Topic: Football
Mentor Lake Catholic vs. Van Wert
2020 OHSAA Football Division IV Championship
Paul Brown Tiger Stadium
Massillon, OH
November 22, 2020
© 2020 by Ron Harrison
Soph kicker Damon McCracken kicked a 25 yard field goal with nine seconds on the clock to give Van Wert a 31-28 victory over Mentor Lake Catholic. Van Wert trailed 21-7 in the third quarter but rallied and tied the score at 21-21 early in the final quarter. Lake Catholic took a 28-21 lead but Van Wert tied the game at 2:30 on a 15 yard pass from Owen Treece to Nate Jackson and a conversion kick by Damon McCracken. Van Wert got the ball back on an interception near mid field with 1:09 left on the clock. Owen Treece then completed two timely passes and ran the ball twice to set up McCracken for his late heroics. Van Wert recorded 20 first downs and 366 yards of total offense. They were penalized seven times for 75 yards, lost a fumble, and had a pass intercepted. Lake Catholic recorded 12 first downs and 318 yards of total offense. They were penalized five times for 45 yards, lost a fumble, and had two passes intercepted.
Owen Treece led Van Wert’s ground game with 68 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. Owen Treece completed 27 of 44 passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. Maddix Crutchfield caught 10 passes for 64 yards and a touchdown. Nate Jackson added seven receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown. Connor Pratt recorded six receptions for 106 yards and one touchdown. Dru Johnson returned two kickoffs for 68 yards with a long return of 53 yards. Trey Laudick returned two kickoffs for 48 yards with a long return of 27 yards. Turner Witten led the defense with four solo and six assisted tackles. Ty Jackson and Aidan Pratt each recorded three solo and eight assisted tackles. Jacob Fuerst recorded three solo and four assisted tackles with one of his tackles resulting in a five yard loss and recovered a fumble. Dru Johnson and Owen Treece each intercepted a pass.
Joe Malchesky led Lake Catholic’s ground attack with 219 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries. Ryan Joy carried the ball 11 times for 31 yards and a touchdown. Joe Malchesky completed three of nine passes for 55 yards with two interceptions. Nick Brandt completed his only pass for four yards and a touchdown. Charlie Vincent caught one pass for 42 yards. Brady Bowser caught a four yard touchdown reception. Joe Malchesky led the defense with nine solo and five assisted tackles with 2.5 of his tackles resulting in losses totaling 16 yards and intercepted one pass he returned eight yards. Simon Taraska added seven solo and three assisted tackles. Ryan Joy recorded five solo and five assisted tackles with one of his tackles resulting in a two yard loss and recovered a fumble.
Scoring Summary
| School | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
| Mentor Lake Catholic | 0 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
| Van Wert | 0 | 7 | 7 | 17 | 31 |
| LAKECATHOLIC | - | Brady Bowser 4 yard pass from Nick Brandt (Luke Hadley kick) |
| VANWERT | - | Maddix Crutchfield 2 yard pass from Owen Treece (Damon McCracken kick) |
| LAKECATHOLIC | - | Ryan Joy 1 yard run (Luke Hadley kick) |
| LAKECATHOLIC | - | Joe Malchesky 53 yard run (Luke Hadley kick) |
| VANWERT | - | Owen Treece 2 yard run (Damon McCracken kick) |
| VANWERT | - | Connor Pratt 42 yard pass from Owen Treece (Damon McCracken kick) |
| LAKECATHOLIC | - | Joe Malchesky 50 yard run (Luke Hadley kick) |
| VANWERT | - | Nate Jackson 15 yard pass from Owen Treece (Damon McCracken kick) |
| VANWERT | - | Damon McCracken kicks a 25 yard field goal |
Selected Statistics
| Mentor Lake Catholic | ||||
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| Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long |
| Joe Malchesky | 30 | 219 | 7.3 | 53 |
| Ryan Joy | 11 | 31 | 2.8 | 7 |
| Charlie Vincent | 2 | 8 | 4.0 | 6 |
| Tyler Seacrist | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 4 |
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| Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long |
| Joe Malchesky | 9-3-2 | 55 | 0 | 42 |
| Nick Brandt | 1-1-0 | 4 | 1 | 4 |
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| Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long |
| Charlie Vincent | 1 | 42 | 0 | 42 |
| Ryan Globokar | 1 | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| Brady Bowser | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 |
| Ryan Joy | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
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| Van Wert | ||||
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| Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long |
| Owen Treece | 19 | 68 | 3.6 | 25 |
| Nate Jackson | 10 | 23 | 2.3 | 6 |
| Maddix Crutchfield | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 |
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| Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long |
| Owen Treece | 44-27-1 | 274 | 3 | 42 |
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| Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long |
| Maddix Crutchfield | 10 | 64 | 1 | 23 |
| Nate Jackson | 7 | 61 | 1 | 21 |
| Connor Pratt | 6 | 106 | 1 | 42 |
| Dru Johnson | 4 | 43 | 0 | 17 |
Acknowledgements
A special thanks to OHSAA for the comprehensive stats and other pertinent info provided for tonight's games.
Please feel free to send your comments and questions concerning the event, teams, or players to me at prepgridiron@yahoo.com.
Ron Harrison’s reports on this and other football events appear on https://www.angelfire.com/ky2/prepgridiron.