights, the top-ranked team in the region, looked like it was going to add another score before halftime, but the Hornets stopped them on fourth down at the 1-yard-line as the half ended when the Redskins decided to try for a touchdown instead of a short field goal.
“It was a really bad decision,” Martin said. “We really should have kicked it and went up two scores and have the momentum going into half. I made a bad decision and went for it and we didn’t convert. And that was big for them going into the half.”
The Redskins defense made up for the decision and got a stop on the first possession of the second half to make sure the momentum never found the side of the Hornets.
Cuyahoga Heights will play Warren John F. Kennedy next Saturday in the Division VII, Region 25 regional final. The game will be played at 7 p.m. at a location to be determined by the OHSAA.
Ryan Isley is a freelancer from Akron
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