Seasons
Announcement
No.1 state-ranked Mentor blanks Brunswick
9/22/2018 - By HENRY H. PECK The Gazette
BRUNSWICK - There wasn’t any suspense. Mentor, ranked No. 1 in the Division I state poll, lived up to its billing by scoring all its points in the first half in a 35-0 Greater Cleveland Conference win over Brunswick.
The Cardinals (5-0, 2-0) rode the passing of sophomore quarterback Ian Kipp, who drove his team to five touchdowns in as many possessions to start the game. Mentor’s field general general piled up 143 yards on 12-for-17 passing, mostly in the first half, and two touchdowns while running for another. Kipp was aided and abetted by Brian Trobel with 73 yards on nine carries.
The junior entered the game averaging 153 yards a contest. “I was proud of our kids,” Brunswick coach Mark Pinzone said. “They never stopped fighting. “At halftime I told them the same thing I told them at the beginning — to work hard, have fun and never stop fighting.
I was proud of the way they came out in the second half, despite the score.” The Blue Devils (0-5, 0-2) needed the inner fight. They began the game with their third starting quarterback in five games, Nick Haber, a senior in his first varsity start. Haber completed 3-of-5 passes for 21 yards. “Nick managed pretty well,” Pinzone said.
Late in the contest, Haber was relieved by Jonah Clement, who completed 6-of-11 for 60 yards. Clement drove his team to its closest scoring opportunity in the waning minutes, but his last pass was intercepted in the end zone on the game’s final play.
The pick was one of five Brunswick turnovers, with three fumbles lost and an interception by each quarterback. Brunswick’s original starter at quarterback, senior Josh Stacho, has been unavailable with an injured knee.
Bakcup Jacob Scherette also was hit with the injury bug. In the first half, Mentor scored early and often. After kicking off to start the contest, the Cardinals forced a three-and-out, then scored in three plays on a 20-yard run by Trobel. Brunswick fumbled two plays after the kickoff, Mentor recovered in the red zone and in three plays Kipp was finding Justin Luke for a 3-yard scoring play.
The second quarter was more of the same, with Kipp and Trobel scoring on short runs and Kipp passing long to Varney Spansel for 40 yards and the game’s final TD. “They’re a great program,” Pinzone said. “We wish them well.”
