Green stuns Lake in overtime thriller to secure playoff spot

The Blue Streaks were already assured of a berth in the OHSAA playoffs. Crosstown rival Green, however, was not — and perhaps that was the difference in a battle that went to overtime.

Lake visited Federal League rival Green Oct. 24 to wrap up the regular season, and the Bulldogs, who had been walking a tightrope this past month, pulled out a 34-27 OT victory to sneak into the Division II, Region 5 playoffs as the No. 11 seed.

Four weeks ago, Green sat at 1-5, but three consecutive wins propelled the Bulldogs to the doorstep of the playoffs. Tyson Hunka’s 1-yard quarterback keeper for the go-ahead touchdown in overtime against Lake opened the door for the Bulldogs (5-5, 3-3) and pushed them over the threshold.

On its overtime possession, the Blue Streaks advanced to the 5-yard line. However, Alex Quior’s short fourth-down pass was well-defended by Green’s secondary, which managed to keep Ty DeGeorge from reaching the end zone.

While no one wants to end the season on a loss, Lake (7-3, 3-3) earned a nice consolation prize. The Blue Streaks remain the fourth seed in Division II, Region 5, meaning they will receive a first-round bye and host the winner of the Hudson-Willoughby South game. That will give DeGeorge — who returned to action after breaking his ankle in early September — an extra week to round into form.

After JP Moorhead’s first-quarter field goal opened the scoring, Lake surged to a 17-7 second-quarter lead on the strength of rushing touchdowns from Davis Matson and Quior. Green responded with a field goal just 19 seconds before halftime and tacked on 10 more points in the third to take a 20-17 lead.

Matson scored his second touchdown of the game as the quarter wound down to put the Blue Streaks back on top, 24-20. The Bulldogs’ Evan Reed answered with a 5-yard TD run to hand the lead back to Green. With 4:24 remaining in the contest, Moorhead tied the game with his second field goal — this one from 20 yards — to send it into overtime.

Matson ran the ball 26 times for 100 yards and two scores. Quior, who was 8-of-14 for 99 yards and an interception through the air, added 82 yards rushing and a touchdown on only eight carries. Zach Novak was Quior’s primary target, hauling in four passes for 81 yards.

Cross country 

By virtue of both teams placing ninth at districts, the Blue Streaks competed at the Division II, Region 4 meet hosted by Youngstown Boardman Oct. 25. The season ended at regionals as the Blue Streaks could not break into the top 10 on either the boys’ or girls’ side.

For the boys, Lake placed 28th with 655 points and was led by Brycen Vensel’s 80th-place finish in 17:23.21. Other point scorers were Nolan Brasko (108th), Mason DeBois (148th), Brady Norcia (153rd), and Julian Booth (209th).

On the girls’ side, the Blue Streaks also placed 28th. Heidi Hart led Lake, finishing 99th in 20:57.62, followed by Ava Volpe (130th), Madeline Utz (137th), Ella Sainato (192nd), and Lillian Corcoran (202nd).

Volleyball 

Fresh off its sweep of Medina Buckeye in a Division III Northeast 4 District Sectional final, Lake traveled to Parma Padua Franciscan High School Oct. 21 for a district semifinal match against eighth-seeded Aurora. The Blue Streaks put up a fight over the first two sets, but the Greenmen proved too strong, taking the match 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-13) and ending Lake’s season at 12-10.

Girls soccer 

The No. 16-seeded Blue Streaks traveled to Twinsburg Oct. 21 to face the fourth-seeded Tigers in a Division II Northeast 1 District semifinal, falling 4-0. Twinsburg went on to defeat North Ridgeville to claim the district title. Lake finished its season with a 12-7 record.