Holy Name Rides 2nd Half Wave to Defeat Lutheran West

Photo by Brandon Marvel

North Royalton, OH –

After convincing wins last week by both Lutheran West and Holy Name, they came together on Friday night. The matchup was a Regional Quarterfinal game with Holy Name as the 1 seed, and Lutheran West as the 8 seed. Both teams have built a tough defense throughout their respective seasons. Friday night’s matchup was set-up to be a low-scoring affair.

Lutheran West Controls 1^st Half

The first quarter of the game was very defensive minded. Both Holy Name and Lutheran West were not gaining much ground on the offensive end. Holy Name led a drive that ended with a botched field goal attempt. This play seemed to give Lutheran West momentum. The Longhorns took the ensuing drive 77 yards on 14 plays. The drive was led by a 32-yard run by Sophomore running back JaMarrion Banks. Junior quarterback Jalany Theodore finished the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run. Lutheran West continued to trust the running game like they did last week.

In their final drive of the half, they set up Junior kicker Bryce Groppe with a 31-yard field goal. Groppe drilled the kick sending Lutheran West into halftime with a 10-0 lead. In the first half alone, Lutheran West picked up 132 rushing yards. Meanwhile, their defense held an explosive Holy Name offense to just 43 total yards.

Holy Name Responds in the 2^nd Half

Heading into the 3^rd Quarter, Holy Name was looking to avoid being upset by the 8^th seed Longhorns. Their offense continued to be stalled by the Lutheran West defense by going 3-and-out to open the half. However, their defense came to play. On Lutheran West’s first possession of the half, the Green Wave defense forced a turnover on downs. On the next Holy Name drive, Senior running back Kriztion Sanchez popped off a 41-yard run. This is when all the momentum shifted back to Holy Name. Senior running back Austin Wondolowski finished the drive with a 1-yard score. With a missed extra point, this cut Lutheran West’s lead to just 4.

Holy Name Defense Dominates

Early in the next Lutheran West possession, Holy Name forced a fumble and recovered. This set them up inside Longhorn territory looking to take the lead. A big run from Senior quarterback Javyon Williams set up the Green Wave drive. On a 4^th and Goal play, Williams threw a play-action pass to Junior wide receiver Andrew Cole wide open in the endzone. Holy Name did not let their foot off the gas. On 2 of the last 3 Lutheran West drives, Holy Name forced a turnover on downs. Their defense continued to set their offense up for success. Their offense, led by the running game, executed and closed out the game. Austin Wondolowski would put the final scoring on the board for Holy Name with another 1-yard touchdown in the 4^th quarter.

The 2^nd half was a complete reversal of fortune for both teams. After struggling to get anything going in the first half, Holy Name rushed for 155 yards in the 2^nd half. As for Lutheran West, after starting the game strong, they could only muster 40 total yards in the 2^nd half. Holy Name came out on top in the end by a final score of 20-10.

Next Week

With Holy Name moving on, they will face Mansfield Senior High School next Friday night. Mansfield is coming off a 16-0 victory over Defiance. The game will be played at a neutral site that is to be decided. This matchup will be the Division 3 Region 10 Semifinals.