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Trojans Triumph: McDowell Defeats Cathedral Prep, 37-13

 
Tagged under: District 10, Game Photos-Videos, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

| October 3, 2026

Erie – McDowell scored 30 consecutive points to drop their bitter rivals 37-13 Friday night at Veterans Stadium.

Things didn’t start according to plan, but the Trojans’ defense rose to the occasion, and their offense did enough to secure their fourth straight win over the Ramblers.

“This is a testament to how hard our guys work and how they’re getting better each week,” said McDowell head coach Aaron Slocum. “We feel really good about the group that we have. We didn’t play great tonight. But we found a way to win and play four quarters.”

Things didn’t go well for the Trojans, as they punted on their opening possession and saw the Ramblers take a 7-0 lead on their second snap; Eli Elwell ran an option keeper 58 yards for a score.

It was one of the few bright spots on offense for Cathedral Prep, as Elwell, despite the 58-yard touchdown run, finished with only 45 yards on 13 carries.

“There’s a lot of emotion, and you feel it on the field,” Slocum said. “We talked about it all week, about just making Prep Week another week for us. Our guys did a great job of settling down after that first touchdown. That let our offense breathe a little bit and get us back into it. They responded the rest of the game.”

The McDowell defense then seized control, recovering a fumble in plus territory at the 32-yard line and setting up Chase Carrick’s 3-yard touchdown run six plays later.

As the game progressed in the second stanza, McDowell turned a disaster into a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

The Trojans drove the ball inside the Ramblers’ 5-yard line, where Joey Makela picked off an interception in the end zone.

However, the celebration was short-lived; two plays later, a bad snap led to a fumble that Andrew Tarasovitch recovered in the end zone for a touchdown.

“It means everything; we played a hell of a game, ” Tarasovitch said. “We started a little slow, but then we came defensively and came up with a touchdown and didn’t let up. We let up one more, but after that, there were no more big plays. It’s all the preparation that Coach Slocum puts us through. All the hard work in the weight room and everything. On that touchdown, we called a blitz off the edge; I saw the ball loose, went down, and jumped on it.”

The McDowell defense continued to shine by tackling Elwell in the end zone for a safety with 32 seconds left in the half.

What followed may have been the knockout punch. Quarterback Evan Kuhn completed consecutive passes to Taylor Linoln for 27 yards and to Deonte Flemings for a 23-yard touchdown pass with nine seconds left in the half.

The Trojans led 23-7 at halftime.

Flemings and Kuhn would connect on their second scoring pass of the evening in the third quarter when Deonte hauled in a 27-yard pass from Evan, pushing the lead to 30-7 with 5:16 to play in the third.

While the Trojans made mistakes on offense, Kuhn and Flemings still had soild games: Kuhn completed 20 of 34 passes for 229 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception, while Flemings caught five passes for 64 yards and both touchdowns.

“We don’t single anybody out, or offense is our offense,” Slocum said. “Evan does a great job of finding the open guy, and that was Flemings (Duck) tonight. All year we’ve had a lot of guys step up, and different guys have really big catches and touchdowns. Tonight was a glad to see Duck came down with those two touchdowns.”

Prep scored their second long touchdown of the game on some trickery when Elwell caught a double pass from Cameron Sansom that went 80 yards for a touchdown in the Ramblers’ first completed pass.

Late in the game, McDowell put the finishing touches on the victory as Chase Carrick scored his second touchdown of the night from seven yards out with 2:03 to play. Carrick rushed for a game-high 81 yards on 14 carries.

McDowell will now prepare for a showdown with Ohio Division 1 power Austintown-Fitch, who comes to Millcreek Township next Friday night loaded with FBS talent, also sporting a 5-1 record.

Cathedral Prep will look to rebound when they head to Edinboro for a showdown against unbeaten General McLane.

Game Highlights

Score by Quarters

McDowell 37 Cathedral Prep 13

McDowell – 7  16 7 7 – 37

Cathedral Prep – 7 0 6 0 – 13

Soring Summary

First Quarter

CP – Eli Elwell 58 yd run, (Will Baumann pat), 10:14 – 2-63

M – Chase Carrick 3 yd run, (Joseph Clark pat), 5:00 – 6-32

Second Quarter

M – Andrew Tarasovitch fumble recovery in the end zone, 4:33

M – Safety – Elwell tackled in the end zone, 0:32

M – Deonte Flemings 23 yd pass from Evan Kuhn, (Clark pat), 0:09 – 2-50

Third Quarter

M – Flemings 27 yd pass from Kuhn, (Clark pat), 5:16 – 5-40

CP – Elwell 80 yd pass from Cameron Sansom, (kick failed), 3:41 – 3-80

Fourth Quarter

M – Carrick 7 yd run, (Clark pat), 2:03 – 6-54

Individual Stats

Rushing: M – Kuhn 13-41, Carrick 14-81, Brayden Powell 3-8, Heidelberg 3-9. Totals: 33-139. CP – Dazarie Carson 18-72, Elwell 13-45, Sawyer Whitney 2-2, Broegan McCarthy 2-(-10), Team 5-(-34). Totals: 40-75.

Receiving: M – Flemings 5-64, Taylor Lincoln 4-63, James Feronti 4-36, Powell 1-14, Cash Hammond 3-31, Heidelberg 1-6. Emory Moffett 2-15. CP – Elwell 1-80, Jackson Lauria 1-30, Robert Brown 1-29, Carson 1-(-2).

Passing: M – Kuhn 20-for-34, 229 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT. CP – McCarthy 3-for-6, 57 yards; Sansom 1-for-1, 80 yards, 1 TD; Elwell 0-for-1, 1 INT.

Interceptions: M – Ben Spooner. CP – Joey Makela.

 
 
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