By Ryan Buck

sports@vindy.com

CORTLAND

No one is going to fault Struthers tailback David Stewart if he uses the Labor Day weekend to kick back and relax after his performance Friday night.

Stewart bulldozed his way to three touchdowns and 209 hard-fought rushing yards on 30 attempts in a 32-14 road victory over Lakeview at Don Richards Memorial Stadium.

“Oh, I’m very tired and very sore,” said Stewart, a 6-foot, 210-pound work-horse.

The Wildcats (2-0) fell behind early thanks to a pair of big pass plays from the Bulldogs (1-1).

Erich Schmitt and Jake Pishotti hit pay dirt with 7:16 remaining in the first quarter. When their drive appeared to stall at the Wildcats’ 20, Schmitt dropped back on fourth-and-5, finding Pishotti in the right corner of the end zone.

The Wildcats got the ball back at midfield two possessions later where Stewart went to work. The 6-foot 200-pound senior ripped off back-to-back 20-yard runs, the latter cutting the Wildcats’ deficit to one, 7-6.

A 33-yard Elijah Henderson kickoff return set the Bulldogs up at their own 43. After taking a sack for an 8-yard loss, Schmitt again dropped back looking for Pishotti down the right sideline. The speedy Lakeview wideout hauled in Schmitt’s pass at the Wildcats’ 20 and dove over the pylon for a touchdown to make it 14-6.

Two possessions later and the Bulldogs were threatening again. On first-and-10 from the Struthers’ 30, Justin Journey was stripped of the football and the Wildcats recovered.

Struthers took advantage on the next play. Quarterback Gary Muntean hit wideout Tommy Kimbrough on a perfect slant pass for a 69-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion failed and Struthers trailed 14-12 headed into halftime.

“Any time you get a turnover and capitalize on it, it shifted the momentum and got things going our way a little bit,” said first-year Struthers coach Curt Kuntz.

The Wildcats went right back to Stewart on their first drive of the second half. He carried the ball five times on a nearly 8-eight minute drive, punctuated by his 3-yard touchdown run for a 19-14 lead.

“Their line came off the ball and No. 44 (Stewart), he’s a big dude. He ran the ball hard. If you let him get his momentum going, they’re going to have a positive play,” Lakeview coach Tom Pavlansky said.

Stewart again stepped up. His crucial 32-yard run on third-and-12 from the Bulldogs’ 37 led to Luke Witkowski’s 5-yard touchdown plunge and a 26-14 lead after three quarters.

“They were amazing,” Stewart said of his offensive line. The holes ... we’ll be five yards downfield and they’ll still be pushing their guys.”