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McDowell Wins Region 7 Championship Taking Down Rival Cathedral Prep

Tagged under: District 10, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

| October 5, 2024

Erie – McDowell raced out to a 27-0 first-half lead and never looked back en route to a 44-21 victory over Cathedral Prep Friday night at Veterans Stadium.

Renewing the best rivalry in District 10, Cathedral Prep and McDowell battled for supremacy of Region 7, with each school having already beaten Erie High.

The Trojans won their second consecutive game against the Ramblers after a 23-13 victory at Gus Anderson field last season. It also marked their first win at Veterans Stadium against Prep since a 24-6 triumph in 2020.

For McDowell, the start couldn’t have been much better. The Trojans opened up a 17-0 lead after a quarter and extended their advantage to 27-0 in the second stanza.

“I thought our guys executed the crap out of the ball on all three phases, offense, defense, and special teams,” said McDowell head coach Aaron Slocum. “That set the tone for the game. We didn’t execute as well in the second half as in the first. We lost our grip a little and gave up some plays that we otherwise wouldn’t have. I give credit to them for making halftime adjustments.”

Field position played a crucial role early on, as McDowell began three of their first five drives in Prep territory.

After taking the opening kickoff, the Trojans struck first when Ashton Sontheimer booted a 23-yard field goal following an 11-play 41-yard drive. Sontheimer would have the first of three field goals this evening.

Tailback Stephen Porter then capped a 9-play 57-yard drive with a 1-yard run. Porter had another monster game, rushing for 165 yards and three touchdowns on 33 carries.

“This means a lot, especially for my line,” Porter said. “They were JV last year and now on varsity. They played hard and came into this game ready. I came with energy. I tried to help my guys and pick them up. I wanted to try and get the crowd hyped. I came ready to play, at practice, I worked my butt off.”

Late in the first quarter, Blayze Myers tossed a 10-yard touchdown to Daymar Dickerson following a 48-yard drive.

The Ramblers were held without a first down on their first four possessions. On their third, Prep faced a 4th-and-4 from their 32-yard line.

They chose to run a fake punt with Charbel Latouf taking the snap. He only managed a yard. On the next play from scrimmage, Myers threw a shovel pass to Porter, who did the rest for a 33-yard scoring pass.

“We were able to put points on the board on all but one possession in the first half,” Slocum said. “That was key for us. Our offensive coaches did a great job calling plays, while our defensive staff had our guys ready to play and prepared.”

Stephon Porter added five receptions for 49 yards, while Myers completed 14-or-23 passes for 154 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also rushed for 40 yards on seven carries.

Blayze Myers is currently second in District 10 in passing, with 1512 yards and 12 touchdowns.

“It means everything. obviously, we want to beat this team,” Myers said. “I’m super proud of all my guys, coaches, student section, and community. We played great. It doesn’t leave a bad taste in your mouth. You’re always going to remember this game. You get bragging rights after this game, so that’s always a good part. ”

McDowell led 24-0 in the second quarter as they did a week ago against  Villa Angela-St. Joseph in the first half.

“This is a big game, and it’s all about the momentum,” said Myers. “Getting that from the start helped us. We try to do that every game, just like last week. If you can start strong and put teams away early, it leads to victory.”

Starting at the Prep end of the field and following a punt, Sontheimer added another field goal from 36 yards out, pushing the lead to 27-0.

On their ensuing drive, Cathedral Prep moved the chains for the time but had the ball end up in the hands of Jake Hower for an interception.

Nevertheless, the Ramblers got the ball back and got into the end zone before halftime as Davin Friedman threw a 13-yard touchdown to Griffin Potts with 21 seconds to play in the half. Friedman threw a 49-yard completion to Taijoun Williams to set up the score.

McDowell then played beat the clock as a 45-yard completion from Myers to James Zigler led to Sontheimer kicking a 28-yard field goal as the first half expired. Zigler had four catches for 70 yards.

“It’s a game of momentum,” said Slocum. “It’s important to the game and kids to get and keep it going. Blayze and James have a really special relationship. It’s almost brother-like. It can get a little contentious at times, but those guys do a great job rising above that.”

Prep came out for the second half with an offensive spark not seen in the opening 24 minutes. However, their initial drive ended on downs at the McDowell 40-yard line.

The Ramblers would cut into the deficit when Charbel Latouf scored on a 7-yard run with 4:13 to play in the third quarter. Latouf had a big second half, gaining 60 of his 61 yards. He now has 360 yards on the season.

McDowell would respond 46 seconds into the final frame when Porter scored on a 10-yard run. DaZarie Carson returned the succeeding kickoff to the Trojans’ 15-yard line, leading to Friedman’s 16-yard touchdown pass to Matthew Oblich.

Though Friedman threw a pair of scores, McDowell kept the Prep signal caller in check as he completed only 9-of-26 passes for 67 yards.

McDowell put the icing on the cake when Porter scored his fourth touchdown on a 1-yard following an unsuccessful onside kick.

“He’s a stud. All year, he’s great, Slocum said. ” He works his tail off. He’s a kid you look at in the weight room or on the field, and he’s always staying and working on something afterward. He has embraced that role of stepping up and being a leader.”

The Trojans will now take on 6-1 Austintown-Fitch from Youngstown, Ohio, next Friday night at Gus Anderson Field.

“We focus on getting better each game and not peaking,” Slocum concluded. “I thought we played well the opening week against Woodland Hills. In the following two weeks against Walsh Jesuit and Mentor, we regressed. We’ve been coming back together, starting with Meadville and then last week against Villa Angela-St. Joseph played well and was physical. Now you’re seeing our guys believe and buy into what we’re trying to do.”

Cathedral Prep will look to end their 2-game skid when they host Benedictine on Friday night.

Game Highlights:

McDowell 44 Cathedral Prep 21

Score by Quarters

McDowell – 17 13 0 14 – 44

Cathedral Prep – 0 7 6 8 – 21

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

M – Ashton Sontheimer 23 yd field goal, 7:25 – 11-41

M – Stephon Porter 1 yd run, (Sontheimer pat), 3:19 – 9-57

M – Daymar Dickerson 10 yd pass from Blayze Myers, (Sonetheimer pat), 0:07 – 7-48

Second Quarter

M – Porter 33 yd pass from Myers, (Sontheimer pat), 9:50 – 1-33

M – Sontheimer 36 yd field goal, 5:29 – 9-22

CP – Griffin Potts 13 yd pass from Davin Friedman, (Cameron Christman pat), 0:21 – 6-49

M – Sontheimer 28 yd field goal, 0:00 – 3-54

Third Quarter

CP – Charbel Latouf 7 yd run, (pass failed), 4:13 – 10-82

Fourth Quarter

M -Porter 10 yd run, (Sontheimer pat), 11:14 – 8-61

CP – Matthew Oblich 16 yd pass from Friedman, (Latouf rush), 10:33 – 3-15

M – Porter 1 yd run, (Sontheimer pat), 5:10 – 9-53

Individual Stats

Rushing: M -Porter 33-165, Myers 7-40, Brody Bonsell 4-43, Team 1-0. Totals: 45-248. CP – DaZarie Carson 6-39, Corey Allen 6-32, Latouf 13-61, Friedman 1-5. Totals: 26-137.

Receiving: M – James Zigler 4-70, Dickerson 4-23, Porter 5-49, Gavin Magorien 1-12. CP – Allen 2-(-9), Carson 2-1, Joseph Himes 1-(-3), Latouf 1-2, Potts 1-13, Taijoun Williams 1-49, Oblich 1-16.

Passing: M – Myers 14-for-23, 154 yards, 2 TD. CP – Friedman 9-for-26, 67 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT.

Interceptions: M – Jake Hower.

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