BROOKLYN, Ohio — From the first whistle Saturday night at Brooklyn Memorial Stadium, Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy punched into work on both sides of the ball against Holy Name and didn’t let up until the job was done.
The Royals left the road trip with a 35-0 win to improve to 6-0 on the season.
Thriving behind a dominant offensive line, the Royals utilized a bevy of backs to move the ball effectively on the opening drive of the game. Leaving the Green Wave (4-3) guessing with a mix of run with a couple of passes, the Royals got a score from Zac Anderson that showed just how deep CVCA is at the position.
CVCA head coach Nick Cook credited the performance
“It’s blue collar, and that’s what we hang our hat on,” Cook said. “It’s blue collar football and part of the inspiration for that is as a Christian school, our savior was born into a blue collar family and wasn’t afraid to work with his hands, so that type of stuff fuels us.
“It’s not about our line of work, when we say blue collar, it’s a way of thinking. We want to be workmen that are ready to grind that out, and they did that tonight.”
Just like the offensive line clocked in for work right when they took the field, the Royals’ defensive line followed in stride. Holding the Green Wave to just two first downs in the first half, it was the Royals’ defense that gave CVCA the biggest boost all night long.
“We know defensively we have to fit the run correctly, we’ve got to pursue like heck to the ball, and then our DBs know it’s not just getting tight to routes, we have to make plays at the point of attack,” Cook said. “I think our defense did that at all three levels today.”
Operating as a well-oiled machine, the Royals’ offense kept feeding off getting the ball back from the defense, with the Green Wave punting away each possession of the first half. That set up another score, this time from quarterback Charlie Levak on a fourth down at the six.
Adding one more score before the half, the Royals took a 21-0 advantage into the half, needing a game-defining moment to happen.
That moment would come a lot quicker than Holy Name would have liked. On a night where the Royals’ defense dominated, the back-breaking play for their defense came on the first play of the second half when senior Brayden Harris read a pass perfectly to step in front of it for a big turnover.
“I saw the post come across, then I was ready and I just backed up to make the interception,” Harris said. “I almost dropped it, but I made it, so it was all good. We’re just really putting it all together now.”
Harris was rewarded by his offense in a big way after getting the ball back over to them. Just five plays after the pick, senior running back and Rutgers commit Joey Kopec followed his brother, Tommy, for a 49-yard score on a fourth-down play.
“I know I have the blockers, on that play, it wasn’t that I was going to have to fight for the extra yards, I knew my brother’s blocking, he’s going to power through,” Joey said. “I knew as soon as he blocked through that, alright, we got it. It’s just nice that I have other people to lean on, too that can help me.”
The score did more than just extend the lead for the Royals, it was the ultimate prize for the defense that was hungry for a big reward for all their efforts.
“I think Joey Kopec and Tommy and Wesley (Keeler), they’re all doing their job really well and they’re doing everything that we need from them right now,” Harris said. “They’re running physical, they’re running hard, and I think they’re all really putting it all together, especially with the O-line. We’re all doing what we need to be doing.”
Able to finish the game strong on both sides of the ball to earn the shutout, Cook said he was pleased, but there’s still plenty of work to be done with aspirations of a deep playoff run for his group still at hand.
“We’ve got to clean some things up, we love the intent and the effort, when we talk about blue collar with that, but we’ve got to clean some things up in our operation,” Cook said. “Cleaning things up, a little house cleaning.”
CVCA has control of the North Coast Conference as things stand now. The Royals have another very tough test with 6-1 Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin at home next week. Holy Name heads to Elyria Catholic (3-4).
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