Two haymakers aren’t enough to put the Mentor football team on the canvas.
Visiting Strongsville scored two touchdowns on the first five plays it ran in a key Greater Cleveland Conference game at Jerome T. Osborne Stadium on Oct. 3.
Were Kendrick Boddie’s two long touchdown runs in the first quarter enough to stagger the host Cardinals?
Not a chance.
Paced by its powerful offensive line, Mentor piled up 606 yards of offense — 393 of which came on the ground — and drilled the visiting Mustangs, 56-21, in a game between the top two teams in the GCC.
“We knew 14 would not be enough,” Mentor senior running back Jackson Farley said of his team’s early 14-7 deficit.
He didn’t lie. After the teams were knotted at 21-all in the second quarter, the Cardinals scored 34 unanswered points from there and won going away. The win improves Mentor’s record to 7-0 (4-0 GCC), while Strongsville fell to 5-2 (3-1 GCC).
“That’s what we do,” senior offensive lineman Landry Brede said of his team’s offensive dominance. “No one stops our run game. That’s just what we do. I love it.”
Only on this night, it wasn’t just the run. It was also Brogan Jones’ 200-plus yard passing night sprinkled in with a few runs when he pulled the ball and took it around end for big-gainers.
Coach Matt Gray said his team’s offense isn’t at its peak yet, but with a big offensive line with three FBS commits (Brede to North Carolina State, Jojo LoDuca to Navy and Colin Prichard to Kent State) and a stellar skill set behind them — well — the sky is the limit.
“Not its peak — evolving,” Gray said. “We’re taking what the defense gives us and executing at a high level.”
Strongsville matched punches with Mentor early on. After Boddie’s 55-yard run gave the Mustangs a 7-0 lead, Mentor answered with a one-yard run by Farley. After Boddie’s 65-yard run made it 14-7, the Cardinals countered with a short touchdown pass to Justen Hodge for a 14-14 score.
Mentor’s Carson Wolk makes a tackle Oct. 3 against Strongsville. (Tim Phillis – for The News-Herald)
Mentor took the lead for the first time on the first play of the second quarter via a 37-yard touchdown run. But again, Strongsville answered on Alex Espay’s score off a screen pass.
After Mentor took a 24-21 lead, Strongsville attempted a fake punt on fourth-and-20 in Mentor territory, but came up short. That allowed the Cardinals to kick another field goal for the 27-21 halftime lead.
The momentum had shifted for good.
“Going into halftime, I feel we had confidence because they were wearing down,” Farley said. “I saw the tiredness in their defense. We got together and said, ‘Let’s make them quit,’ and we finished them off.”
Another Farley touchdown run and two-point conversion pass made it 35-21. From there, backups Braylon Callahan and Dominic Burns combined for three touchdowns to polish off the lopsided victory.
“We’re going to open holes no matter who runs the ball,” Brede said. “We’re going to get them in the end zone.”
Not lost in the shuffle was the bounceback by Mentor’s defense in the second half. After giving up 21 points in the first half, the Cardinals pitched a shutout in the second half.
“You’ve got to recover from that and keep focused,” senior linebacker Carson Wolk said. “I got mad (with the early deficit). We had to come back.”
Mentor hosts Shaker Heights next week, followed by a road trip to Lorain in Week 9 and a home game against Euclid in Week 10. Strongsville had remaining games with Lorain, Shaker Heights and Brunswick.
After the game, Gray reminded his team not to get distracted by success and to keep working. Seven games does not a season make, he warned.
“People are going to throw haymakers at you,” he said. “But we’ve got to adjust to it and play four quarters.. I’m proud of you. I’m proud of the effort tonight.”
THE SCORE
Mentor 56, Strongsville 21