Wickliffe Moves to 7-1, Beats Fairport 46-14

WICKLIFFE, Ohio – The Blue Devils score 46 unanswered points in the first half to beat the Skippers of Fairport Harbor 46-14 in this matchup of CVC Valley Division opponents on Friday night.  Week 8 meant Homecoming for Wickliffe who were looking to rebound and make a statement in the conference race after a tough loss to Cuyahoga Heights last week.

Similarly, the visiting Skippers were also looking to bounce back after a tough loss at home to Kirtland in week 7 to build momentum in the final weeks of the season.

Fairport looked strong early and were able to make the first statement of the game as RB Rayshawn Alston jump cut through a hole on the left side and sprinted down the sideline for 62 yards to the endzone only 2 minutes into the ball game.

Even after a failed 2-point conversion, the Skippers found themselves leading 6-0 and holding the early momentum they were searching to obtain.

However, Wickliffe would quickly swing the momentum in their favor as RB Chase Fortkamp would help the Blue Devils begin a streak of scoring on seven straight possessions.

After seeing their running attack stymied up the middle by a strong front seven for Fairport, Fortkamp found daylight to the outside and would saunter 26 yards for his 1st of 3 touchdowns on the night to make the score 7-6.

Wickliffe’s defense would force a quick three and out by Fairport and capitalized on their very next snap from scrimmage.

Led once again by his offensive line, Fortkamp would provide a replay of his first touchdown from further out this time by running untouched for 54 yards to the house making the score 14-6 as the clock ticked under 4 minutes to play in the first quarter.

RB Isaac Pettway would then close out the first quarter in a similar fashion with 72-yard rushing touchdown of his own making it the third straight snap for the Blue Devils that went for a touchdown.

Backup QB and kick holder Evan Rypinski would toss to RB Jaylen Bowers for the 2-point conversion giving Wickliffe a 22-6 lead heading to the 2nd quarter.

As the rain started to pour down at Wickliffe Memorial Stadium, the Blue Devils would continue to add to their lead.

QB Brad Dieterich would throw a 46-yard touchdown up the seam to Bowers, while Fortkamp and Pettway would add two more rushing touchdowns from 40 and 36 yards out respectively.

Dieterich, who also kicks and punts for the Blue Devils, would add a 27-yard field goal at the halftime buzzer and Wickliffe led 46-6 heading into the locker room.

The second half was mainly a defensive battle under running clock stipulations, but Fairport would keep fighting to get themselves back in the ballgame.

Alston would get his 2nd long touchdown of the night with a 65-yard jaunt to the endzone and QB Sam Schuster would throw the 2-point conversion play to RB Tobin Schafer to close out the scoring for the game and make the score 46-14.

Wickliffe was able to gain over 400 yards of offense on the night with 350 of those yards coming on the ground.

Fortkamp and Pettway led the rushing attack for the Blue Devils by each gaining 131 yards and Dieterich completed 2 of 3 passes on the night which included that 46-yard strike to Bowers in the first half.

Rayshawn Alston was able to run for 158 yards on 14 carries becoming the first player in the last six seasons for Fairport to eclipse 1000 yards rushing for a season.

Next Up:

Wickliffe (7-1, 4-1) will travel to Berkshire on Friday night for a matchup with the Badgers at 7pm, while Fairport (3-5, 1-4) remains on the road as they venture to Cuyahoga Heights for 7pm game on Friday night as well.

Player of the Game: RB Chase Fortkamp

Wickliffe scored 5 of their 6 touchdowns in the game by way of their rushing attack. Fortkamp would score 3 of those rushing touchdowns on his first 3 carries of the ballgame. Fortkamp would eventually carry the ball 6 times for 131 yards and 3 touchdowns all in the first half.

Article by Kevan Arnold