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An early lead held up well for the Korah Colts in senior high school football as week three action kicked off on Thursday nights.
The Colts held a 14-point lead through one quarter in what turned into a 35-13 win over the Superior Heights Steelhawks Thursday at Superior Heights.
In a game where they opened up a 32-0 lead by halftime, Colts coach Tom Annett said the defensive play of his team was something that pleased him in the victory.
“Our front seven did a really good job,” Annett said. “(Superior Heights) has an athletic quarterback who can run and our defensive staff had a really good gameplan and our D-line and linebackers did a really good job defending a dual-threat QB.”
A solid start to the game, which saw his team bounce back after an early touchdown was called back due to a penalty, was also something that Annett was pleased with in the win.
“Our guys are really good at not letting any adversity or a call or something distract them,” Annett said. “That’s part of our culture. For some people, that gets in their head. Our guys are pretty programmed now. Our saying is ‘So what? Next play’. And we lock them in.”
“We’re proud of the start and nothing really fazed us or rattled us,” Annett added.
Annett added that bouncing back in a situation like that is something that has come with practice.
“It’s calling it out when they don’t do it and we’re at a point now where we say we’re a player-led team,” Annett said. “We don’t even have to say it. If someone starts overreacting or complaining or blaming, our veterans immediately get on them. The cliché word is culture that gets thrown out a lot, but that is our culture.”
After having a touchdown catch by Ty Koski negated by a penalty, the Colts rebounded and scored on the first play from scrimmage afterward as Ethan Carchidi ran the ball in from 47 yards out for the major. The convert by Koski made it 7-0 Korah.
Nathan Guizzetti extended the Colts lead on a 50-yard touchdown run with 90 seconds to go in the opening quarter. The convert from Koski made it 14-0 Colts.
Just over a minute into the second quarter, Nathan Higham ran the ball in for a 53-yard touchdown for the Colts. Koski’s convert made it 21-0 Korah.
Midway through the quarter, Korah quarterback Erik Martone hit Mitchell Kommusaar for a 12-yard touchdown, making it a 28-0 game after the convert from Koski.
A 19-yard field goal from Koski with 1:54 to go in the second quarter made it 31-0 Korah.
Korah picked up a single point on a missed field goal as time expired in the half to take a 32-0 lead after two quarters.
As the third quarter progressed to the midway point, Koski hit a 15-yard field goal to make it 35-0 Colts.
Superior Heights got on the board in the fourth quarter when quarterback Daikaden Gauthier ran the ball in for a touchdown from a yard out. The convert from Chase Meyer made it a 35-7 game.
The Steelhawks capped off the scoring as time expired in the game when Gauthier hit Jacob Nelson for a 16-yard touchdown pass to end the game.
Offensively for the Colts, Guizzetti had 90 yards rushing on four carries for the Colts, who move to 3-0 with the win.
Evan Novello had 3.5 tackles and an interception defensively for Korah while Logan McGregor added three tackles.
Kaelen Cuglietta had 126 yards rushing for Superior Heights on 11 carries in the loss while Michael Weise had three tackles defensively.
Superior Heights falls to 1-2 with the loss.
In Thursday’s junior game, Korah picked up a 35-14 win over the Steelhawks to improve to 3-0 on the season.
After a scoreless opening quarter, the Colts got on the board first as A.J. Coccimiglio ran the ball in from 55 yards out and proceeded to kick the extra point to give Korah a 7-0 lead.
Korah made it a 14-0 game later in the quarter when quarterback Zane Murdoch hit Gevin Grisdale for a 56-yard touchdown. Coccimiglio hit the convert on the play.
Peyton Melchiorre extended the lead for the Colts with a 19-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter. The convert from Coccimiglio made it a 21-0 game.
Late in the quarter, Coccimiglio picked up his second touchdown of the day on a 22-yard touchdown run with the convert to make it 28-0.
Superior Heights got on the board in the fourth quarter when Ben Trevisanut ran the ball in from three yards out. The convert from Dylan Wooton made it 28-7 Korah.
Late in the game, the Steelhawks made it a two-score game when quarterback Chase Cerasuolo ran the ball in from two yards out. The convert by Wooton made it 28-14.
Murdoch threw his second touchdown pass of the day for the Colts with just over a minute to go as he hit Charlie McMaster for a 26-yard major. The convert by Coccimiglio gave Korah a 35-14 lead.
Offensively for Korah, Coccimiglio had 124 yards rushing on seven carries.
Koen Manchulenko had 10 tackles defensively for the Colts while Aiden Wonch had seven in the win.
Trevisanut finished the day with 89 yards rushing on 30 carries.
Defensively for Superior Heights, Lucas Cruickshank had seven tackles while Maxx Clement added four.
The loss drops the Steelhawks record to 1-2.
The week three schedule continues on Friday night as St. Mary’s faces White Pines. Kickoff for the junior game is 4:45 p.m. while the senior game starts at 7:30 p.m. at Superior Heights
Week four’s schedule sees Superior Heights take on St. Mary’s on Thursday night with Korah facing White Pines on Friday.