BOARDMAN 10, CHANEY 7 Kicker Good makes good with 42-yard winning FG

Poland blanked Wilson for a third straight shutout win.
By CHUCK HOUSTEAU
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
BOARDMAN -- "I was really nervous," said Boardman's junior kicker Andrew Good shortly after kicking a 42-yard field goal with 1:09 remaining in the game to give the Spartans a a come-from-behind 10-7 victory over Chaney.
"We never doubt Andrew," said teammate Ron Brown.
And Boardman coach Garry Smith chimed in with, "Thank goodness Good was good -- how's that for a headline?"
The 5-8, 160-pound kicker, who also booted all three of his kickoffs easily into the endzone, set up for the game-winning kick following a six-play drive that moved the football from the Boardman 48 to the Chaney 25 yard line.
The drive was aided by a 12-yard pass from Boardman quarterback Tom Zetts to receiver Mike Villagrana and a defensive holding penalty against the Cowboy secondary.
Winning points: Good trotted on and nailed the winning points with plenty of leg to spare.
"I just made sure that I followed through with my leg," Good said. "I've made [kicks] even longer in practice, and I sure didn't want to let the team down after the effort they made out there."
Smith said the Spartans (2-1) were just trying to get into field-goal range as the clock ran down.
"Chaney did everything they could to stop us, but we started to catch some passes, and that opened things up for the offense," Smith said. "We felt confident that if we could get close enough, Good would make the kick."
The field goal ended a defensive war between the two teams who grudgingly gave ground throughout the entire contest.
Chaney's focus was to stop Boardman's standout tailback Evan Beard, and the "lunch bucket" mentality of the Cowboys defense kept the senior in check most of the night.
Beard managed only 60 yards rushing on 19 carries after rushing for more than 400 yards in the Spartans' first two games.
Effort: But it was Beard's effort on a pass reception in the flat that finally pulled the Spartans even with Chaney (2-1) with 4:57 remaining in the contest.
Beard took the pass from Zetts and raced into the endzone after barreling over a Chaney defender at the 2-yard line.
"Beard's a great player," Chaney coach Ron Berdis said. "We did a good job of focusing our efforts on stopping him, but Boardman has so many other great weapons and those guys made the big plays down the stretch."
With Beard being hounded by the Chaney defense, Smith elected to open up the offense with Zetts going to four-receiver sets and passing the football.
The junior completed 8 of 15 passes in the second half for 110 yards and one touchdown.
Overall, Zetts passed for 131 yards.
"We made more plays in the second half and started catching the football," Smith said. "Chaney has a great defense, and they played their hearts out."
After a scoreless first half that saw neither team do much offensively, Chaney got on the scoreboard in the third quarter.
The Cowboys marched 41 yards in seven plays before quarterback Juan Serrano scored on a one-yard sneak.
Berdis said that the Cowboys elected to play a close game that would give his team their best chance to win.
"We had some opportunities, but we couldn't make plays when we needed to," Berdis said. "I know though, after this game, that we will continue to become a better football team."
Statistically, Boardman outgained the Cowboys 220-113 in total yards and had 11 first downs to four for Chaney.
Chaney's Ed McElroy gained 46 yards 15 carries.
Poland 17, Woodrow Wilson 0: POLAND -- The Poland High defense did it again.
The Bulldogs won their third straight game via shutout in their victory over Woodrow Wilson. In doing so, they held the Redmen (0-3) to 66 total yards.
Poland took a 14-0 first-quarter lead and was never threatened.
Lou DaVanzo scored in the first quarter on a 6-yard run. The senior carried 24 times for 119 yards.
The Bulldogs went ahead 14-0 when junior quarterback Sean Clayton hit senior Jake Bajerski for a 12-yard touchdown pass, and sophomore Shawn O'Halloran made his second point-after kick.
O'Halloran's 26-yard field goal in the third quarter accounted for the scoring.
Clayton completed 12 of 17 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown, while Bajerski had four receptions for 51 yards.
Senior Jim Mitolo backed DaVanzo's rushing total with 11 carries for 53 yards.