High school football: Olmsted Falls runs over Amherst

OLMSTED FALLS — Try as they might, the Amherst Comets just didn't have an answer for Olmsted Falls' rushing attack Friday night. The Bulldogs piled up 356 yards on the ground, utilizing their multidimensional attack to score on seven straight drives in a 56-35 Southwestern Conference win. "They're a good blocking team and they hit the holes," Amherst safety Alden Steele said of the Bulldogs. "They're good at what they do. We just want to get better as a team, and get better every week." Things started off well for Amherst (3-2, 3-2 SWC), jumping out to a 14-0 lead with back-to-back big plays. After putting the Comets in a third-and-9 hole with a false start, Ty Weatherspoon made up for his mistake with a great catch in stride for a 71-yard score. Steele got into the mix after stopping Olmsted Falls (4-1, 4-1) on fourth down, making his defender miss on a routine screen and then showing off his elite speed for a 70-yard touchdown pass on just the second throw from quarterback Tyler Brezina. "I messed up on the snap count, I read a different sign," Weatherspoon said. "I wanted to make it up on the next play, so they gave me a shot and I went out and made it." The Bulldogs, however, woke up, scoring on eight of their next nine drives, including seven straight. The only drive Olmsted Falls failed to score a touchdown on in the second half was its final possession, when it kneeled twice to end the game. Bruising 6-foot, 225-pound fullback Andrew Parkowski did most of the damage for Falls, carrying the ball 31 times for 180 yards and three touchdowns, showing off his deceptive speed on many occasions. Sophomore Rocco Conti added 88 yards on nine carries and also caught a 42-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Charlie Ciolek. "We stopped making mistakes, putting ourselves into second- or third-and-long in the first half," Olmsted Falls coach Tom DeLuca said. "We stalled on a few drives where we got into third-and-long or second-and-long and that's not where we want to be. Facing a defense like theirs, you can't afford to do that. You've got to be methodical down the field in what we do. Second half we eliminated mistakes and that was a big part of our success." Both teams were flagged 11 times for 105 yards, but Amherst's hurt more. The Comets had a chance to keep Olmsted Falls at bay on its last drive of the first half, but it started in a first-and-15 hole thanks to an illegal procedure. A 2-yard run was negated by a hold and a 5-yard completion could have been wiped out by another hold had Olmsted Falls chosen to accept the infraction. Instead, the Bulldogs stopped the Comets on third-and-20, then took a 21-20 lead on its last drive of the half. The Bulldogs made it 28-20 on the second play of the third quarter. Amherst's response once again stalled before it could get started, putting itself in a first-and-15 hole thanks to an illegal procedure. A false start made it second-and-20 and the Comets punted after two incompletions. "You have to play four quarters if you want to win a big game," Amherst coach Mike Passerrello said. "You're playing in a big game, lots at stake and you have to be able to keep your composure. Whether you agree with the calls or not, that's not the point, the point is you have to be able to keep your composure and come back and play the next play. We've got to do a better job with it." Contact Chris Sweeney at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com and follow him @CSweeneyCT on Twitter. Olmsted Falls 56, Amherst 35Amherst 14 6 8 7 — 35Olmsted Falls 7 14 21 14 — 56ScoringA — Ty Weatherspoon, 71 pass from Tyler Brezina (Adam Henderson kick)A — Alden Steele, 70 pass from Brezina (Henderson kick) OF — Michael Candow, 41 run (Drew Kanaba kick)A — Torre Weatherspoon, 34 run (kick blocked)OF — Jimmy Cooney, 28 pass from Charlie Ciolek (Kanaba kick)OF — Andrew Parkowski, 1 run (Kanaba kick)OF — Rocco Conti, 42 pass from Ciolek (Kanaba kick)OF — Parkowski, 4 run (Kanaba kick)A — Steele, 11 pass from Brezina (George Gotsis, pass from Brezina)OF — Candow, 20 run (Kanaba kick)A — Weatherspoon, 17 pass from Brezina (Henderson kick)OF — Parkowski, 4 run (Kanaba kick)OF — Conti, 9 run (Kanaba kick)Team statistics A OFFirst downs 17 25— by rushing 2 20— by passing 12 5— by penalty 3 0Yards rushing 75 356Yards passing 354 188Total offense 429 544Passes att./comp. 32/17 12/9Intercepted by 0 1Fumbles/lost 0/0 1/0Penalties/yards 11/105 11/105Individual statisticsRUSHING — (A) Torre Weatherspoon 10-67, Alden Steele 2-5, Jonathan West 1-4, Tyler Brezina 1-(-1). (OF) Andrew Parkowski 31-180, Rocco Conti 9-88, Michael Candow 3-65, Jack Pincheck 5-13, Ryan Feskanich 3-13, Charlie Ciolek 4-(-3).PASSING — (A) Brezina 17-32-354-4-1. (OF) Ciolek 9-12-188-2-0.RECEIVING — (A) Ty Weatherspoon 9-209, Steele 5-123, Casey Hamrick 2-14, George Gotsis 1-8. (OF) Jimmy Cooney 5-95, Candow 2-9, Conti 1-42, Ethan Williams 1-42.