CUYAHOGA HEIGHTS, Ohio — Hillsdale’s defense was stout. Cuyahoga Heights’ defense was virtually impenetrable.
The top-seeded Redskins limited No. 8 Hillsdale to 19 rushing yards and cruised to a 24-7 win in a Division VI, Region 21 quarterfinal Friday at Cuyahoga Heights.
Cuyahoga Heights (11-0) will play St. Thomas Aquinas in next week’s regional semifinals at a site to be determined. Aquinas beat Lisbon David Anderson 21-18.
“They have 11-plus guys who can all run and hit and do their jobs extremely well,” Hillsdale coach Tom Williams said. “They were able to really slow down our running game and that puts you in a bind.
“Their defense is really really good.”
Missed Opportunities: The Redskins took a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter on Lucas D’Orazio’s 5 yard run and pushed their advantage to 10-0 early in the second on Mark Shafer’s 32 yard field goal. Hillsdale (7-4) had a chance to cut into the lead but Josh Vinsack’s 34 yard field goal attempt was wide left and quarterback Trey Williams had a pass intercepted at the goal line with 30 seconds left in the first half.
“We had a couple opportunities in the first half that we weren’t able to cash in on,” Williams said. “Against a team that is this good, you’re just not going to have that many opportunities. You’ve got to take advantage of those.”
Up to the Task: Hillsdale’s defense gave the Redskins fits throughout the first half. The Falcons forced a pair of turnovers and made life miserable for D’Orazio, Cuyahoga Heights’ rugged fullback.
“In the first half we were doing great,” said defensive end Gunnar Richter, who recovered a fumble in the first half and spent much of the evening harassing Cuyahoga Heights quarterback Brett Lowther. “We had trouble slowing them down in the second half.”
Game-Changer: The Redskins dipped into their bag of tricks to score what proved to be the back-breaking touchdown early in the third quarter. On third-and-three from the Cuyahoga Heights 38, Lowther spotted tight end Matt Harris running all alone behind the Hillsdale secondary and lofted a perfect pass that Harris caught in stride and took 62 yards for a touchdown and a 17-0 lead.
“All week we have been going over that formation and they always just run on the strong side,” Richter said. “They caught us with that pop pass right over the middle.”
It was the first time all season the Redskins passed out of the formation.
“We’ve been saving it for big moments just like this game,” Harris said. “We saw that their safeties were all flying downhill.”
No Quit: The Redskins pushed their advantage to 24-0 late in the third quarter on D’Orazio’s 1 yard plunge. The Falcons scored with less than a minute remaining on Ethan Elliott’s 5 yard run.
“It’s been a long time since our guys didn’t fight until the end of the game,” Williams said. “Our guys are going to play as hard as they can until the refs tell us we’re not allowed to play anymore.”
