Eagles unable to get

into end zone in loss

By BOB ETTINGER

sports@vindy.com

GATES MILLS

Warren JFK football coach Jeff Bayuk needed a good plan to slow the Gilmour Academy running game.

Fullback Isaac Hadley was that plan and it worked out pretty well, with the exception that the Eagles just couldn’t quite get the ball across the goal line in a 14-3 loss Saturday afternoon at Weber Stadium.

“Obviously, when you’re playing a team with a tailback like C.J. Charleston, you want to keep the ball away from him as much as you can. We got a little worn down [late in the game]. We did a good job containing him.

“Isaac is a stud. He’s been a stud for us since he walked in that door as a freshman. He plays linebacker, fullback, tailback and, if you asked him to, he’d go sell the popcorn. I’m proud of the performance of our kids. We just came up short. We couldn’t put points on the board at the end of our drives. I hope we continue to improve. We’ve come light years in these last four weeks.”

Charleston entered with more than 1,500 yards for Gilmour (8-0, 4-0 North Coast League) .

Warren JFK (3-5, 2-1) held Charleston to 137 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown along with a passing touchdown on his only attempt. Hidden in those numbers is that the Eagles allowed him just one run of more than 10 yards, a 57-yard jaunt as the Lancers were trying to run out the clock late in the fourth quarter.

Hadley carried 18 times for 72 yards, largely on quick dives into the center of the line as JFK had the ball six times and used up 29:31 of the game clock.

“We knew we needed to hold the ball as long as we could to keep their offense out of the game,” Hadley said. “It hurt a lot to go all the way down the field and not be able to put seven up on the board. It’s tough. We gave everything we had for 10-play drives and we couldn’t get the last 10 yards.”

The Eagles kept the ball for more than five minutes on four of six possessions.

“A play here and a play there on both sides of the ball and maybe we’re a little closer in the end,” Bayuk said. “That’s why we play the games.”

A Charleston punt pinned the Eagles at their own 8 and forced a punt. Quarterback Jack Krebs returned it to the JFK 27.

Charleston threw a 22-yard TD pass to Nathan Reichard with 7:02 to play in the second quarter.

“Field position is always important,” Bayuk said. “In a game like this, it tilted the field and they were able to put up points. You’ve got to expect them to be able to do that.”

The Eagles used the remaining 7:02 of the half to drive for a 24-yard field goal from Armand Nannicola as time expired.

The Lancers took the ball to start the second half and Charleston scored on an 8-yard run with 9:58 remaining in the third.