Parma, OH – On Friday, October 10th, the Lake Catholic Cougars traveled to take on the Padua Bruins. The Bruins were a disappointing 1-6 going into this matchup, fresh off of a big loss at NDCL. The Cougars came into this matchup with a 5-2 record, after a 26-0 shutout win against Elyria Catholic in Week 7.
After two games on the road, the Bruins were back home in front of a packed student section. The Bruins offense took the field to begin the game. On the first play of the game, Padua QB Landon Hanover rushed right on a designed QB draw. Hanover managed to get a yard before taking a big hit that took him out for the rest of the game. It was discovered after the game that Hanover suffered a serious ankle injury, ending his season.
With Hanover going down, the senior backup Grant McClelland came in. On McClelland’s first pass he looked to hit Brady Devore downfield. Unfortunately for McClelland, the pass was picked off by the Cougars around their own 47-yard line.
Lake Catholic was able to drive down the field with ease behind the strong running from RB Danny Zmorowski and QB Max Pisano. After a strong showing from the Padua defensive front on the goal line, the Cougars were able to punch it in for six. RB Danny Zmorowski scored on a handoff at the 1-yard line, putting the Cougars up 6-0 early in the first. As Lake Catholic lined up for the PAT, Padua’s Jose Caban jumped early, putting the Cougars in better scoring position. Lake Catholic capitalized on their opportunity, tacking on an extra two points, going up 8-0.
The Bruins couldn’t get anything going on their next drive. The Bruins struggled in their previous two matchups against Big Walnut and NDCL, and those struggles seemed to carry into their contest against Lake Catholic. Their offensive struggles carried throughout the entire first half. The Cougars continued to capitalize on their offense woes as they put up another 14 points before the end of the half. The rushing attack was working for the Cougars as RB Michael Valentino and QB Max Pisano both rushed in for touchdowns in the first half. After a rough half of football for the Bruins, they went into the half down 22-0.
As the second half got underway, neither team could get into a rhythm offensively, trading punts. It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that someone scored. It would be Lake Catholic’s Max Pisano rushing for another touchdown, his second on the day. After another touchdown and two-point conversion, the Cougars could coast with a 30-0 lead.
Pisano and Zmorowski stole the show in Lake Catholic’s 30-0 victory. Zmorowski finished with 173 rushing yards and a touchdown on the day. Pisano finished with two rushing touchdowns for the Cougars. Following the big win, the Cougars moved to 6-2 on the year.
For the Bruins, the offense woes continued, getting shutout for the second time in their last three games, moving them to 1-7 on the season. With starting RB Chase Weizer being out due to illness, Junior RB Justin Gillipsie got the start. Unfortunately for Gillispie, he ended up leaving the game early with an injured collarbone. Following the game it was discovered that Gillispie would miss the remaining two games. With their leading rushers out, the Bruins were only able to get 21-yards rushing on the day. I talked to Padua Lineman Bo Barney about what the Bruins can do to get the run game going. He told me, “I think we just need to have better connection and communication with our guys in the backfield, especially with Landon and Justin going down.”
The Bruins will be back in action to take on the undefeated CVCA Royals on Friday, October 16th.
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