The first night of high school football had some nail-biting action, with local teams playing some close games, as others were a bit more one-sided.
Conneaut got off to a good start with a 20-13 road win over Cuyahoga Heights.
“We went up 14-0 and it looked like we might [run away],” Conneaut coach Rocco Dobran said.
“We made way too many mistakes,” he said of the issues that kept the game close.
Conneaut appears to be developing a balanced office, with multiple receivers and a strong running game led by Dobran’s son, Wyant.
“Wyant had a great [game], but he also had three interceptions,” coach Dobran said. He said Wyant was 16-23 for 215 yards, and ran for 50 yards and a touchdown as well.
Coach Dobran said his defense played really well, and led the effort. He said the team needs to clean up some penalties and reinforce the run game, looking toward the rest of the season.
The team has four to six good receivers that can catch the ball, Dobran said.
“We just need to get it to them,” he said.
Grand Valley hosted Brooklyn and dominated from the start, pounding out a 47-14 victory. Mustangs coach Matt Rosati said his team played well, other than penalties that need to be cleaned up.
Rosati said his team stayed on the ground for much of the evening, but quarterback Carter Turk threw a touchdown pass.
Caden Rowland scored three touchdowns, and Luke Giddings added three more on the way to the lopsided victory that included a running clock in the second quarter.
The Mustangs face Southeast next week in Orwell.
Geneva took a trip to Shaker Heights and lost a one score game 28-21.
“A few too many mistakes to pull out a one-possession game,” said Geneva coach Don Shymske. He said the Eagles were not able to contain Shaker Heights on some big plays.
“Shaker Heights has a lot of great athletes,” he said.
On the positive side, Geneva had some offensive success in the second half. “We really moved the ball well,” he said.
Shymske said Geneva came back several times to make it a one-score game. “Our guys kept fighting back,” he said.
“I’m proud of the fight, but we have to get back to the basics,” he said.
Jefferson had a tough one-score home loss to Chagrin Falls, falling 14-7.
“It was a tough one ... Usually Week 1 it is who has the fewest mistake,” said Jefferson head coach Caleb Davis of his squad’s first game of the year.
“They executed better,” Davis said of the Tigers.
He said both sides of the ball played well, but the mistakes cost them dearly. Davis said the team had a punt blocked that put the defense in a bad position.
“We have to get better on special teams,” he said.
Davis was excited about how his defense played.
“Offensively we moved the ball a lot but had a lot of penalties,” he said. “That, I think, was the story of the game.”
Madison may have had the most difficult challenge of the evening, facing perennial regional power Perry.
Perry got off to a quick start, and beat the Blue Streaks by a score of 39-7.
“I felt Perry is a very good football team, and I feel we could become a good football team,” said Madison coach Mike Gilligan.
He said Perry includes elite athletes, including four fast receivers.
“There linebackers are really good,” he said. “They have a lot of returning starters and we don’t.”
Gilligan said many of his players were playing varsity for the first time, and the Pirates’ speed took them off guard. He said his team made the adjustment, but the damage was already done.
“It was 21-0 in the first quarter and our offense had a difficult time moving the ball,” Gilligan said. He said Madison was held scoreless in the first half and Perry had more than 30 points.
Gilligan said he felt the halftime adjustments were helpful. “Our kids did respond at halftime,” he said.
“We got a lot of kids that go their first varsity experience, and experience is the best teacher,” he said.
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