It was a beautiful night for football from Yorkville. It was also Alumni Night and Ring of Honor Night as they honor the winningest coach in Buckeye Local history, Ron Pobolish. After the opening ceremonies it was time for both teams to go to work. Buckeye Local took the ball first. Noah Kourim, normally a running back, took the reins in the first quarter at quarterback for the Panthers. The Union Local defensive line applied the pressure and forced Kourim to throw into coverage. Gannon Kerns, who missed all of last season with an injury, intercepted the ball on the Buckeye Local 46 yard line and took it to the house for pick 6. After a Panthers punt the Jets had great field position. The drive was capped off by a four yard screen pass from quarterback Isaiah Tomolonis to junior wide receiver Dre Saunders to make the score 14-0 in favor of the Jets with 5:27 to go in the first quarter. Panthers’ freshman punter Xavier Eastham punted off a beautiful ball, but Saunders was right there to take it 48 yards the other way for the score. With the score 22-0 after a Tomolonis two point conversion, the Jets had scored on defense, offense and special teams.
The Jets opened up the 2nd quarter with an interception by junior, Billy Schumacher and then another touchdown at 10:38. Brody Perzanowski got his first varsity touchdown from 15 yards out to make the score 28-0 after a failed two point conversion. On the ensuing kickoff Panthers Alex McDiffitt broke two tackles and was off to the races for an 83 yard kickoff return to make the score 28-7, Jets. Union Local took about three minutes off the clock as Tomolonis threw his second touchdown pass of the night, this time finding Logan Hess. About four minutes later, Saunders completed the hat trick on a perfectly executed post route from 35 yards out. Tomolonis had a lot of protection while throwing his third touchdown of the night. The two schools headed into halftime with the scoreboard reading 42-7 in favor of Union Local. Tomolonis finished his night 6-9 passing for 76 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also ran for 95 yards on only four carries. Saunders hauled in 4 receptions for 49 yards, two receiving touchdowns and the punt return touchdown. Perzanowski rushed 3 times for 33 yards and a touchdown.
Both teams defense took center stage in the third quarter and the score remained 42-7. Late in the 4th quarter, Jets sophomore quarterback Colby Carpenter found junior wide receiver, Sean Alkire open down field and hit him for a 46 yard pass to make the score 48-7. Carpenter got the start at quarterback last week and threw for 236 yards, but only saw action in the second half this week. He finished 3-3 on the game for 46 yards and a touchdown. He also collected 10 yards on two carries. Schumacher hauled in one reception for 19 yards while Alkire caught 3 passes for 46 yards and a score. Union Local’s defense held the Panthers to 100 total yards of offense. They were led on the ground by the freshman Eastham, with 27 yards on 9 carries. McDiffitt caught 2 passes for 9 yards and added 27 yards rushing on 2 carries. He also had the 83 yard kickoff return. Junior Shane Griffith also had two forced fumbles on the night and two tackles for a loss.
The Jets now lead the all time series 14-7. Union Local improves to 2-0 on the young season and will hit the road again next week for a battle with the John Marshall Monarchs. It’ll be a reunion for Union Local head coach Bernie Thompson as he goes up against his old coach Mark Cisar. The Monarchs fell to University in their first game and sit at 0-1. The Panthers will host the Shadyside Tigers next Friday as both teams look for their first win of the season.
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