Bees’ ride comes to end
No magic this time as Olentangy Liberty defeats Medina in playoffs
Will Mercurio, pictured earlier this season, had five catches for 40 yards in Medina’s season finale. Photo by BRUCE BILLOW
MANSFIELD – The hole was dug one too many times. Medina’s football team, escape artists all season, finally couldn’t pick the locks.
Ohio State recruit Brendon White racked up 165 yards of total offense and scored five touchdowns as Olentangy Liberty beat the Bees 45-27 in a Division I Region 2 semifinal Nov. 11 at Arlin Field.
“This team has been a come-from-behind, second-half team all year,” Bees coach Dan Sutherland said. “It was daunting, but we knew we had a shot because that’s what these kids do. For whatever reason they seem to play their best when they’re down, but tonight we kind of ran out of gas. We couldn’t contain (White). Credit to Liberty. We couldn’t get into sync offensively tonight.”
Liberty (12-0), which also got a 108-yard rushing night from fullback Matthew Webb and a four-touchdown passing game from sophomore quarterback Mitch Okuley, advanced to play Lorain for the regional championship.
Medina (9-3) got four touchdowns from senior running back Jimmy Daw. Daw did most of his damage split out wide as a receiver. The Bees never got their running game going. Daw finished with 19 yards on 10 carries and Medina ran for 69 yards in 24 attempts.
“It’s definitely strange, it’s definitely not cool when I can’t run the ball,” Daw said. “It’s football. We knew it was coming. We knew they would key on me. We prepared for it.”
Still, the Bees, who trailed 24-0 in the first half, rallied to within 24-14 and had a possession inside Liberty territory with a chance to get closer. Given the way the Bees rallied from the exact same deficit to beat Toledo Whitmer a week earlier, and came back from similar margins against Mentor and Solon during the regular season, they were feeling pretty good about themselves. That possession yielded nothing, though, other than three incomplete passes and a fourth-down run that fell well short. The Patriots then sandwiched two touchdowns around a Medina fumble over the next three minutes to resume control.
“The momentum was on our side,” Sutherland said. “I felt like we were starting to turn and get momentum. A score there makes it a 3-point game and it’s a whole different game. To not score there made it very difficult.”
The Patriots got back-to-back TD receptions from White to push the lead to 38-14, and by that time there was going to be no digging out.
The night nearly started perfectly for the Bees, who intercepted the Patriots on the third play from scrimmage. On Medina’s third snap, Alex Whittaker (17-of-37, 255 yards, 3 TDs) hit Dylan Fultz in stride for a would-be 53-yard touchdown pass, but the ball went straight through Fultz’s hands.
By the time the Bees came close to scoring again – on a 53-yard TD bomb, this time to Daw 1:25 before halftime – they trailed 24-0. Liberty was methodical on offense and unyielding on defense throughout the first half. Liberty’s next four possessions after the game-opening pick ended in points. The Patriots got three first-half touchdown passes from Okuley and a 40-yard AJ Smith field goal to account for their points.
The Patriots didn’t punt in the first two quarters. They lined up to do it once but Will Fowler ran 23 yards on a fake to keep alive what wound up an 86-yard drive.
Medina’s offense was largely dormant in the first two periods. Prior to Daw’s long TD reception just before halftime, the Bees had just 70 yards of offense. Daw had a net zero yards on five rushing attempts.
Liberty, on the other hand, steadily piled up yards, totaling 275 before halftime. The Patriots had drives of 82, 73 and 86 yards all end in touchdowns in the first two periods.
Ohio State recruit Brendon White racked up 165 yards of total offense and scored five touchdowns as Olentangy Liberty beat the Bees 45-27 in a Division I Region 2 semifinal Nov. 11 at Arlin Field.
“This team has been a come-from-behind, second-half team all year,” Bees coach Dan Sutherland said. “It was daunting, but we knew we had a shot because that’s what these kids do. For whatever reason they seem to play their best when they’re down, but tonight we kind of ran out of gas. We couldn’t contain (White). Credit to Liberty. We couldn’t get into sync offensively tonight.”
Liberty (12-0), which also got a 108-yard rushing night from fullback Matthew Webb and a four-touchdown passing game from sophomore quarterback Mitch Okuley, advanced to play Lorain for the regional championship.
Medina (9-3) got four touchdowns from senior running back Jimmy Daw. Daw did most of his damage split out wide as a receiver. The Bees never got their running game going. Daw finished with 19 yards on 10 carries and Medina ran for 69 yards in 24 attempts.
“It’s definitely strange, it’s definitely not cool when I can’t run the ball,” Daw said. “It’s football. We knew it was coming. We knew they would key on me. We prepared for it.”
Still, the Bees, who trailed 24-0 in the first half, rallied to within 24-14 and had a possession inside Liberty territory with a chance to get closer. Given the way the Bees rallied from the exact same deficit to beat Toledo Whitmer a week earlier, and came back from similar margins against Mentor and Solon during the regular season, they were feeling pretty good about themselves. That possession yielded nothing, though, other than three incomplete passes and a fourth-down run that fell well short. The Patriots then sandwiched two touchdowns around a Medina fumble over the next three minutes to resume control.
“The momentum was on our side,” Sutherland said. “I felt like we were starting to turn and get momentum. A score there makes it a 3-point game and it’s a whole different game. To not score there made it very difficult.”
The Patriots got back-to-back TD receptions from White to push the lead to 38-14, and by that time there was going to be no digging out.
The night nearly started perfectly for the Bees, who intercepted the Patriots on the third play from scrimmage. On Medina’s third snap, Alex Whittaker (17-of-37, 255 yards, 3 TDs) hit Dylan Fultz in stride for a would-be 53-yard touchdown pass, but the ball went straight through Fultz’s hands.
By the time the Bees came close to scoring again – on a 53-yard TD bomb, this time to Daw 1:25 before halftime – they trailed 24-0. Liberty was methodical on offense and unyielding on defense throughout the first half. Liberty’s next four possessions after the game-opening pick ended in points. The Patriots got three first-half touchdown passes from Okuley and a 40-yard AJ Smith field goal to account for their points.
The Patriots didn’t punt in the first two quarters. They lined up to do it once but Will Fowler ran 23 yards on a fake to keep alive what wound up an 86-yard drive.
Medina’s offense was largely dormant in the first two periods. Prior to Daw’s long TD reception just before halftime, the Bees had just 70 yards of offense. Daw had a net zero yards on five rushing attempts.
Liberty, on the other hand, steadily piled up yards, totaling 275 before halftime. The Patriots had drives of 82, 73 and 86 yards all end in touchdowns in the first two periods.