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Leetonia defeats Lisbon 12-10
By Lowell Spencer
Lisbon
They say absence makes the heart grow fonder.
In the case of Leetonia senior quarterback Cody Stokes it also added a lot of importance to the 101st edition of the annual Spaghetti Bowl between Leetonia and Lisbon.
Stokes had to sit out the 2010 football season due to offseason surgery, but he certainly made up for lost time in a 12-10, hard-fought victory for the Bears.
Stokes hit just 3 of 8 attempts, but with just 8:15 left in the game he threw a deep pass down the left sideline to senior receiver R.J. Pacella for 58-yard touchdown that proved to be the game winner.
That was in spite of having leg cramps earlier in the contest and getting hit on the chin strap the play before, leaving Stokes out of breath.
“Coach Matt [Altomare] said that I needed to make this pass,” Stokes said.
“To be honest I really couldn’t even see him [Pacella]. I knew if I heaved it up he would go under it, and he did.”
Altomare said, “That was actually Cody’s and R.J.’s suggestion. They were like ‘let’s run the route up the sideline’. They were kind of giving us the contain there and we told Cody to take it.”
Leetonia took the opening kickoff on a 15-play, 64-yard drive to the Devils’ 1-yard line before being stopped on downs.
However, on their next possession the Bears started from the Lisbon 29 and scored six plays later on Stokes’ 7-yard quarterback draw.
The extra point failed and Leetonia held a 6-0 advantage with 10:16 remaining in the second quarter.
Lisbon was able to put a drive of their own together as they marched 64 yards on 16 plays before bogging down at the Leetonia 8.
Devils senior Danny Reese kicked a 25-yard field goal that made it 6-3 at halftime.
To begin the second half, Lisbon seized the momentum with a 52-yard drive on eight plays, culminating with Zac Barnes’ 11-yard TD run. Reese’s kick gave Lisbon a 10-6 lead at the 6:18 mark.
The teams exchanged possessions before Stokes and Pacella hooked up for the 58-yard TD.
A penalty on the play caused some confusion, but an illegal block was waved off by the officials since it was committed well after the touchdown, and the play was essentially dead in their estimation.
The Bears’ defense then stepped with two quarterback sacks.
“We challenged our defense at halftime; we didn’t give up any big plays. That was our goal coming in,” Altomare said.
The loss for Lisbon was its fifth consecutive in the Spaghetti Bowl, giving both teams 49 wins in the series.
“I thought our kids played four quarters. If we can end up playing for four quarters we’ll end up winning some games. You got to tip your hat to Leetonia for making the big plays,” Devils coach Jim Tsilimos said.
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AP News