High school football: Elyria Catholic takes advantage of Genoa Area mistakes to cruise to victory

ELYRIA — There is a historical quote about warfare, often attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte: "Never interfere with an enemy when he is in the process of destroying himself." In Elyria Catholic's 44-21 Division V, Region 18 win over Genoa Area at Dan Reaser Stadium on Saturday, the Panthers proved they know their history. Genoa Area, the No. 10 seed, turned the ball over seven times, botched a punt that set up the Panthers' opening score, and were penalized 10 times. Elyria Catholic raced out to a 28-7 lead midway through the second quarter and cruised to the victory. The second-seeded Panthers will play Bloomdale Elmwood (9-1), the third seed, Saturday at a neutral site yet to be determined. The Panthers (10-2) were without starting tackle Hayden Gerhart, who missed the game with an ankle injury suffered last week, and played for three quarters without starting tailback/safety Levi Ellis, who was held out after rolling his ankle at the beginning of the second quarter. It didn't matter as the Comets (6-6) kept making mistakes that Elyria Catholic turned into points. After the teams traded early touchdowns, junior receiver Colin Ginley gave the Panthers a 14-7 lead with a 12-yard touchdown reception from junior quarterback Brady Cook. The next time Genoa Area had the ball, junior safety Thomas Niederst jumped on a Robert Messenger fumble to give Elyria Catholic the ball at the Comets 38. Three plays later, Cook found senior Jack Kenneally from 25 yards out to give the Panthers a 21-7 lead. Genoa Area fumbled on its own side of the field again the next time it had the ball, with junior Travis Merrill recovering for Elyria Catholic. Five plays later, Cook scored on a 7-yard touchdown run to blow it open. "Turnovers don't just happen," Panthers coach Brian Fox said. "Turnovers only happen when you have a defense that's flying around the field, when you have 11 guys that have really bought into the fact that luck follows speed. "Yes, we were fortunate and I think they gift-wrapped a few things for us, but if you're not there working hard you aren't going to get a chance for it." Senior Nick Thoman and junior Tavion Thomas added interceptions before halftime — Thomas's in the end zone to turn back a Comets scoring opportunity. Thomas, who had the majority of the Panthers' rushing attempts with Ellis sidelined, ended the game with 82 yards on 10 carries. Thoman added 29 yards on two carries while Cook rushed 11 times for 57 yards and a touchdown. "It was the entire team," Thomas said. "They lifted me up and told me to have that 'next man up' mentality. Our line has been amazing all year ... running behind them is just amazing." Ginley ended the game with four catches for 50 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He said the entire team knew it would have to contribute with Ellis on the sidelines. "We had people step up," Ginley said. "Jack Kenneally stepped up at safety, I played safety a little bit and we all had the 'next man up' mentality. We really stayed true to that." Thoman said once the Panthers got the momentum they were able to keep it rolling. "We kept our foot on the gas and I give all the praise to my teammates," Thoman said. "Both offense and defense, we did not let up. We want to keep playing. We have a whole bunch of dogs on this team ... both on the line and in the skill positions. We just went out and did our jobs. "It sucks to have someone like Levi or Gerhart down, but the next man has to step up and you all have to work your hardest." Contact Mike Perry at 329-7135 or macsportstalk@gmail.com. Elyria Catholic 44, Genoa Area 21 Genoa Area&emsp;&emsp; 7 &emsp;&emsp;0&emsp; &emsp;7&emsp;&emsp; 7&emsp; —&emsp;&emsp;21Elyria Catholic&emsp;&emsp;14&emsp;&emsp;14&emsp;&emsp;6&emsp;&emsp;10&emsp;&emsp;—&emsp;&emsp;44 Scoring EC—Levi Ellis, 2 run (Ian Woodyard kick)GA—Justin Barlage, 35 pass from Aiden Brunkhorst (Aiden Hemmert kick)EC—Colin Ginlay, 12 pass from Brady Cook (Woodyard kick)EC—Jack Kenneally, 25 pass from Cook (Woodyard kick)EC—Cook, 7 run (Woodyard kick)EC—Ginlay, 9 pass from Cook (kick failed)GA—Merced Diaz, 75 pass from Brunkhorst (Hemmert kick)EC—Aiden Knepshield, 15 fumble return (Woodyard kick)EC—Woodyard, 33 field goalGA—Barlage, 40 run (Hemmert kick) Team statistics &emsp;&emsp; G&emsp; &emsp;ECFirst downs&emsp;&emsp; 16&emsp; &emsp;21— by rushing&emsp;&emsp; 9&emsp;&emsp; 12— by passing&emsp;&emsp; 6&emsp; &emsp;8— by penalty&emsp;&emsp; 1&emsp; &emsp;1Yards rushing&emsp;&emsp; 203&emsp;&emsp;217Yards passing&emsp;&emsp; 160&emsp; &emsp;153Total offense&emsp;&emsp; 363&emsp; &emsp;370Passes att./comp.&emsp;21/9&emsp;&emsp;23/15Intercepted by&emsp;&emsp; 2&emsp;&emsp; 3Fumbles/lost&emsp;&emsp; 5/4&emsp;&emsp; 2/1Penalties/yards&emsp;&emsp; 10/85&emsp; 6/50 Individual statistics RUSHING — (G) Gus Trainer 7-64, Justin Barlage 7-76, Robert Messenger 8-28, Aiden Brunkhorst 12-38, Merced Diaz 1-8, Aiden Hemmert 1-(-11). (EC) Tavion Thomas 10-82, Brady Cook 11-57, Levi Ellis 10-46, Nick Thoman 2-29, Justice Duerk 1-8, Hector Garcia 1-(-5).PASSING — (G) Brunkhorst 9-21-160-2-3. (EC) Cook 113-19-152-3-2; Hector Garcia 2-4-1-0-0.RECEIVING — (G) Barlage 3-46, Messenger 3-15, Diaz 2-80, Mason Drummond 1-16, Aidan Antry 1-0. (EC) Alex Carandang 5-39, Colin Ginley 4-50, Jack Kenneally 3-44, Ted Budinger 2-1, Jack Budinger 1-9.