Harrington leads Bulldogs past Cuyahoga Falls with 148 passing yards

Stow-Munroe Falls head football coach Martin Poder has a lot of faith in freshman quarterback Jake Harrington. So much so that he has inserted Harrington as the Bulldogs’ starting quarterback.

“We are a quarterback-centric offense, and everything runs through the quarterback,” Poder said. “Almost toward the end of preseason, we decided to go with a freshman quarterback, Jake, so there was a little bit of an adjustment period as we were finishing the preseason.”

Harrington got off to a rousing start this season by completing 11-of-13 passes for 148 yards with two touchdowns and an interception Aug. 19 in leading Stow-Munroe Falls to a 58-7 rout on the road of Suburban League National Conference rival Cuyahoga Falls. He also rushed the ball four times for 35 yards with a touchdown. All of that in just the first half! Sophomore quarterback Brayden Marazzi played the second half and went 3-for-6 for 58 yards with a touchdown. Ten different players caught at least one pass for the Bulldogs.

“Jake executed the game plan very well,” said Poder. “He has as firm a grasp of an offense that I’ve ever seen from a freshman quarterback. He made checks out there on the field that weren’t coach-driven in which he understood what the defense was trying to do and did it.

“I really like Jake’s presence and his command that he had. It’s a very senior-laden team, but those seniors have welcomed him and believe that he can help them win football games. He has all the traits and skills he needs to have. When you decide to pull the trigger and play a younger kid, it’s more the mental aspect and the maturity level, and he checks off both of those boxes.”

Poder was thrilled with his team’s mindset and approach the week of the opener.

“Just the day-by-day and understanding how we were supposed to conduct our business and prepare,” he said. “A lot of things still need to be corrected and fixed, but I thought, for the most part, we executed the game plan.”

Making Harrington’s night easier was senior running back Sal Romito, who had 108 yards rushing, including a 40-yarder, on just nine carries with two touchdowns. He also had two receptions for 41 yards, including a 32-yarder.

“I think Sal’s performance was very workmanlike,” said the coach. “Coaching against him the past couple years, I had a lot of respect for him. I thought he was pretty elusive in the open field and had pretty decent vision. It was nice to have him on our sideline and watch him do that.”

Wide receiver Brayden Gabele had three catches for 39 yards.

Romito sandwiched 15- and 5-yard touchdown runs around junior running back Evan Walker’s 4-yard TD run to give Stow-Munroe Falls a 21-0 first-quarter lead. Gavin Rice, Walker’s classmate, then returned an interception 34 yards for a touchdown to up the Bulldogs’ lead to 28-0 entering the second quarter.

Harrington scored on a 7-yard run and then threw touchdown passes to seniors Jaiden Williams and Rider Spath to make the score 49-0 at halftime. A safety and a 23-yard TD pass from Marazzi to sophomore Paul Biltz accounted for Stow-Munroe Falls’ final points.

Defensively, Poder was more than pleased with what he saw from his squad.

“I think our kids were prepared, knew what plays were coming and what Cuyahoga Falls was trying to do,” he said.

The team’s two other interceptions were made by junior strong safety Mike Murtaugh and freshman outside linebacker Andy Rickleman.

The Bulldogs are scheduled to host league crossover rival Barberton at 7 p.m. Aug. 26.

Girls golf: Freshman Olivia Berlingieri leads Bulldogs past Aurora

Members of the girls golf team had very little experience, if any, playing at Grantwood Golf Course in Solon. But the Bulldogs still managed to come away with a 160-170 victory Aug. 16 over Suburban League crossover rival Aurora in a nine-hole match.

“Most of our girls haven’t played, or have played just once, that course,” head coach Scotte Rorabaugh said. “But they kept out of trouble and made some nice putts. Overall, I was pleased with how they performed. I thought they played well.”

Leading the way for Stow-Munroe Falls were freshman Olivia Berlingieri, who shot a 1-over-par 36, and senior McKenzie Ickes, who fired a career-low (for nine holes) 37.

“Olivia played well,” said Rorabaugh. “She’s a strong player off the tee, hits the ball pretty far for a freshman. She had a couple birdies, really kept the ball in play and just stayed away from the mistakes. She three-putted the last hole or she would’ve shot even par for the day, but that’s not to take away from a round of 36. We’ll take that any time. She was very pleased, as was I.

“McKenzie had three birdies. She was striking the ball well and made some nice putts.”

Also for Stow-Munroe Falls, junior Gabby Berlingieri, Olivia’s sister, shot a 40, and sophomore Sophia Thompson carded a 47.

According to Rorabaugh, his team is beginning to find a little bit of a groove.

“Our top scorers have been pretty consistent. They’re working hard at practice and doing pretty well in the matches and tournaments,” he said. “We’re using all of our events as preparation as the season goes along. We want to be peaking by the time sectionals roll around in October.”

The Bulldogs are scheduled to compete in the second of four Suburban League Tournaments at 11:30 a.m. today at Ellsworth Meadows Golf Club in Hudson.

Boys golf: Freshman Tyler Cheetham making rapid adjustment to varsity golf

Freshman Tyler Cheetham raised some eyebrows last week as a member of the boys golf team.

Cheetham tied sophomore Austin Wilhoit for a team-best score of 78, six over par, in the Nordonia Classic Aug. 16 at Ellsworth Meadows Golf Club.

“Tyler played really well,” Bulldogs head coach Chet Feldman said. “He looked very good, and it’s no surprise because I heard he stayed after practice one day earlier that week for a couple hours working on his putting and chipping and went to his dad’s country club to play an extra 18 on his own. It really paid off.”

Also for Stow-Munroe Falls in the Nordonia Classic, senior Ben Skirpac shot an 81 and Mitch Tyger, his classmate, carded an 83.

Overall, the Bulldogs, who won the tournament last year, finished second out of 18 teams with a score of 320, just behind Suburban League crossover rival Aurora, which had a score of 318. National Conference rival Nordonia finished third with a score of 326.

Feldman believed his team very easily could have defended its title.

“I think where we struggled a little bit was managing the course,” he said. “If we could’ve just managed the course a little bit better and got two strokes, then we’re tied for first.”

The next day, on Aug. 17 in the second of four Suburban League Tournaments at Pine Hills Golf Club in Hinckley, Skirpac fired a 73, Tyger shot a 75, Cheetham shot an 82, and Wilhoit carded an 83.

“Ben shot a really good score. He didn’t get overly aggressive and get himself in trouble,” said the coach. “He missed a putt on 18 and bogeyed the hole. Mitch played really well. He managed the course well, didn’t get in trouble, putted really well. He was just a sound player that day. Austin left a few out there.”

Overall in the National Conference, the Bulldogs finished third with a score of 313, just one stroke behind co-champions Hudson and Wadsworth.

Stow-Munroe Falls began the week with a less-than-stellar performance in the Hudson Invitational Aug. 15 at The Country Club of Hudson. The Bulldogs tied for 14th out of 20 teams with a score of 344.

Massillon Jackson won the competition with a score of 302. Wadsworth finished second with a score of 308 and Akron Hoban placed third with a score of 313.

“It was the worst performance we’ve had all season,” Feldman said. “My players didn’t putt well, and they were above the pin on every hole, which I told them not to be. The greens were really hard.”

Skirpac shot a 7-over-par 79, which tied him for 22nd place. Wilhoit shot an 85, good for 48th; Tyger shot an 86, which tied him for 55th; and junior Matt Kurtz carded a 94, good for 88th.

The Bulldogs are set to take part in a tourney at 2:30 p.m. Aug. 25 at Fox Den Golf Club in Stow.

Girls volleyball: Bulldogs fall to Tallmadge in opener

It was a competitive match, but the girls volleyball team lost its season opener 25-21, 25-18, 25-23 Aug. 20 at home to Suburban League crossover rival Tallmadge.

“We were up most of the first set, but Tallmadge went on a serving run towards the end, and they pulled away and were able to finish out,” head coach Sara Snyder said. “In the second set, our passing just wasn’t on. In the third set, we stepped it up and started passing better. In that third set, Ella Meers (sophomore setter/right-side hitter) really stepped up her game. She served a few aces and had a few kills and some blocks. Overall, she played a great match.”

Three other players who did wellwere junior middle hitter Gianna Cella, senior libero Maggie Ruggles and junior setter Keira McLaughlin.

“Gianna chipped in a few blocks and some kills. She went on a serving streak a few times each set that got us a handful of points,” said Snyder. “Maggie had 16 digs. Defensively, she played really well. Once we had a little chat, her serve-receives got much better, so Tallmadge tried to avoid her after that. She does a great job of managing the team and keeping her teammates under control and being a great leader.

“From the service line is where Keira stepped up her game the most. She went on a serving streak and had a few aces. She chipped in six or eight digs as well. She picked up the tips once we made some adjustments.”

According to Snyder, her team needs to fix a couple things.

“We need to be more focused from the passing line when we’re in serve-receive to start the play off so we can learn our offense,” she said. “We also need to make our adjustments a little quicker.”