Boardman edges Lake in 2 OTs

The game was 24-24 at the end of regulation.

By JOHN SEABURN

SPECIAL TO THE VINDICATOR

UNIONTOWN — The strategy, Lake High School football coach Jeff Durbin said, was to defer the kickoff to start the first overtime, rely on your defense and simply outscore the opponent.

Unfortunately, Boardman turned the tables Friday night at Blue Streaks Stadium in a 39-38 double-overtime victory.

Boardman (5-2, 3-1 Federal League), making just its second road appearance of the season, sent speedy Damien Jarrett around right end for the two-point conversion after Jarrett had taken a similar route to pull the Spartans to within 38-37 of the Blue Streaks (4-3, 2-3).

Lake chose to defend in opening the first overtime period, which meant the Blue Streaks started the second overtime on offense.

“Our strategy, obviously, was to score touchdowns,” Durbin said. “We wanted to be on defense first, and we were. And then we’ve got to take two trips on offense.

“When you score first, you don’t take that risk of going for two, because if you fail, they kick an extra point and you lose.

“When you’ve got the ball last, you can afford to take that chance [try for two], especially when everyone’s exhausted.”

Trailing 14-10 at halftime, Lake battled back for 14 second-half points to force a 24-24 deadlock at the end of four quarters.

Boardman needed just two plays after setting up at Lake’s 20 to start the first overtime, Jarrett going 14 yards to score.

Lake quarterback T. J. Viscuso stepped into the Boardman end zone just inches inside the pylon to knot the score on a 3-yard TD run and force the second extra period. Lake went up, 38-31, when Viscuso faked a handoff to Gene Onayibi and circled left end, this time scoring from 4 yards out.

Jarrett finished with 134 yards and four touchdowns on 15 carries.

“He’s gotten around everyone’s end so far, except Hoover’s,” Durbin said.

Viscuso gathered in a 55-yard pass from Kyler King for the game’s first score. After Boardman tied it up on Nick Tuminello’s 4-yard TD run, Lake’s Nick Allison booted a 27-yard field goal for a 10-7 Lake lead.

Jarrett scored on runs of 3 and 1 yard to give Boardman a 21-10 lead at halftime, but Viscuso’s touchdown runs of 9 and 12 yards, around a 22-yard field goal by the Spartans’ Phil Curl, sent the game into overtime.

XJohn Seaburn is a reporter for The Repository in Canton.