MENTOR, Ohio — Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy rushed for almost 250 yards and held on to beat host Lake Catholic, 28-21 on Friday.
The Royals, who are off to their best start since 2008, are 5-0. The Cougars dropped to 4-2. CVCA is ranked 18th and Lake Catholic 22nd in this week’s cleveland.com Top 25.
The Royals had four running backs chewing up yards. Senior Joey Kopec led the charge with 107 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Wesley Keeler had 89 yards on nine carries.
“Our depth in the backfield is our strength,” said head coach Nick Cook. “I’ve said this about 100 times. So far, since we started this season, we’d be fools not to center what we’re doing on that strength. They’re running hard and doing the right things.”
The Royals led at the half, 21-14.
Kopec’s 2-yard touchdown run gave the Royals a 28-14 lead. Following a Royal turnover, their third in the game, the Cougars closed the gap. Guy Dominick scored on a 12-yard touchdown reception on a fourth-and-10 at the Royals’ 12-yard line with 5:17 left in the fourth.
But the Cougars would never get the ball back as the Royals ran out the clock.
”Our defense was the key. We knew coming in how many weapons (Lake Catholic) they have. After their first two drives, our kids just settled in,” said Cook.
“I think it’s a physicality thing, and they were a little bit more physical for us for 48 minutes. We just got to go back and get better from this game. They’re a great team and we got to give them all the credit,“ said Cougars head coach Marty Gibbons.
The story in the first quarter was the pass-catching of Royals senior Brayden Harris. Senior quarterback Charley Levak only completed two passes and those were to Harris.
Harris capped the opening drive with a 13-yard touchdown reception. He would follow up with a 59-yard touchdown reception and was on the receiving end of the two-point conversion.
However, for the Cougars, junior running back Danny Zmorowski made a highlight tape for himself. After Harris’s first touchdown reception, Zmorowski followed with a 3-yard touchdown run. He answered Harris’ next touchdown grab with a 2-yard touchdown run. The Cougars tied the game at 14.
Zmorowski finished with 105 yards on 24 carries.
Kopec broke the tie with a 41-yard touchdown run for a 21-14 Royals lead at the half.
The Royals will visit Holy Name next Friday. The Cougars, whose four-game winning streak was snapped, will be at Elyria Catholic on Friday.
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