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Photo by: Nick Mays

Tommy Kimbrough (6) of Struthers cuts past Campbell’s Corey Hamilton (21) on his way to a touchdown in the second quarter of Thursday’s game in Struthers. The Wildcats came out on top of the rivalry with the Red Devils, 26-20.

By Greg Gulas

sports@vindy.com

STRUTHERS

The Campbell Memorial-Struthers football rivalry has been an ongoing series of streaks. New Wildcats coach Curt Kuntz hopes to keep extending their winning streak as long as possible.

David Stewart rushed for 147 yards and a touchdown and Gary Muntean threw for two more scores as Struthers stopped the Red Devils for the second straight year, 27-20, on Thursday at Laddie Fedor Field.

It was the second time in three tries that Red Devils head coach Mickey Sikora lost to his alma mater.

“It’s disappointing but give Struthers credit because they played great defense tonight,” Sikora said. “This is only our first game and it’s a long season. We’ll get better,”

The Wildcats retained possession of the Steel-Tire rotating trophy, emblematic of the winning team in the series which dates to the early 1970s.

“I’ve been a part of some very special teams, but it’s more special when the kids take ownership of the team and that is what this team has done,” Kuntz said.

“Gary [Muntean] is our leader and it doesn’t matter what he does on the previous five plays, it’s what he can do for us on the very next play,” Kuntz said. “David has bought into our defense and while we shot ourselves in the foot a couple times offensively, it sure is nice to be able to keep the trophy on our side of the river.”

The Red Devils got on the board first when Brandon Reyes found the end zone from 2 yards away at 5:15 of the opening stanza.

At 2:55 of the second quarter, Muntean found Tommy Kimbrough from 53 yards out for a 6-6 tie.

In the third quarter, Muntean found Temeko Holness with a 20-yard scoring strike for a 13-6 lead.

After Stewart scored from a yard out at 3:21 of the period, Frankie Serrano picked off Reyes and returned it 30 yards dor a 27-6 advantage.

“This win is by far one of the best feelings in my life because it was a total team effort. Dating as far back as when we were lifting in the weight room, the coaches preached discipline, fight to be crisp and get the job done,” Stewart stated.

Tonight, we got the job done,” he added.

The Red Devils refused to go quietly as Reyes found D.J. Harrison from 34 yards out. After a successful onside kick, Reyes worked his magic once again just 37 seconds later when he found Brandon Wigfall from 18 yards away for a 27-20 score.