JFK’s fortunes changed after just two plays

By BOB ETTINGER

sports@vindy.com

MACEDONIA

Two plays. That’s all it took for the Warren John F. Kennedy football team to go from holding a lead and the momentum to clawing to hold on in a 35-20 loss to Cuyahoga Heights in a Division VII, Region 25 regional final at Nordonia’s Boliantz Stadium on Saturday night.

“It’s like a roller coaster,” Warren JFK senior fullback Isaac Hadley said. “When you get in a rut, you’ve got to fight and dig yourself out of it. When we did that, we were right back in the rut.”

The Redskins (12-1) will play Glouster Trimble (12-1) in a state semifinal on Saturday night at a site to be determined. On the flip side, the Eagles (7-5) overcame a rough start to the season before making a run to the regional final on to fall short of a chance at a state title.

“When you’re as young as we are and you go through what we did in the first half of the season, you have two choices,” Warrem JFK coach Jeff Bayuk said. “You can pack it in and say, ‘We’re still too young,’ or you can keep fighting, keep persevering. Thankfully for the coaches, the kind of kids we have are the kind who kept their noses to the grindstone every week. I couldn’t be more proud.”

Hadley, who was a key member of the Eagles’ 2016 state championship run, was thankful for the chance to play for Warren JFK.

“It was a crazy ride,” Hadley said. “It’s been amazing. In this program, we’re given everything we’ve needed to be successful. The support of the fans and coaches has been amazing.”

Warren JFK took a 20-14 lead with 6:55 to play in the third quarter following a 65-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Cameron Hollobaugh. The Eagles then forced a punt and were marching toward another score and a chance to take command of the game for good with a first-and-10 from the Redskins’ 45.

Over the next eight minutes or so, Kennedy ran six plays (including a bad snap on a punt) and had a pair of penalties for a a net loss of 43 yards. One of the penalties was a costly holding call. Cuyahoga Heights took a 28-20 lead with 6:28 remaining in the fourth quarter following a 3-yard run from Brayden DiSanza and a 44-yard touchdown pass from Sam Shafer to Kyle Polack.

“The holding penalty really turned the tide,” Bayuk said. “We’re not built for a second-and-28. I don’t know too many offenses that are. That was the big turning point in the game. It snowballed after that. Give Cuyahoga Heights credit.”

Kennedy made one final charge at knotting the score and sending the contest into overtime, but quarterback Christian Marantis was intercepted by Jason Bartosik who returned the ball 93 yards to secure the Redskins’ victory.

“Turnovers, Bayuk said. “If you talk to anybody, they’ll tell you if you turn over the ball, be it the regular season or the playoffs, against a good team, you’re not going to win. I think we turned the ball over four times in the second half.”

Cuyahoga Heights took a 7-0 lead in the first period on a 6-yard run from DiSanza. The Eagles got to within a point, 7-6, early in the second on a quarterback sneak from Marantis. DiSanza made it 14-6 in favor of the Redskins with 4:01 left in the half.

Marantis snuck it in from the one and Jordan Edmondson raced around the left end for the 2-point conversion to tie the score at 14 at the intermission.