Bulldogs sports roundup: Medina throws Stow for a loop, passing for 456 yards in big win

After yielding only about 600 total yards combined in its first three games, the Stow-Munroe Falls football team ran into a buzzsaw Sept. 9 in a 55-21 defeat at Medina. The Bulldogs slipped to 1-3 on the season.

“Medina’s offense and what they present … they’re a five-wide team,” head coach Martin Poder said. “Going into the game, they’d thrown the ball 173 times in three games, which is a lot. They’re good at what they do. It’s a little bit unique with the quarterback being pretty deep, so it’s very hard to get pressure on him. Typically, you’re in the shotgun formation at about five yards, but they set him back about eight yards.

“Some of Medina’s route combinations are good and stuff like that. Our kids had been playing very well defensively, but we were truly tested against the pass, and it was a struggle for us defensively. I think Medina was really good, and I think our kids didn’t play as well as they’d been playing.”

The Bees’ 456 passing yards accounted for almost 93% of their 491 total yards.

Stow-Munroe Falls trailed 14-0 in the second quarter when freshman quarterback Jake Harrington completed a 12-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Brayden Gabele to cut the Medina lead to 14-7.

Poder felt his team had gained the momentum, especially when, on Medina’s ensuing drive, the home team faced a fourth-and-14 right around its own 40-yard line. However, the Bees went for it and completed a 15-yard pass for the first down, then proceeded to drive down the field and score to make it 21-7

“When they had fourth-and-14, I really felt at that moment that we’d started figuring some things out offensively,” Poder said. “I felt, had we gotten a stop there, with the momentum, who knows?”

Poder believed his squad still had a decent chance to make a game of it on the ensuing drive.

“We drove past the 50-yard line and ran a trick play that we’d been practicing all week, a double-pass,” he said. “The kid was wide open, but the ball slipped out of the receiver’s hands who was making the double-pass, and Medina picked it off. It was close. Football is a game of inches.”

Medina wasn’t the only team that favored the passing game big-time. Harrington was 26-of-36 for 265 yards with two touchdowns. His yardage total accounted for 91% of his team’s 291 total yards.

“Jake had a pretty good night,” said the coach. “What Medina presented defensively in the pass game, what they give you, it was a good recipe to be able to throw the football for us. The biggest thing about Jake was that the last two weeks he hasn’t turned the ball over. He’s progressing like I want him to.

“Another reason we’re passing a lot is that we’re struggling in the run game right now. Up front, we had to replace all five starters. We’re just not progressing. We’re not where we should be there yet. Part of it is from a strength standpoint, and part of it is a new scheme standpoint for the players.”

Harrington’s other touchdown pass was a 6-yarder to junior wide receiver Tyler Harrington, his brother, in the third quarter that made the score 41-14.

The Bulldogs’ final score came on a 2-yard run by sophomore running back Nick Hosey in the fourth quarter that made it 48-21.

Junior wide receiver Jack Smith had 11 receptions for 153 yards, including a 59-yarder.

“Jack plays our slot position most of the time,” Poder said. “Your best athlete in your program in our offense needs to be playing the slot. It was nice to finally get the ball to one of our better players.”

Gabele wound up with six receptions for 49 yards with the touchdown, while senior wideout Jabari Hopkins caught five passes for 37 yards.

The Bulldogs host Suburban League National Conference rival Brecksville-Broadview Heights at 7 p.m. Sept. 16.

“We’re getting ready to get into a part of our schedule where we can start having some success,” Poder said.

Girls cross country: Atkinson leads Bulldogs to title at Pat Ritchie Invitational

Earlier last week, girls cross country head coach Aaron Morris formulated a virtual score of the Sept. 10 Walsh Jesuit Pat Ritchie Invitational Division I race.

“The three teams that could’ve won were us, Revere and Massillon Perry. The virtual score had all three teams tied with 63 points,” he said. “Our plan was to get under 60, to have our girls in the right position, which meant that our 4 and 5 girls needed to be in the top 25 in order to give us a shot. Our 4 and 5 girls wound up doing much better than that.”

Overall, Stow-Munroe Falls won the nine-team competition with 50 points. Revere finished second with 63 points, and Rocky River St. Joseph Academy was third with 78 points.

Junior Jayla Atkinson captured the title out of 70 runners with a time of 19 minutes, 24.3 seconds.

“Jayla did what she was supposed to do,” said Morris. “She didn’t have to work overly hard to do that, didn’t have to push herself in order to win the meet, but she still won going away. She wasn’t happy with the time, but I wasn’t too worried about her time.”

Junior Deena Ingrassia finished fifth with a time of 20:06.8, while senior Sydney Pitcovich finished 12th with a clocking of 20:49.5.

“Deena and Sydney were very similar,” Morris said. “They both weren’t real happy with their times, but they battled and competed very well with the girls they were against. They put themselves in front of the girls they needed to put themselves in front of in order to get a couple extra spots here and there for us at the finish. It was pretty hot, so I wasn’t too worried about the times. They got the job done.”

Junior Ellie Brosch finished 13th with a time of 20:56.6, a personal best by about 40 seconds from her performance the week before at the Ashland Invitational. Senior Lily Baker finished 19th with a personal-best time of 21:32.6.

“Ellie is finally coming around. We knew that she was going to be really good for us,” said the coach. “Lily had a rough race the week before, so that could’ve gone one or two ways. She could’ve let it get to her and had another rough race, but she didn’t. She rebounded really well and got herself in the top 20.”

The Bulldogs are set to compete in the Spartan Invitational in Boardman at 9 a.m. Sept. 17.

Boys cross country: Pat Ritchie meet frustrating for Bulldogs

The boys cross country team’s fifth-place finish out of 10 teams in Division I at the Walsh Jesuit Pat Ritchie Invitational on Sept. 10 did not sit too well with head coach J.K. LeSeure.

“We ran better than our fifth-place showing, so fifth place was a little bit disappointing,” he said of his team, which is still without injured senior Zach Shawala. “But overall, I’m fairly pleased with how we ran.”

The Bulldogs finished with 116 points. Chardon won the competition with 51 points, North Canton Hoover finished second with 88 points, and Massillon Perry and Revere tied for third with 102 points.

Leading the way for Stow-Munroe Falls were seniors Micah Bentley and Connor Scarberry. Bentley finished second out of 86 runners with a time of 16:17.8, and Scarberry finished eighth with a time of 16:45.4.

“It was not Micah’s fastest time that he’s ever run, but I’d say it was probably the best 5K he’s ever run,” said LeSeure. “He ran huge the last 800 meters to go from fourth to second place, so it was pretty solid.

“At the midway point Connor was in seventh or eighth place, but he lost a few places going into the second lap. He got those back, though. I was really happy with the way he stayed in, competed and finished it out.”

Sophomore Gavin Rossman finished 33rd with a time of 17:59.3, senior Trenton Macura finished right behind in 34th with a time of 18:00.1 and junior Sam Brownlee placed 43rd with a personal-best clocking of 18:25.1.

“Gavin was a little flat training-wise because he’d been out with an injury,” LeSeure said. “He got another race under his belt, and we’re looking for big things from him in future weeks.

“I was really pleased with how we ran aggressively on the second lap, and Trenton was one of those guys who did that. He showed some real guts in the last mile and a half, specifically the last half-mile, to almost catch Gavin.

“Sam just keeps getting stronger and stronger. He keeps chipping away at it and is going to be a real factor for us going forward.”

The Bulldogs are scheduled to compete in the Spartan Invitational in Boardman at 9 a.m. Sept. 17.

Girls golf: Record-setting day for Gabby Berlingieri, SMF in win over Roosevelt

The girls golf team set a school record for a nine-hole match in its 156-168 victory Sept. 8 over Suburban League crossover rival Kent Roosevelt on the front nine at Fox Den Golf Course in Stow.

“We played to our potential,” head coach Scotte Rorabaugh said. “We drove the ball well and putted well, and it equated to a good score at the end of the day.”

Junior Gabby Berlingieri shot an even-par 35, another school record for nine holes.

“Gabby avoided trouble,” said Rorabaugh. “She drives the ball very well. Any weakness she has is putting and chipping, and that day she put it all together.”

Freshman Olivia Berlingieri, Gabby’s sister, shot a 36, senior McKenzie Ickes fired a 40, and sophomore Lily Gualtiere carded a 45.

“Olivia played really well, never got herself in trouble,” Rorabaugh said. “She and Gabby are our scoring leaders, and as they go, we go, for the most part.

“McKenzie played well. Two bad holes cost her an even better score. That was Lily’s best round ever in high school golf. I like the way she drove the ball.”

Two days later, on Sept. 10 again at Fox Den, Stow-Munroe Falls finished third in the National Conference with a score of 328 in the third Suburban League Tournament. It tied a school record for 18 holes.

Nordonia won the competition with a school-record score of 305, and Hudson finished second with a school-record score of 308.

“As a team, we played great,” said the coach. “We were at our home course, so we expected to do pretty well that day, which we did.”

Gabby Berlingieri fired a 2-over-par 73, her career-best score for 18 holes.

“Gabby has been our leader all season scoring-wise,” Rorabaugh said. “And I expect her to put up solid numbers for the rest of the year and expect her to be competitive with the top players in the area.”

Olivia Berlingieri shot a 78, Ickes shot a career-best 80, and junior Addison Ades had a 97.

Stow-Munroe Falls began the week Sept. 6 with a 156-171 loss to Nordonia on the front nine at Fox Den.

“We didn’t play our best,” said Rorabaugh. “Nordonia is one of the top teams in our conference, so it was going to be a tough match.”

Gabby Berlingieri shot a 3-over-par 38, Olivia Berlingieri shot a 41, Ickes fired a 45, and junior Julia Leffel-Elliott carded a 47.

The Bulldogs are set to play league crossover rival Aurora at 2:45 p.m. today at Fox Den.

Boys golf: Skirpac shines at St. Charles Invitational

Ben Skirpac was dialed in.

The senior fired a 1-under-par 71 for the boys golf team Sept. 10 at the St. Charles Invitational at Brookside Golf and Country Club in Columbus.

“Ben was hitting shot after shot, putting really well. He had an eagle on a par 5,” head coach Chet Feldman said of his star player, who tied for fourth place overall. “There’s no downtime, no offseason, for him. He plays in tournaments year-round. He travels. He’s been doing that for four years. He just works at it nonstop. He’s always at the range working on things. He’s a Division I prospect. Ben’s dad was a really good golfer at Stow High School, played at Bowling Green. Ben has got it in his genes.”

Overall at the St. Charles Invitational, the Bulldogs finished 13th out of 20 teams with a score of 327. Cleveland St. Ignatius won the competition, and Archbishop Hoban finished second.

“I was real proud of the guys because it was a course we’d never played,” said Feldman. “It’s hard to prepare when you don’t even really know what your target lines are.”

Senior Mitch Tyger shot an 80.

“Mitch had a quadruple-bogey on a par 5, but he came back with two birdies,” Feldman said. “As a coach, when you see a kid struggle on a hole, you always worry about what happens right after that, worry about his mental state. I was real impressed with the way he came back from that 9 he got. He’s a mentally tough kid.”

Sophomore Austin Wilhoit shot an 86, and freshman Eddie Norman, Jr., shot a 90.

Four days earlier, on Sept. 6, Stow-Munroe Falls finished 13th out of 20 teams with a score of 328 in the Archbishop Hoban Invitational at Portage Country Club in Akron.

St. Ignatius won the competition with a score of 278. Hoban finished second with a score of 281, and Upper Arlington was third with a score of 298.

“We had a tough time,” said the coach. “The greens were pretty tough. Because it’s a shorter course, you’re going to have harder greens. It was a tough field. Anytime you have Ignatius and Hoban there, it’s basically who’s fighting for third place. Those people are above and beyond.”

Skirpac fired a 4-over-par 74 in tying for 13th place overall.

“Ben hit the ball very well,” Feldman said. “He had an open shot into every single green, so he didn’t get himself in any trouble off the tee, which is really impressive.”

Tyger shot an 82, Wilhoit shot an 84, and junior Matt Kurtz carded an 88.

The Bulldogs are scheduled to oppose Solon at Grantwood Golf Course in Solon at 3:30 p.m. today.

Girls volleyball: Bulldogs rally past Strongsville, win three at Jackson Tournament

The girls volleyball team looked sluggish and disinterested in losing the first set 25-13 to Strongsville on Sept. 10 in its second match of the Massillon Jackson Tournament.

“We did not come out to play,” head coach Sara Snyder said. “We looked slow. We just weren’t playing well.”

Snyder had a talk with her team and, voila, the Bulldogs won the second set 25-22 and the third set 27-25 to eke out the victory.

“We finally started putting pieces together,” she said. “Our passing got better, our hitters found the ball, we started blocking better, and our serving got more aggressive. We finally woke up and started playing in the second set. The same thing happened in the third set.”

Stow-Munroe Falls sandwiched a couple of victories around its win over the Mustangs – 25-18, 25-18 over Archbishop Hoban and 25-22, 25-21 over Solon. The Bulldogs are now 4-7 overall on the season.

In the win over the Knights, senior libero Maggie Ruggles led the way with seven digs, seven service points and an ace. Notching five kills apiece were junior middle hitter Gianna Cella and her classmate, Leara Gilbert.

In the win over the Comets, Ruggles had 18 digs and five service points. She was voted to the All-Tournament Team.

“Maggie played tremendous defense, especially against Solon,” said Snyder. “She really stepped it up.”

Also in the win over Solon, sophomore defensive specialist Kate Flaherty started the match with seven straight service points. She finished with 16 service points, three aces and three digs. Sophomore outside hitter Peyton Poston led the Bulldogs with six kills.

Stow-Munroe Falls began the week Sept. 6 with a 13-25, 25-22, 25-23, 14-25, 15-6 victory at National Conference rival North Royalton.

Pacing the Bulldogs was sophomore setter/right-side hitter Ella Meers with a season-high 30 assists, 17 service points, 11 digs and two aces.

“Ella is new to the setting position,” the coach said. “She was a middle hitter last year on the junior varsity team. We trained her in the offseason to become a setter, knowing we needed a setter to take over. She’s quick, can put up a really good block and is one of our strongest servers.”

Cella had 17 service points, eight kills, four blocks and two aces. Senior middle hitter Delaney Ramsey totaled a season-high 12 kills and three blocks.

Two nights later, on Sept. 8, Stow-Munroe Falls fell 25-17, 25-16, 25-16 at home to National Conference rival Wadsworth. The Bulldogs slipped to 2-2 in the conference.

Leading the way for Stow-Munroe Falls were Cella with 10 service points, three blocks and two kills; Poston with seven kills, four digs and two blocks; and Ramsey with seven kills and four blocks.

The Bulldogs host conference rival Nordonia at 6:30 p.m. tonight.

Girls tennis: SMF shows improvement in loss to Rough Riders

McKenna Hoffstetter put forth a fine effort but fell just short at first singles Sept. 8 during SMF’s 3-2 loss at Suburban League crossover rival Kent Roosevelt. The Bulldogs slipped to 1-6 overall.

Hoffstetter went up against Rough Riders senior Yulan Wang, a player she had lost to 7-6, 6-3 earlier in the season. This time, the match was even closer. Hoffstetter lost in heartbreaking fashion 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (13-11).

“McKenna actually had a match point when she was up 10-9 in the tiebreaker,” head coach Brian Banas said. “She did a much better job of moving the ball around, opening up the court and using her forehand to create some winners the second time around. She also went to the net a little bit more effectively than she did in the first match.”

Also for the Bulldogs, junior Leah Bentley lost at second singles, while freshman Kamryn Martin won 6-0, 6-0 at third singles.

“Kamryn did a nice job,” said Banas. “She was very steady, kept the ball in play, moved around to create a lot of forehand opportunities for herself. Her steadiness was the difference.”

Junior Claire Goetz and freshman Kaelyn McGovern teamed to lose 2-6, 6-0, 6-2 at first doubles.

“Claire and Kaelyn got off to a really nice first set. They did a good job putting volleys away,” Banas said. “The Kent team picked up quite a bit after that first set. They did a lot better job keeping the ball off of our net players to kind of take away our offense. But it was a good match overall for Claire and Kaelyn. We’d lost to that same first doubles team with a little different pair 6-0, 6-0 earlier in the season, so this was a much better showing.”

Junior Mikayla Witner and sophomore Sam Houlihan joined forces to win 6-2, 6-0 at second doubles.

“That was Mikayla’s most complete match of the season,” said the coach. “She did a real nice job in the backcourt, was very steady and kept the ball in play very well. But the big difference for that team was that Mikayla was much more aggressive at the net. She played a nice, complete match.”

The day before, on Sept. 7, Stow-Munroe Falls lost 5-0 at home to National Conference rival Wadsworth. The Bulldogs fell to 0-3 in the conference.

Hoffstetter lost 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1 singles, Bentley lost 6-1, 6-3 at No. 2 singles, and senior Sophie Ing fell 6-0, 6-0 at No. 3 singles.

Goetz and McGovern lost 6-1, 6-2 at No. 1 doubles, while Witner and Houlihan lost 6-1, 6-1 at No. 2 doubles.

The Bulldogs travel to conference foe Twinsburg at 4 p.m. Sept. 14.

Girls soccer: Bulldogs push powerful Brecksville to limit in loss

In its National Conference opener, the girls soccer team led two-time defending conference champion Brecksville-Broadview Heights 3-2 with about 15 minutes left in the game Sept. 7 on the road.

The Bulldogs could not finish the deal, though. The Bees tied the score and then netted two more goals to win the game 5-3.

“That’s a very good team. It was a tough loss, definitely disappointing,” head coach Jim Dudones said. “Our effort was awesome, it was incredible. If you score three goals in a high school soccer match, you should expect to win, at least tie.”

Stow-Munroe Falls took a 1-0 lead less than nine minutes into the game on a goal by junior forward Paityn Marino. The lead grew to 2-0 with 16 minutes left in the first half on a spectacular goal by senior midfielder Kailey Hobart.

“Kailey’s goal was a highlight-reel goal,” said Dudones. “She smashed the ball from the top of the penalty area to the upper right side of the goal.”

After Brecksville-Broadview Heights pulled to within 2-1, the Bulldogs went up 3-1 on a goal by senior center forward Sophia Yoder with six minutes to go in the half. The score was 3-2 at halftime.

Three nights later, on Sept. 10, Stow-Munroe Falls traveled to Green and came away with a 2-2 tie, which left the team with a 3-1-2 record.

After a scoreless first half in which Marino was lost for the rest of the game to an injury, the Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead about two minutes into the second half on a goal by Hobart off an assist from sophomore wing Kylie Kramer.

Green scored twice to take a 2-1 lead, but the visitors tied the score 2-2 with about 12 minutes remaining in the game on a goal by junior midfielder Corinne Casenhiser.

“We were really barraging them late in the game,” Dudones said, “but we basically ran out of clock.”

The Bulldogs are set to host North Royalton at 7 p.m. Sept. 14.

Boys soccer: SMF drops tight contest to Brecksville

The boys soccer team grabbed the momentum in the second half but just could not put the game away Sept. 6 in a 2-1 loss at home to Brecksville-Broadview Heights in its National Conference opener. Stow-Munroe Falls fell to 2-3-1 on the season.

Bulldogs junior midfielder Sam Morris scored a goal with about 16 minutes left in the game to tie the score 1-1. On the play, SMF had a free kick that sophomore defender Alex Kuhlke played in. Davis Broghammer, a junior midfielder, headed the ball, Brecksville got a save, and Morris put the rebound in the net.

“Sam has been getting better each game,” said Kosmala. “He’s had a few assists for us. He’s been progressing nicely.”

Stow-Munroe Falls had the momentum after tying the score.

“We’d been pressuring Brecksville most of the second half, and then we got some good pressure after our goal but just couldn’t score,” Kosmala said.

The Bees scored what turned out to be the winning goal with about 10 minutes to go. They had taken a 1-0 lead on a goal with about 14 minutes left in the first half.

“The loss to Brecksville was probably our best game of the season as far as how we played, and it was probably the best opponent that we’ve played,” Kosmala said. “Our effort in the second half was great. We controlled the middle of the field for most of the game.”

The Bulldogs play at North Royalton at 7:15 p.m. tonight.

Field hockey: Bulldogs looking for turnaround in second half of season

Early on, it looked like the field hockey team might reign victorious Sept. 7 in a home game against Western Reserve Academy.

After WRA scored a goal about two minutes into the game, Stow-Munroe Falls came right back and tied the score 1-1 on a goal by junior right forward McKenna Rice.

“Once it was 1-1, I thought our chances were pretty good to win the game,” head coach McDaniel Palma said. “We were pretty confident going into the game.”

Unfortunately, the Pioneers took complete control of the game. By the time the Bulldogs scored again in the fourth quarter on a goal by junior forward Aubrey Bottger, they were down 8-2, which turned out to be the final score. Stow-Munroe Falls slipped to 1-4 on the season.

“WRA just outhustled and outran us,” said Palma. “They’re a pretty good team.”

According to Palma, her squad fares better in the second half of games, and she is hoping her team fares better in the second half of the season, too. She believes her players are a resilient bunch.

“They’re constantly looking to think critically about what they’re doing individually and as a team, what they’re doing either incorrect or what they’re bringing to the team,” she said. “Maybe they’re not hustling for the ball 100%, or maybe they’re getting gassed. We’re spending a lot of time at practice brainstorming what we need to do individually and as a team. I think right now the girls feel pretty motivated because no one likes losing, and I think they’re just tired of losing.”

The Bulldogs travel to Kent Roosevelt at 4:30 p.m. Sept. 15.