Long TD run burns Hoover Vikings
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Mike Popovich, Canton Repository
PARMA Chris Scott’s number finally was called midway through the fourth quarter Saturday night.
A state track qualifier in the 100 and 200 meters, the Brunswick running back needed just one handoff to help his high school football team sprint to the Division I final four.
Scott’s 88-yard touchdown run down the sideline helped lead the Blue Devils to a 24-17 win over Hoover in a regional final at Byers Field.
It gave Brunswick a two-touchdown lead shortly after the Vikings were a yard away from possibly tying the game.
It all happened in a flash.
“Once I get to the outside, that’s my territory,” Scott said. “Being one of the fastest kids in the state, no one can catch me if I get to the outside.”
Blocks from receivers Jordan Gribble and Ben Karaba gave Scott the running room to make what ultimately was the game-winning play. The touchdown increased Brunswick’s lead to 24-10.
“He was like our secret weapon out there,” Blue Devils quarterback Sean Bedevelsky said. “It’s just track speed. He took it from the sidelines right to the house. It was amazing.”
The Blue Devils were staring at a possible 17-17 tie a few minutes earlier.
Hoover drove to the Brunswick 1-yard line, but losses on the next two plays forced the Vikings to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the 10.
Jared Wackerly’s completion to Kevin Dahl in the end zone was ruled out of bounds.
It took the Blue Devils just two plays to get the ball in Scott’s hands on a sweep to the right and let him take off.
“Once that play broke off, you could just feel the spirits of everyone on the sideline releasing,” Scott said. “The energy gave me the stride to keep going, going and going.”
Scott was involved in another big play on special teams that led to a Brunswick touchdown in the first quarter. His recovery at the Hoover 21 after Ryan Pokorny’s blocked punt set up Bedevelsky’s TD pass to Garret Mack that gave the Blue Devils a 14-0 lead.
“That felt great,” Scott said of the block and recovery. “It gave our team a chance to score a big touchdown and help us have a great game. Me and Pokorny came in and came through for our team. We did what we had to do.”
Plays such as Scott’s long touchdown run, the punt block and Andrew Slimak’s 91-yard interception return for a touchdown earlier in the first quarter were the difference for the Blue Devils (13-0).
“That’s how you go undefeated and get to the final four,” Brunswick head coach Rich Nowak said. “You can’t always count on your offense. Whatever you got going, you need someone to make plays.”
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