Team

Boardman

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

By ERIC FORTUNE

sports@vindy.com

BOARDMAN

It took an early goal line stand and an early interception by Koby Adu-Poku for the Boardman Spartans to overcome an early stagnant running game in their 21-0 victory over the Lorain Titans.

The Titans were poised to seize momentum as they drove 82 yards on their opening drive only to see it end on a fourth down carry from Carlos Chavis at the Spartan 3-yard line.

Lorain coach Dave McFarland agreed that the Titans (2-3) coming up empty on that opening drive was demoralizing.

“No doubt,” he added. “We made too many mistakes. We traveled a long way and Boardman is a team that’s not going to make mistakes. We made a lot and we can’t do that. That was a critical drive and then we turned it over three other times.”

It still took some time for the Spartans (2-3) to find their footing after they punted on three of their first four possessions of the opening half and saw a drive end in Titans territory on Jai-len Sanford’s interception of J.R. Ryan’s pass inside the red zone.

Three of those drives started in Lorain territory.

“We got the early turnover there,” Boardman coach Joe Ignazio said. “We were playing on their side of the 50 all night long. We just couldn’t take advantage of the opportunities there.

“Our defense put us in a great position, other than that first series where we came out a little flat, but once they woke up, we did a tremendous job with the adjustments at halftime on both sides of the ball. They didn’t get in and we put it in three times.”

It took the first of two Lorain fumbles to get the Spartans going as J.R. Ryan found Gavin Dill from 14 yards out to make it 7-0 before halftime.

Boardman held that early advantage despite the Titans having double the amount of total yards at 145 to 71.

“They couldn’t move it on our defense,” McFarland said. “A school like Boardman is going to punch you and punch and punch you until those little seams open up.”

After both teams punted on their opening possessions of the second half, the Spartans’ commitment to the run paid off as they marched 70 yards with Mario Graziani capping off the drive on a 5-yard run at the 1:50 mark of the third quarter.

“Eventually we got them [holes] opened up,” Ignazio said. “I think we were surprised at first at their physicality. They were big up front. They were bigger than us. It took our guys a little bit for us to adjust, but once we did we were able to pound it and wear them down.

“I saw a lot of their guys playing with their hands on their knees. Our guys were able to take it to them.”

Graziani added another score less than two minutes into the fourth quarter to put the exclamation point on his 129-yard night, with 97 of those yards coming in the second half.

“We’ve really been a 1-2 punch with Mario and Koby,” Ignazio said. “Mario is special. He has good vision. He makes people miss. Our guys buy into his effort and he’s a horse that we try to carry.”