Despite a Late Surge from Nordonia, North Royalton Bears Hang on For First Home Win 28-18

By Gabby Ortiz

NORTH ROYALTON, OHIO– The North Royalton Bears captured their first home win of the season by defeating the Nordonia Knights 28-18 Friday night.

The Bears extend their winning streak to two games increasing their record to 5-4 in the Suburban League Standings.

The Bears did not score their first touchdown until the 3:43 mark in the first quarter. Both the Bears and Knights started the game off slow.

Nordonia struggled for most of the game, and never gained any type of rhythm on either side of the ball.

Nordonia had their first interception early in the first quarter, and would eventually lead to the Knights committing two fumbles, an interception, and a handful of penalties by the end of the game.

The Bears started off strong offensively, scoring two touchdowns by halftime by running back/linebacker Jake Franczak.

Franczak’s hot start led to the Bears finding their offensive rhythm, and allowed another running back to get in on the action.

Running back Zach Antonio finished with 157 rushing yards, while Franczak finished with 111 yards, and scoring each of the Bears four touchdowns.

Head Coach Nick Ciulli, thrilled with the Bears effort, and mostly impressed by Franczak and Antonio, stating that Franczak is having a great year, and is the heart and soul of the team.

“What a year this guy (Franczak) is having, he is the heart and soul of this team, both sides of the ball he just ran the ball hard, and Zach, tonight his speed was a lot for Nordonia to deal, and he had a great game also,” he said.

For Ciulli, finally being able to get a win at home was a big relief. He says the first few losses at home was not a good feeling going back into the locker room, and getting that first home win feels a lot better.

“Always when you are at home, it feels better because this is where you practice every day, this is where you do everything, and again it wasn’t a good feeling going back into the locker room when we had some losses here,” Ciulli said.

The Knights tried to gain momentum in the start of the third quarter by scoring a field goal, and scoring their first touchdown of the game late in the third quarter.

The Knights would go on to score another touchdown along with a two-point conversion to cut the Bears lead to 21-18 to end the game. The Knights are now 2-7 in the Suburban League Standings.

The Bears head into their last home game of the season when they face Cuyahoga Falls on Friday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. in North Royalton, while The Knights head to Twinsburg to take on Twinsburg High School.