Game Report/Orange 32 Lutheran West 24

 

My first trip to Pepper Pike to see a football game turned out very interesting. I was able to meet several fans and a few people connected with the school. I was told the crowd looks great in the beginning and will thin out because many of the parents are not there for the game, but the band and the cheerleaders . The hardcore fans that stayed were treated to a competitive game that was thrilling at times.

Orange started the game off with an onside kick, and it worked perfectly when Brandon Wisley pounced on the ball like a shark going after raw meat. Caleb Seaman was thrown down for a loss of ten by Andrew Pierce. The drive ended when a fourth-down pass was incomplete.

The Longhorns' drive also ended on fourth down when Devan McDonald was stopped by Raphael Duran and Caleb Seaman, with 7:59 remaining in the opening quarter. Defense stayed in control with Itai Tannenbaum, who was picked off by Andrew Pierce with 7:23 left.

The Longhorns would try a fake punt with 5:50 left in the quarter, but the Orange defense came up huge when Andre Ranson picked off the pass. On the ensuing drive the Lions' offense slowly started to find its groove. Sophomore sensation: Adin Frey went to his left and used some sweet blocking to pick up twenty-seven yards. Frey again used the work of the big dirites up front to get through the heart of the Longhorns defense to pick up fourteen yards, with 4:48 left. Jordan Eason picked up eleven yards with his catch on a bullet thrown by Tannerbaum. Tannerbaum, who throws a ball a lot like a shortstop or pitcher throws a baseball, connected with Andre Ranson for thirteen yards, giving the Lions a first and goal at the one. After losing a couple of yards, the Lions offense finally broke the scoreless tie when Frey, again, used the work plow in from three yards out, making this a 6-0 game, 1:16 showing on the clock.

Gideon Greenberg silently had a big game on defense, where I am sure he had to be on more than ten tackles and had his biggest hit of the game when he plastered Nick Rhivalsky holding the talented runner to a gain of just one, with 0:49 left in the quarter. Jayden Taylor found Joshua Coates to give the Longhorns a big twenty-eighth-yard gain with 0:9 seconds left.

Just eight seconds into the 2nd quarter, Taylor used his legs to move the ball fourteen yards. Taylor looked to be able to run for big yards all night, but the plays allowing him to do so were not often called. Taylor ended the seven-play, sixty-yard drive with a twenty-one-yard touchdown pass to Coats to lock the game up at six. The two-point conversion pass was batted away by Raphael Duran.

It did not take long for Orange to retake the lead. Frey showed off his speed by racing forty-three yards for a touchdown. Kaden Daoudi made the P.A.T. to give Orange a 13-6 lead with 5:08 left in the half.

With 3:51 left in the half, Tannenbaum was looking toward the bench when the ball was snapped, hitting him in the chest and deflecting away. Kenny Lini was able to get to it, giving the Longhorns the ball. Lini was another player who had a big game and looks to be a player that can play on Saturday next year.

At the 1:35 mark of the quarter, Taylor connected with Ahmand Abuabsa on fourth and two for the touchdown, making this a 13-12 game. The two-point conversion pass was tipped and fell incomplete.

The Lions would get a forty-yard touchdown pass from Tannenbaum to Alex Winston, giving us a 20-6 score at the half. Tannenbaun unofficially had a bad night stat-wise when all was said and done. He would go just 7-24, with a touchdown and three picks. He had several drops, but I.M.O. had he put some air under his deep passes where he had guys open all night; this could have been a three- or four-score game. He did find other ways to lead his team, and that shows a lot.

Tannenbaun used his feet to pick up seventeen yards as he showed how dangerous he can be when he does not rush things. Coats, a promising junior, would pick off a pass with 10:04 left in the quarter to give West the ball. The third quarter up to this point was a defensive struggle up to this point, but with 4:54 left, Lucas Thompson scored from twenty-three yards out to make this a 26-12 game as the P.A.T. was blocked by Lini.

Taylor, who looked like a quarterback in the 2nd half and not an athlete playing the position, would read the defense and find Brady Dischinger for a gain of forty-four, giving the Longhorns a first and goal at the one-yard line. Max Jenkins capped the drive off with the one-yard score. Ranson and Oscar Seibel stopped Tylor on the two-point conversion try to keep this a 26-18 game. The drive went for six plays and sixty-eight yards.

Coats picked off a pass to give the Longhorns the ball back with 10:37 left in the game. On the ensuing drive Raphael Duran sacked Taylor for a loss of seven. Then Taylor was sacked by Darius Walker for a loss of three, with 6:23 showing on the clock.

Once Orange got the ball back, they capped off their scoring drive with a twenty-four-yard touchdown run by Frey. Devan McDonald blocked the P.A.T. to keep this a 32-18 game with 1:32 left. I was told that Frey got the start because EJ Dowdell was injured. Dowdell has to be a stud to be the #1 RB.

The last play of the game showed that West had zero quit in them. Taylor threw a deep pass to Coats, who looked to out leap everyone to tip the ball, and then as he was falling, secured the ball for the score, giving us a 32-24 final.

Some unofficial stats

West

73 plays

313 yards

Passing, 17-36, 3 TDs, 1 Int

Orange

68 plays

369 yards

Passing, 7-24, 1 TD, 3 Ints