Page 4: Sports

Huskies snap skid with Homecoming victory

BY D.J. WATSON (Harrison News-Herald Sports Writer)

CADIZ—Last week was a big week for the Harrison Central Huskies. Homecoming Week has always brought with it all the extra activities, celebrations, parades, and so on. But there was simply more to it this year. The Huskies came into kickoff having dropped five in a row, desperately needing a victory to lift up a locker room that has been dealt multiple blows of adversity through the first seven weeks of the season.

No Trevor Carman, no Cabot Arbaugh, now no Jonathan Vermillion — no problem! The three two-way standouts roamed the sidelines cheering and coaching up their teammates, as the Huskies (3-5) turned the visiting Edison Wildcats into a one-dimensional team en route to a 27-17 streak-snapping triumph.

“This was a big win for our players and coaches. It has been a year full of unfortunate injuries, COVID concerns, etc. We lost another guy tonight. We have lost at least one starter every week for six straight weeks. So for our young guys and our remaining older guys to come out and battle every week no matter the outcome, that speaks volumes to their commitment to the program and to one another,” a relieved head coach Anthony Hayes stated following the game.

Hayes and his Huskies have been through the grinder. After starting the season 2-0, a series of setbacks have undoubtedly worked against his squad the past number of weeks. Last Friday night, however, all the remaining cylinders seemed to fire in unison.

The Wildcats took the initial lead on a 32-yard Mason Montgomery field goal with 4:22 remaining on the first-quarter clock. The Huskies’ defense had been tested early, and a field goal stand was a positive building block in the right direction.

Harrison would answer with just 45 seconds remaining in the opening frame. Nathan Bertolino, who has been playing dinged up for most of the year himself, busted through the Wildcat defense for a 28-yard touchdown run to put the Huskies in front. In a rare occurrence, the HC extra point attempt sailed wide, so the quarter would end with a 6-3 Harrison advantage.

The first half would see four lead changes, with an exchange of two second-quarter scores. Edison’s Gage Cline put the Wildcats back in front with a 19-yard touchdown toss with 7:54 to go in the second. Montgomery added the PAT to give the visitors a 10-6 short-lived lead. Less than three minutes later, Harrison’s sophomore quarterback Hayden Cassidy and freshman wideout Cameron Mcafee connected a 27-yard pitch and catch. This time around, Jace Madzia’s extra point was on par, and the Huskies would ride out the 13-10 edge into the halftime intermission.

For the first time since Week 1, the Huskies would enjoy the luxury of playing with a two-possession lead, even if it didn’t last very long. Nearly midway through the third quarter, emerging playmaker Tre Rex hauled in a 35- yard scoring strike from Cassidy to put the Huskies up 20-10. The Wildcats responded two and a half minutes later, punching one in on the ground from 10 yards out to cut the advantage to 20-17. That Wildcat touchdown came with 5:02 on the third-quarter clock, and the visitors would have offensive possession back by quarter’s end, threatening to retake the lead.

“We know that each week we will have a dogfight. Edison is a good football team who came in at 5-2. They were big up front. They have a QB who is 6’6; he can run, and he has a big-time arm. They presented a lot of potential problems for us, but our kids rose up to the challenge,” Hayes remarked.

Rose up indeed. To open up the fourth, the Huskies would have to keep Edison from the pylons, and that wouldn’t be an easy task as the Wildcats were deep in the red zone at the Harrison 10-yard line. What ensued was a defensive stand that forced another Wildcat field goal attempt. Edison’s Montgomery had already proven earlier in the contest he could boot it, so as the snap-and-hold exchange went off without issue, the packed stadium looked on with anticipation of a tied-up ballgame. While the snap and hold were true to form, the kick hit the left upright and fell to the turf. The Harrison defense stood strong; now, the offense had to finish the fight.

With the Wildcats on the ropes, the series of final blows came with under four minutes remaining, as Cassidy scrambled for an 18-yard touchdown run and Mcafee picked off Cline on the possession that followed that.

Hidden in all of the scoring was a valiant effort out of Harrison punter-kicker Jace Madzia. He routinely managed favorable field position for his team, including a big call in the second half when he drew a roughing the kicker penalty. Hayes didn’t fail to realize it.

“Another key for us tonight was more strong kicking from Jace [Madzia]. He got us out of some bad positions with his leg. He stayed in there tough tonight with pressure in his face,” Hayes said of Madzia.

“I’m just proud of our kids. I know that sounds like a pretty general and simple statement, but the depth of it is greater than most could realize. This is a close group of kids playing their guts out for one another. They know how special it is to wear that HC on their helmet, and they respect that. We have another big one coming next week,” the coach continued.

Harrison now holds a commanding 12-1 lead in the all-time series with Edison, winning the last eight games against the Wildcats.

Indian Creek and Buckeye Local close out the 2021 schedule. The Huskies currently sit in 16th of the Ohio Division V Region 17 playoff rankings. For the first year ever, the OHSAA will advance the top 16 teams in each region to the playoffs.

Huskies varsity boys soccer gets 2nd clean sheet

BY JULIE MARSHALL (Harrison News-Herald Sports Writer)

It was a chilly, rainy evening when the Harrison Central varsity boys soccer team trekked to Magnolia for a match with the Sandy Valley Cardinals on Thursday, Oct. 7. The game was scoreless until 19 minutes left in the second half when junior Jace Madzia’s corner kick went soaring towards the bunched up players in front of the Cardinal’s goal. Junior Kayden Jurosko trapped and passed the ball to sophomore Dean Forrester who planted it in the net for a Husky goal. Although this contest was chock full of Husky shots on goal, the only one to score gave the Huskies the victory 1-0. Sophomore goalkeeper Jaydis Yoho contributed by nabbing two saves for the Huskies. Head Coach Derek Gramling shook his head while commenting: “We had so many shots that didn’t go in! We kept shooting and shooting and shooting. It gave us another win on the road and our second clean sheet of the season.”

Then on Tuesday, Oct. 12, the Huskies traveled to Beaver Valley Local to rival the Beavers. The Huskies’ huddle cry was not their typical “1, 2, 3 Huskies” Tuesday night but instead “1, 2, 3 Tyler” for one of their teammates that had been injured in a car accident and was still at the hospital.

From the whistle, the Beavers were hungry to score and score, and they did just that 1 minute and 13 seconds into the game. Although Gramling questioned the goal due to the Beavers’ being offsides at the time of the pass, it counted, and the Huskies had to shake it off and get their game face on; the battle would prove to be intense. Beaver Local scored again with 24 minutes remaining in the first half to raise the score 2-0.

Eighteen minutes into the second half, the Huskies senior captain Ben Puskarich stole the ball and broke away from the Beavers for the goal that put the Huskies on the board 2-1. Moments later, the Beavers answered back with a shot that hit the left post and popped into the goal to make the score 3-1. With 19 minutes left, the Beavers’ corner kick and header netted them another goal, and it was 4-1. The Huskies fought back with two Madzia shots that were thwarted by the Beavers. The Beavers scored their final goal with 6 minutes left for a 5-1 tally.

The game was riddled with penalties by the Beavers — 14 to be exact, and only one by the Huskies. Yoho had a good night in goal with 9 saves. Gramling stated, “We played well holding them to only 2 goals until midway into the second half. Our big Achilles heel tonight was that we got tired.” He continued, “Kaden Jurosko had the game of his life tonight and played like 3 guys. Our defense held the line really well to keep their players offsides. We played hard and got out with no injuries.” The Huskies will go into the playoffs next week healthy and eager for a win. They will play Tri- Valley at home on Monday, Oct. 18 at 6:30 p.m.

Lady Huskies soccer holds on for win over Coshocton

BY SHARON DALTON (Harrison News-Herald Sports Writer)

The Lady Huskies soccer team headed to Coshocton determined to finish the regular season with a victory. The Husky offense came out making great passes, and freshman Lily Gibbons scored the contest’s first goal ten minutes in. The first half was a hard-fought battle for both teams. Coshocton would advance downfield, but the Husky defenders, Rebecca Downs, Isabel Yeager, and Maggie Goudy, would hold back the charge. However, with seven minutes left in the first half, the Redskins scored off a corner kick and made the halftime score 1-1.

The Harrison Central offense continued showing excellent ball movement during the second half and controlled possession of the ball for most of the half. After being fouled six minutes into the half, Angie Ferri scored on a penalty kick to give the Huskies a 2-1 lead. Katherine Shearer recorded fifteen saves on the night, helping the Huskies to hold on for a 2-1 victory.

The Coshocton game concludes the Harrison season, and the Huskies finished the regular season 7-8-1. The next contest for the Huskies will be a sectional tournament game at West Holmes on Oct. 20 at 6:30 p.m.

HC Volleyball catches fire, defeats Martins Ferry

BY SHARON DALTON (Harrison News-Herald Sports Writer)

The Lady Huskies were on fire as they took on the Purple Riders of Martins Ferry on Thursday, Oct. 7 at Harrison Central. After a difficult 26-24 first-set victory, they would continue on claiming the final two sets with scores of 25- 17 and 25-10. Logan Johnson led the Huskies with 23 assists, and Maddy Butler contributed 21 digs and 17 points. McKayla Dunkle showed senior leadership with 18 kills and 5 blocks.

The JV Huskies won their match, with scores of 25-13, 12-25, and 25-21. The Lady Husky volleyball team returned to action on Monday, Oct. 11 in East Liverpool. The Potters would take all three sets: 25-12, 25-7, and 25-12. McKayla Dunkle led with 10 kills and 4 blocks. Logan Johnson contributed 16 assists and 4 points. Maddy Butler had 12 digs.

The JV team lost in straight sets: 25-8 and 25-12.

Homecoming King and Queen announced

The Harrison Central Homecoming queen candidates pose for a picture during halftime ceremonies. Pictured from left to right: Kenzi Bailey, Tristen Kovarik, 2021 Homecoming Queen McKayla Dunkle, Sarah Touville, and Kasey Novak. Nathan Bertolino was named the Homecoming King.