No such thing as upsets this time of year: Highlights, takeaways from St. Edward's 24-14 win vs. Mentor

EUCLID, Ohio — No surprises here.

Not for Mentor coach Steve Trivisonno, as he watched St. Edward control the clock and grind out a 24-14 victory Friday night at Euclid Community Stadium vs. his Cardinals. He noticed the Eagles (9-3) relied more and more on that style leading up to their rematch from Week 1 of the season.

"They did a great job of controlling the ball," Trivisonno said. "They were able to pound inside and pound inside and keep us off the ball."

The style was no surprise, and neither should the seventh seed beating the region's top seed be one either.

Flip the calendar to a year ago, and Mentor did the same to St. Edward and then St. Ignatius — which beat Trivisonno's Cardinals in Week 2 — on a run to the OHSAA Division I state football championship game.

St. Edward hopes to repeat that feat, which it can do next week in a state semifinal matchup against Olentangy Liberty.

"We're not slowing down," running back Jordan Castleberry said after 24 carries for 137 yards and a touchdown. "We've got another state championship and then after that we've got another state championship. Every game in the playoffs is our state championship."

The Eagles have turned the tables on two opponents that beat them during the regular season. Their run began two weeks ago with a 21-19 win against rival St. Ignatius, then this one vs. Mentor (11-2).

Region 1 rematches are commonplace. Last year's Region 1 playoffs had two of them. This year's brought three. Mentor was bound to have two of them, regardless of who advanced last week from St. Edward's 56-35 victory vs. Euclid.

"That happens all of the time in Division I and Region 1," Trivisonno said. "You've got to beat teams twice because you're playing them all of the time."

St. Edward and Mentor have met in the playoffs three of the last four years. Or five of the last seven, if you want to dig further.

Friday marked the Eagles' first win against the Cardinals since the 2015 playoffs, when St. Edward won it all. That could be a good omen for coach Tom Lombardo's squad, which began the season 0-2.

The difference is that grind-it-out offense and a defense to match. In the second half Friday, Mentor had three possessions. In between, St. Edward took both of its turns with the football down to the end zone on long drives (18 and 13 plays each).

"We've been getting better all year, finishing the play," Lombardo said. "I would say the biggest improvement in our team from the beginning of the year until now is the ability to finish."

Contact sports reporter Matt Goul on Twitter (@mgoul) or email ([email protected]). Or log in and leave a message below in the comments section.