Boardman scored early and often to win 49-6.

By GREG GULAS

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

BOARDMAN — They say that a football team makes the most improvement between their first and second weeks of the season.

If that is the case, then the Boardman Spartans have just righted their ship and pointed their season in the right direction.

After suffering a 37-7 loss a week ago to Cleveland St. Ignatius in their season opener, the Spartans bounced back last night to drub their Spartan counterparts from Toledo Start, 49-6 at Boardman Stadium.

Tyler Amendola rushed for 127 yards and four touchdowns and the Boardman defense forced seven Start turnovers as the two teams evened their slates at 1-1 after the first two weeks of the campaign.

“We came ready to play right form the start and that was great to see. It was a short week of preparation for us so credit the team with the effort that they gave as they got ready for Toledo Start,” Boardman coach D.J. Ogilvie said.

“We needed a win like this to get us going. What impressed me most tonight was we kept on playing, despite the fact that we were able to build a comfortable lead by halftime.

“Our defense gave us great field position all night and that was the key. When you win the turnover margin, you always have a good chance of winning the game,” he added.

Fumbling Start

Of the seven Start turnovers, four were fumbles and three were interceptions with three fumbles leading directly to a touchdown, and one interception leading directly to a score.

Toledo’s first possession lasted all of 10 seconds as quarterback Brad Leetsma fumbled on the first play of the game, allowing Boardman’s Jordan Paradise to recover the loose ball on the Toledo 15.

Three plays later, Eric Polen scored from 1 yard out and Boardman led, 7-0 just 1:06 into the contest.

Leetsma fumbled once again on the next offensive series and after Boardman’s J.T. Moore recovered, the turnover led directly to Boardman’s second score when Amendola scored the first of his four touchdowns, this one coming from 3 yards out as Boardman built a 14-0 advantage just a little over three minutes into the game.

Leetsma then directed Start to its only score of the game on the next series, connecting with London Norton from 15 yards out to cut the Boardman advantage to 14-6.

Big night for Amendola

Amendola, who enjoyed his best scoring output as a varsity player, added touchdown runs of 1 and 51 yards (the latter coming after a Nick Tuminello fumble recovery) in the quarter as Boardman raced to a 28-6 margin just 12 minutes into the game.

“We have a very good team, but needed a win like this in order to boost our confidence. As long as we take it game by game and don’t look past our next opponent, I really feel that we will be all right,” Amendola said.

Boardman continued the offensive onslaught when Nick DeMarinis penetrated the Start end zone from 3 yards out at 7:12 of the second quarter, giving the Spartans a 35-6 advantage.

When Amendola scored his fourth touchdown of the night from 5 yards out at 1:55 of the period, it enabled Boardman to build a 42-6 advantage at the intermission.

“This was a real confidence builder for us. A win like this is the best feeling in the world,” Tuminello said. “Our defense gave us great field position all night and that really helped us offensively. When you looked at the sideline and saw everyone into the game, you couldn’t help but notice the overall team morale. That meant a lot to everyone on the field.”