Antonio Leads North Royalton To Emphatic Victory Over Parma, 40-8

PARMA, Ohio- In case you were wondering, the North Royalton Bears did not forget about their second-half collapse last season against the Parma Redmen. Instead, they used it as fuel to run past the Redmen by a final score of 40-8.

North Royalton was able to start strong, as running back Zach Antonio burst through all three waves of defenders for a 40-yard touchdown run with 8:47 left in the first quarter. The touchdown run came a few plays after an Antonio rushing touchdown came back after a holding penalty.

The Bears would quickly triple that lead by the early stages of the second quarter. Quarterback Joe Marousek would slice the Redmen defense and connect with Senior Miles Strnad off a slant route for a 34-yard touchdown that would see Strnad get off to the races for six points. It wasn’t long until Jake Franczak found himself crossing the pylon for a six-yard touchdown, making it 21-0 in favor of North Royalton early in the second quarter.

The Bears would extend their lead to 24-0 after a boot by Dominic Palko split the uprights as the first half expired.

A safety credited to Jake Franczak would get North Royalton the ball back very quickly into the second half after a bad snap sailed out of the end zone. On the ensuing free kick, Zach Antonio took the free kick 61 yards to the house to push the score to 33-0 in the 3rd quarter.

“I wasn’t planning on getting the ball,” Antonio stated. “My teammate Eddie, the one next to me, said ‘Alright, dude, I want to house this so bad’. The kick came right next to me and it rolled and I wanted Eddie to get it but I picked it up and I just ran on it. I saw the one guy come down and I just bounced it outside and that was it.”

Antonio finished with 163 all-purpose yards, adding a rushing touchdown and a kick return touchdown.

When asked about this game being circled on the calendar, Antonio had this to say.

“Yeah, it was for sure. We were all hyped all week about it. Our coaches were pounding it into our head what they did to us last year. We really had to give it to them this game.”

Justin Yates led an efficient drive that finished with eight points after a passing touchdown to Dylan Herb and two-point conversion to Nathan King, getting Parma on the board in the fourth quarter. Shortly after, Matthew Griffie scampers 56 yards for a rushing touchdown to make it a 40-8 North Royalton lead over the Redmen which would end up being the final score.

“Well, there’s no doubt we were talking about it all week,” stated North Royalton’s Head Coach Nick Ciulli when talking about the importance of tonight’s game. “It came up quite a few times that we let it slip away last year and it was our fault.”

North Royalton meets Highland at home next week and Parma will be playing host to John Marshall.

 

Player Of The Game: Zach Antonio

With 163 all-purpose yards, a rushing touchdown and kickoff return brought back for a touchdown, there’s no questioning Antonio’s placement as Player Of The Game. He gave the North Royalton offense a jolt of energy and was exciting to watch tonight.