By Tom Williams

McDonald’s Cupan gets ball rolling in rout

BERLIN CENTER — The first two times McDonald High junior Nick Cupan touched the football Friday, he triggered an emotional turnaround that changed a battle of unbeatens into a rout.

A linebacker on defense, Cupan thwarted Western Reserve’s first drive when he intercepted Shane Ewing’s pass at the McDonald 7.

Six plays later, Cupan took his first handoff and raced 57 yards for McDonald’s first score.

McDonald added four touchdowns in the second quarter in the 47-6 romp at Western Reserve High.

“It felt great,” Cupan said of his long score. “The line blocked well — it was a big hole.”

Persistent questioning prompted Cupan to say “the defensive play was probably the bigger” of his two key plays.

“The defensive line did great — they got pressure on the QB,” Cupan said after limiting Western Reserve’s high-powered offense to a fourth-quarter touchdown.

The victory gives McDonald (7-0, 4-0 Inter Tri-County League Tier Two) sole possession of first place. In this week’s Associated Press poll of Ohio’s Division VI teams, McDonald was tied with Malvern for seventh.

Western Reserve (6-1, 3-1) was 11th in that poll and third in this week’s computer playoff ratings in Region 21, two spots ahead of McDonald.

The victory gives McDonald a strong shot at an unbeaten regular season and a strong possibility for a home playoff game in Week 11. A playoff rematch is not out of the question.

“This is huge,” said Alex Sampson who rushed 27 times for 216 yards and three touchdowns. “It gives us a lot of [computer] points because Western Reserve is a great team.”

Western Reserve coach Mike Kopachy said McDonald “played well, give them all the credit. That’s a very good football team who beat us in every phase of the game.”

McDonald coach Dan Williams said limiting Western Reserve to 217 yards was a surprise.

“They scare the heck out of you, especially their offense,” Williams said. “To hold them to six points is a fabulous job by our defense.

“We hadn’t seen this type of offense all year long,” Williams said. “This was good for us, to see this.”

Early on, Western Reserve had McDonald’s full attention. Ewing was the key on the first seven plays as he marched Western Reserve to the McDonald 12.

Defensive pressure on Ewing led to Cupan’s pickoff.

“We had that uncharacteristic turnover and it was over from there,” Kopachy said. “[We] saw our leader fail and after that we collapsed.”

Western Reserve’s second series was a three-and-out. McDonald responded with a 15-play, 83-yard scoring drive capped by quarterback Nick Accordino’s screen pass to Cupan that turned into a 20-yard touchdown.

Two second-quarter interceptions triggered touchdowns. On Ewing’s next pass, Cupan stole a tipped ball, setting up Alex Sampson’s 13-yard score.

Late in the half, defensive back Corey Lunn intercepted Ewing and raced 60 yards for a 33-0 halftime lead.

“He likes [wide receiver Clayton Hull] and I read his eyes,” said Lunn, crediting teammate Bill Lowry for the block that sprung him. “I wasn’t going to the sideline, I was cutting it back [because] I saw white [uniforms] on the inside. I knew I had protection.

“It’s pretty exciting [because] they’re a high-powered offense,” Lunn said. “We practiced all week in coverages and our line did an amazing job putting pressure on their quarterback.”

williams@vindy.com