Team

Boardman

Record	Div.	Conf.
6/5	Div. II	All-American Conference Gold Tier

Team

Canfield

Record	Div.	Conf.
12/1	Div. III	All-American Conference Red Tier

Graziani rushes for 221 yards and TD as Boardman shuts down Canfield

By Greg Gulas

sports@vindy.com

BOARDMAN

The Boardman Spartans and Canfield Cardinals met Friday for the first time since 1985.

For Spartan fans, Mario Graziani made sure it was worth the wait.

Graziani rushed for 221 yards and the game’s only score and added an interception to lead the Spartans over the Cardinals, 10-0, in an All-American Conference, inter-division clash at Spartans Stadium.

The Spartans (3-3) moved to 5-0 all-time against the Cardinals, while Graziani outrushed the Canfield offense (221-56) by himself.

“Canfield was 4-1 for a reason so we knew that they were a good ballclub. They’re solid on both sides of the football, disciplined and well-coached,” Graziani said. “Our coaches drew up an excellent game plan and we just followed it. No back is able to put up solid numbers without an excellent offensive line and tonight, the holes and cutbacks were there all game so all I had to do was stay on the blocks. They made it easy for me so I owe this night to them.”

After a scoreless opening half, Graziani’s 40-yard run at 4:20 of the third period staked the Spartans (3-3) to a 7-0 advantage.

Spartan placekicker Adam Deeley added a 35-yard field goal at the 1:31 mark of the quarter to round out the scoring.

Running mate Alex Duda said Graziani’s performance shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.

“I love blocking for Mario because he fights for every yard when he has the football,” Duda said. “Credit our offensive line for the holes that they created but don’t forget about our defense. To pitch a shutout against a team that came into the game averaging almost 29 points a game is also pretty special.”

The Spartans held the Cardinals (4-2) to just 33 ground yards on 17 carries and another 23 yards through the air.

“A game like this is what area communities have been asking for. It’s nice to renew old rivalries, kind of like back in the old Steel Valley Conference days,” Boardman head coach Joe Ignazio said. “Hats off to Coach [Mike] Pavlansky because they have an excellent program. They also have some excellent players coming up through the ranks. As for Mario, he’s our horse. He’s tough, a winner and a very special player.”

Pavlansky said the Spartan defense was tough to solve.

“Credit Boardman because they had an excellent game plan. Defensive coordinator Mike Popio has been around for over 30 years, is one of the most respected defensive minds in the business and had his defense ready,” Pavlansky noted. “We’re going to see some teams with a similar defense the rest of the way so we’re going to have to figure something out offensively. In watching the tape we knew that [Mario] Graziani would be tough to bring down and he proved that tonight. He had a great game.”

The Spartans had 13 first downs while their defense limited the Cardinals to just three.