Columbiana gets better of Bulldogs
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COLUMBIANA -- With playoff implications surrounding Friday's game, rivals Columbiana and East Palestine not only battled each other, but the weather as well at Firestone Park.
And after 48 minutes, the Clippers, who fell behind early, emerged the victors, beating the Bulldogs 31-12 behind 31 unanswered points to end the game.
"I give East Palestine a lot of credit," Columbiana head coach Bob Spaite said. "They came out, made a couple plays, put us in a hole. We did not respond very well initially, but to their credit ... the coaching staff did a great job at halftime. The seniors did a great job at halftime. Facing a little adversity, and coming back and doing that [is great]."
The rain, which lightened up at various points in the night but never ceased for more than a few minutes, made an impact on the first drive of Friday's contest.
Due to the weather, the Clippers struggled with their snaps to open the game, and although they made it into the red zone, another fumble proved costly, and East Palestine recovered to take over on their own 14-yard line.
Not long after beginning their first drive, the Bulldogs' offense stalled and, as a result, faced third-and-9.
Despite troubles later completing passes amid the rain, Clark Rutledge dropped back to pass and found Calvin Hoffer, who took it the rest of the way for a 67-yard touchdown.
Following another Columbiana possession in which problems handling the ball plagued the Clippers, East Palestine again went to the air, with Rutledge completing a pass to Braydon Plum for 28 yards. The drive, however, ended in a booming punt into the end zone for a touchback.
On their next drive, which began with just 0.1 seconds remaining in the first quarter, the Bulldogs took a delay of game before RJ May broke off a 53-yard run down the EP sideline for another touchdown. The score gave the Bulldogs a 12-0 lead at the end of the opening period.
It took little time at all for the Clippers to respond, though, as Jensen Nordquist took a sweep handoff to the right and raced to the end zone for a 67-yard rushing touchdown just moments into the second quarter. Geoffrey Malcomson's successful extra point made it a 12-7 game.
Columbiana picked up where it left off when it got back on offense, which leaned on Danny Mangiarelli and Deven Brode as it drove back deep into East Palestine territory. Once the drive stalled, though, the Clippers turned to Malcomson, who converted a 30-yard field goal to pull within a pair of points a little less than halfway through the second quarter.
Tensions nearly boiled over later in the period, when Mangiarelli was hit hard while trying to catch a pass. The initial hit led to a pair of personal fouls on Columbiana and a separate unsportsmanlike conduct on East Palestine, backing up the Clippers and effectively ending their drive.
East Palestine began the second half with a brief respite from the rain, although it picked up again just as the Bulldogs dropped a would-be first down pass, which marked a third straight incompletion on the drive.
"I think we left a couple things out there in the first half that I think were significant," East Palestine coach Rick Shepas said. "And then when we started the second half, I thought it was really important that we come out in the second half and score. And that, I think, would have made it a little bit more interesting. From where we started, field position-wise in the second half, that would have been a nice long drive for us. That would have taken some time off the clock, and we would have changed some of the strategy as we moved into the rest of the game. We didn’t do that. And then they came out, they got physical, they ran the ball real well on us, especially to their left side."
Once the Clippers had the ball again, the skies had opened up more than they had to any point previously in the evening, which seemed to bother Columbiana relatively little as it kept the ball on the ground, although a wet ball instantly caused a botched snap that the Clippers recovered.
On the rare occasion Columbiana did turn to the air, it worked just enough to get a first down, as Hayes McCoy found John Parks to extend the drive.
Most of the rest of the possession belonged to Nordquist and Mangiarelli, the latter of whom rushed for a 6-yard touchdown to give the Clippers their first lead of the game. He also rushed into the end zone for the two-point conversion, putting his team ahead 18-12 with three minutes to go in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs looked to be back in business when Clark Rutledge completed a 34-yard pass to Peyton Rutledge late in the third quarter. But a big loss on a sack the very next play derailed the drive, which ended shortly afterward with an incomplete pass intended for Tanner Morrow on fourth down.
"[The rain affected us] to some degree at the end when the balls really got saturated," Shepas said. "I know Clark had trouble holding the ball at the end. But, again, you got both teams playing in the same kind of weather conditions. It’s just the way it goes."
A few minutes into the fourth quarter, Mangiarelli extended Columbiana's lead when he capped off a drive that he personally dominated with a short rushing touchdown. A failed two-point try kept the score at 24-12.
Mangiarelli rushed for another touchdown, his third of the night, with 4:08 remaining to put the Clippers up 31-12.
"That’s a lot of senior leadership. That’s a lot of kids that work real hard in the weight room," Spaite said of the comeback. "I got those three backs between Danny Mangiarelli and Deven Brode and Jensen Nordquist. Those are the three of the strongest kids we’ve had in the weight room for a while. They did a great job. We just kinda got on our offensive line's back, and we just powered it out. We knew that’s what we had to do. We also have a little trouble defending the pass sometimes, and that was obvious tonight. So we really had to play well. We wanted to control the ball, control the tempo, control the ball. We did a pretty good job of that after we settled down."
With the loss, East Palestine slips to 5-4 on the season and 1-2 in Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference play. The Bulldogs, who entered the week as the 13th-ranked team in Division VI, Region 21, finish the regular season next Friday at Valley Christian.
"We just want to keep getting better," Shepas said. "I told them I’m proud of the way they played. I thought they played hard. I thought we improved this week. I thought we played out of our comfort zone, which we needed to do. And I think it’s something to build on. Next week will be that other opportunity for us to finish the right way. And then whatever happens playoff-wise happens playoff-wise. We’re just worried about getting one week better and not anything beyond that."
Columbiana improved to 7-2 overall and 2-1 in the EOAC with the victory, its eighth in the last nine vs. East Palestine. The 12th-ranked Clippers host Lisbon in another pivotal Region 21 game next Friday.
"It's not over until it’s over," Spaite said. "Fine, enjoy it tonight. But it’s a process. We’ll enjoy this tonight, but we’ve got to get right back to work tomorrow."