The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
CARDS CELEBRATE
Cardinals gain first-place tie with Euclid, Solon in GCC after big win
Junior receiver-turned emergency quarterback Luke Floriea and his Mentor teammates knew a lot was riding on their Greater Cleveland Conference showdown at Euclid on Oct. 19.
Floriea and the Cardinals came through in high style, pulling away in the second half to a 29-7 victory over the Panthers at nifty. new Euclid Community Stadium.
With the hard-fought win in weather conditions that went from nasty to brutal and back again, the Cardinals improved to 7-1 overall and 5-1 in the GCC.
That’s good for a first-place tie with the Panthers (6-2, 5-1 GCC) and Solon with one week remaining in the regular season.
Mentor also locked up a home game in the first round of the Division I, Region 1 playoffs on Nov. 2.
“It felt really good to come out here and get a win,” Floriea said. “Euclid is very physical. a very good team. We prepared well and executed.”
Filling in for sophomore quarterback Ian Kipp, who
missed the last two games with a sprained shoulder, the 5-foot-10, 170-pound Floriea used his legs and arm to help propel the Cardinals.
Just over four minutes remained in the first quarter when Floriea broke the containment of Euclid’s rugged defense and raced 40 yards for a touchdown. The PAT gave the Cardinals a 9-0 lead.
The Cardinals had taken a 2-0 lead moments before when Euclid quarterback
Dion Valentine tripped while backpedaling into the end zone on an pass play and was touched down by a Mentor defender for the safety.
Late in the second quarter, a 24-yard run by Floriea set up a 7-yard TD run by junior running back Varney Spansel.
Spansel got the bulk of the work in the backfield in place of junior Brian Trobel, who was limited because of an ankle injury.
“I was really proud of the way Luke, Varney and all of our guys stepped up tonight,” Mentor coach Steve Trivisonno said. “We played well on both sides
of the ball and did what we needed to do.”
After a scoreless third quarter, Mentor pounced on a loose ball deep in Euclid territory when a punt ricocheted off a Panthers player.
Floriea ran for four yards after the recovery and then threw an 8-yard TD pass to junior wide receiver Justin Luke. The PAT extended Mentor’s lead to 23-7.
On the ensuing Euclid possession, Mentor junior defensive back Marco Toth picked off a pass thrown by Valentine for his second interception of the night.
The Cardinals turned the turnover into points on a 3-yard TD run by Spansel
that extended the lead to 29-7.
Mentor’s defense made major contributions to the victory, from the two picks by Toth to a series of dominating plays by senior defensive end and Ohio State recruit Noah Potter.
Euclid’s defense had its moments, too, many of them authored by standout senior linebackers Sean Jackson Jr. and Chris Parker.
But the Panthers could not overcome a rash of penalties and mental mistakes.
“We had a few shots to make plays, but the mistakes killed us,” Euclid coach Jeff Rotsky said.