ORRVILLE — The third quarter of Friday night’s Danville-Cuyahoga Heights Division VII state semifinal football game was the regulation 12 minutes.
It just seemed like an eternity to the Blue Devils and their fans.
The Redskins scored three times in the period to break open a 17-8 halftime lead en route to a 38-8 victory. The loss ended Danville’s season at 12-2, the second time in three years the Blue Devils finished in the state’s final four.
Cuyahoga Heights (12-1), which lost in the Division VI state finals last year, will face Minster (10-4) in the state title game next weekend in Canton. The Wildcats shocked top-ranked and previously unbeaten Norwalk St. Paul 40-7 at Lima on Friday night in the other state semifinal.
“Our defense was out there a long time in the third quarter. That was our downfall,” veteran Danville coach Ed Honabarger said. “We have a lot of kids going both ways. They were sitting out there trying to get off blocks, make tackles and stop a 230-pound fullback, while little backs are squirting through everywhere.
“It’s tough. Our kids kept fighting and trying to make something happen.”
POUNDING THE ROCK: Cuyahoga Heights, which trailed Danville 8-7 after the first quarter, decided to get back to basics in the third quarter. The Redskins’ bigger offensive line outmuscled the Blue Devils front as senior fullback Lucas D’Orazio gained 107 yards on 13 carries during the period, finishing the game with 145 yards on 24 attempts.
The Redskins ran 23 offensive plays during the quarter, compared to just five for the Blue Devils, scoring on drives of 49 yards, 83 yards and 7 yards.
“The first score in the third quarter was really important for us,” said Cuyahoga Heights coach Al Martin, now 204-48 in his 21st season leading the Redskins. “Lucas had a good run late in the second quarter (that led to a late field goal) and we just decided to go with him more in the second half.”
Hongabarger admitted the quarter was one of the toughest he has seen.
“Their size took over on us. They started pounding the big boy. Their quarterback (senior Ryan Polk) does a nice job of reading (the defense) and he followed the fullback through the hole several times. That’s a hard team to stop. They have the horses up front and the skill kids to go with it.
“We did our best. That’s a great team. Our kids just got worn down. They got big bodies … their 6-3, 6-4 kids blocking our 5-10 kids, sort of smothering us and making it hard to get off the blocks.”
Polk finished with 136 yards on 15 carries and three TDs on runs of 70, one and one yards. He also threw a 4-yard TD pass to senior Dylan Drummond, the star wide receiver who also kicked a 27-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.
“We graduated a lot of really good players from last year,” Martin said, “especially om defense. We have not played as well defensively this season. But tonight, against a really good offense, I think our kids took a big step in the right direction.
“(Danville) is very difficult to stop. They go five-wide and they have a quarterback (senior Skyler Durbin) who can run, so it’s really hard to prepare for them. I thought our kids hung in there we tried to mix up our coverages a little bit because he is really talented,” Martin said.
“Offensively, we have been on kind of a roll lately (averaging 41 points per game in four playoff wins) and you never know when that is going to end. So you have to play good defense and good special teams and tonight I thought we did well on both.”
FAREWELL TO NINE SENIORS: It was the final game for nine Blue Devil seniors, including Durbin, who completed 12-of-21 passes for 124 yards and also rushed for 70 yards on 16 carries. Durbin tossed a 4-yard TD pass to senior Tyler Mickley and added a two-point conversion pass to junior Christopher Greenawalt when Danville took its 8-7 lead in the first quarter.
“They came to work ever since the off-season, two-a-days and into the season,” Hongabarger said of his seniors. “They all have a good work ethic and that trickled down to the younger kids.
“We battled through some injuries. Not too many people gave us a chance to be in the state final four this season. I don’t think anyone thinks they will make it that far. But they came together and you see the results … 12-2 … not too shabby.”
Honabarger is now 126-46 in his 14th season at Danville.
