BIG LOSS
It remains to be seen how serious Louisville quarterback Chad Neff’s left knee is injured. Neff left the Alliance game in the second quarter and did not return. He is a huge part of the Leopards’ offense. He’s a good kid, too. Hopefully Neff is on the mend and able to return this season.
Worstell grading high
Film review of GlenOak quarterback Reid Worstell indicates that the junior is playing better than maybe numbers say or with a first look through real time. Against Fitch, it appeared as though Worstell held the ball too long on a couple of sacks, but head coach Scott Garcia said Worstell played better than even he initially thought.
“We had some breakdowns in protection on the line at times,” Garcia said. “And there was one play where Reid stepped up to avoid pressure or one of our backs ran into him and knocked the ball loose.”
TAKING LEAD
Last spring when Worstell first enrolled at GlenOak High School, the football team didn’t have practice. However, there was offseason conditioning in the gym, and that was the first chance Worstell’s new teammates got to look at him.
The team was running “suicides” in the gym when an assistant coach offered the players a deal. If one of them stepped up and hit a 3-point shot, running would end early.
“No one raised their hand, so I raised mine,” said Worstell, who also plays basketball. “I wasn’t worried about missing the shot and making them mad at me. Actually, that never entered my mind.”
Worstell took the shot, and as the ball left his hand, he started walking off the floor before the ball went through the net. He won over his teammates that day.
GLENOAK'S SCHEDULE
While the final four games of the season will not be easy for GlenOak, the meat of the Golden Eagles’ schedule is out of the way. They went to Massillon, Fitch and McKinley and got wins in three of their first six games.
GlenOak wraps up the regular season with Lake, Boardman, Hoover and Perry.
Boardman will be a difficult game, another on the road. The Spartans started with losses to Benedictine and Mooney, but have won the last four against Hoover, Perry, Lake and Hoban.
Perry, Lake and Hoover do not have winning records and are a combined 6-12 with just three league wins between them.
JUST NASTY
GlenOak’s offensive line has played with a nasty streak just about all season and it was impressive what it did against McKinley, especially with starter Steve Mathie (6-foot-4, 275 pounds) out with an injury. One player who showed up well was Brenson Ennis, (6-4, 320). He dominated his man most of the night and had a couple of pancake blocks.
Head coach Scott Garcia recalled seeing Ennis at practice for the first time when he was a freshman. Ennis initially wanted to be a quarterback and went and worked out with the quarterbacks.
“He wanted to be a passer,” Garcia said laughing. “I’m like ‘are you serious?’ Then I introduced him to the offensive line coaches. He might be the most improved player I’ve ever coached. He gets better every day.”
TOUGH SCHEDULE
Akron Hoban, which lost to Massillon on Friday night, is 0-6. But the Knights have played a brutal schedule against Gonzaga (Washington D.C.), Benedictine, Boardman, Bishop Hartley, St. Vincent-St. Mary and Massillon. Those teams came into this week’s game with a combined 24-6 record.
TOUGHER SCHEDULE
Maybe no team in Northeast Ohio has had a tougher first-half schedule than Euclid, which got its first win of the season against Shaw. The Panthers’ first five opponents (Mentor, Brunswick, GlenOak, St. Vincent-St. Mary and Cleveland Heights) were a combined 25-0 in their first five games.
McKINLEY'S PLAYOFF CHANCES
McKinley’s loss to GlenOak need not be devastating. The Bulldogs came into that game in fifth place in Division I, Region 2. One feather in McKinley’s hat is Jackson’s win against Fitch. What the Pups need is for Huber Heights Wayne to win the rest of its games. The Warriors are 2-3 coming into this week’s games.
McKinley’s next three games are against Perry and Hoover on the road, and then the Pups have Boardman at home before playing Massillon at Fawcett Stadium. Winning all four could get McKinley a home playoff game. A loss and things will be iffy sneaking in.
GlenOak is in the driver’s seat. Jackson is making a strong push for the postseason, too. Stark County can get three teams in the playoffs from Region 2, but probably not four. Jackson, McKinley and Massillon most likely will have to scrap it out for two of the remaining three spots.
