Mustangs turn back Tigers comeback bid

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Medina’s Christian Moss moves in to sack Akron quarterback Coy Patterson late in the fourth quarter of the Mustangs narrow win over the host Tigers this evening.

Challenged for the first time this season, Medina turned back a strong strong second half comeback bid by Akron to edge past the host Tigers 29-21 in a C North Division game this evening.

Up by as many as 18 in the first half, Medina needed two big stops by the defense in the final quarter to preserve the narrow win.

The first stop saw Christian Moss and Jerrell Nealy combine for a key sack for a 12 yard loss which helped halt an Akron advance on downs at the Medina 14 yard line.

The Medina offense then used up six minutes with a ball control drive, highlighted by a key 15 yard pickup on fourth down by quarterback Julian Woodworth. That drive finally stalled out on downs at the Akron 44 with 1:45 remaining.

The Mustangs defense then once again rose to the occasion as Moss registered a big solo sack for a 15 yard loss to slow the Akron drive.  Kolton Fletcher then had a clutch pass interception to lock up the win.

Scoring on all four first half possessions Medina built up what looked to be a commanding 23-7 lead at the break.

Moss opened the scoring with a 16 yard touchdown run six minutes into the opening quarter and Cole Callard tacked on the extra point kick. A 24 yard pass completion from Woodworth to Noah Cudzilo highlighted the drive.

The Mustangs quickly doubled the led to 14-0 five minutes later as Woodworth hooked up with Cudzilo for 30 yard touchdown pass and Callard again added the PAT kick. Woodworth also completed a 16 yard pass to Cudzilo to open the drive.

Akron quickly cut the Medina lead in half as Jack Julicher returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown and Cam Stoldt added the PAT kick.

The Mustangs though answered right back with a long 74 yard scoring drive capped off by a 1 yard TD run by Woodworth upping the lead to 20-7 as the PAT attempt failed. Woodworth had pass completions of 19 yards to Justin Pitts and 11 yards to Kaedon Cleveland and Cudzilo added a 19 yard run to highlight the drive.

Medina again drove deep into Akron territory just before the half and came away with a 21 yard field goal by Callard to up the lead to 23-7.

However, Akron quickly made a game of it by scoring two touchdowns in the first four minutes of the third quarter to slice the Medina lead to just two at 23-21.

Quarterback Coy Patterson completed a 57 yard pass to Blake Gerstung for the first touchdown and then ran 11 yards himself for the second score which was set up by the Tigers recovery of a Medina fumble at the Mustangs 20 yard line. Stoldt added both PAT kicks.

The Mustangs opened up a little breathing room late in the quarter with a 76 yard land march as Moss had all the carries. He broke loose for 30 yards to open the drive and then capped it off with a key 26 yard touchdown in with 2:41 to go in the quarter. That gave the Mustangs a 29-21 lead as the extra point attempt failed.

That set the stage for the tense fourth quarter which saw the Mustangs defense unit preserve the win keyed by sacks by Moss and Nealy and an interception by Fletcher.

“First  hats off to Akron. They played a great game and their quarterback threw the ball real well,” said Medina Coach Eric Valley. “It was a tough game for us but we had some kids step up at the right time and make some big plays for us.”

The win pulls defending champion Medina into a tie with Newfane for the C North Division lead at 3-0. The Mustangs are 4-0 overall.

Akron is now 1-2, 1-3.

Medina will now host Roy-Hart/Barker next Friday in the Mustangs first home game of the season.

Roy-Hart/Barker 44, JFK 8
Aidan Mescall rushed for 182 yards and 3 touchdowns and passed for 140 yards and 3 touchdowns, two to Anthony Adinolfe and one to Jake Gould, to lead Roy-Hart/Barker to a 44-8 win over JFK.

Up 34-8 at the half, Roy-Hart/Barker scored again early in the third quarter and JFK opted to forfeit the rest of the contest.

Roy-Hart/Barker is now 1-1 in the C North Division and 2-2 overall while JFK drops to 0-3, 0-4.

Medina’s Noah Cudzilo picks up yardage as Brody Fry blocks Akron’s Andrew Bergman.

Medina’s Justin Pitts works to get by Akron defender Logan McClaine.