Columbus Bishop Watterson falls on the road to Benedictine, 27-7.

BEDFORD, Ohio -- Wide receiver Justin Layne stayed in bounds on his tiptoes, catching a 17-yard pass late in the fourth quarter Friday to lead Benedictine's football team to a 27-7 victory against Columbus Bishop Watterson.

Layne's catch helped seal the nonleague win for Benedictine, ranked No. 4 in the cleveland.com Top 25 and No. 1 in the Division III state poll. It was followed by the final score of the game, a 6-yard run by senior running back Dontez Rash at Bedford.

"The coaches called my name and I just had to make a big play," said Layne, a Michigan State commit.

Friday marked the fifth straight victory for the Bengals and the second straight win against Watterson dating back to last year's meeting.

"They are an unbelievable explosive team and we're just trying to hang on defensively," Watterson coach Dan Bjelac said. "They just made some plays."

Senior quarterback Brian Schoeffler and Rash helped the Bengals get off to a 14-0 start in the first quarter with short runs in the red zone.

But junior running back Adam Kasun answered by running in from two yards out to cut the deficit to 14-7.

Both teams remained scoreless in the second and third quarters. Watterson's offense made a handful of trips down the field, but was unable to connect for any shots in the redzone.

With 5:54 left in the fourth quarter and after giving the ball back to Benedictine, Watterson's defense picked up a costly penalty to give the Bengals a shot of extending the lead at the 17-yard line. Layne responded by connecting with Schoeffler. Rash later put the final touches on the win with his 6-yard run. The senior running back finished with 196 yards and two touchdowns.

Benedictine's defense held Watterson to 135 yards.

"I think we really started to wear them down a little bit and that's where you saw the scores there with a few minutes left," Benedictine coach Joe Schaefer said. "That was a lot closer of a football game than what the score says. It's a good football team. Hats off to them."

The Bengals finished with 333 yards. Schoeffler had seven completions on 17 attempts for 103 yards, one touchdown and an interception. Aubrey Ward led the Bengals' receivers with five receptions for 66 yards. Layne had three catches for 41 yards.

Benedictine will host Padua on Oct. 3 at Bedford at 1 p.m.

Green football needs late touchdown to overcome Highland, 31-27.

MEDINA, Ohio - Green's football team raced out to a 24-7 halftime lead but needed a late fourth-quarter touchdown to overcome Highland's rally as the visiting Bulldogs escaped with a 31-27 nonleague win on Friday.

Erik McKinstry caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from Tanner Montgomery in the fourth quarter to put Green back in the lead for good. The touchdown pass was Montgomery's third of the night. Montgomery completed 18 of 27 passes for 251 yards, while Jeremy McAleese added 24 carries for 137 yards and one touchdown and four receptions for 43 yards for Green (3-2). 

Highland (3-2) scored three times in the second half - two on Sam Jenkins touchdown runs - to take a 27-24 lead in the fourth quarter before Green rallied for the win.

Highland hosts Aurora on Thursday, while Green travels to Massillon Perry on Friday.

Vote for which football player had the best defensive performance from Week 5.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Below is a look at some of the top Week 5 high school football defensive performers from Friday night.

Vote for your favorite in the poll below. Voting is open until Thursday at noon. Check out the Defensive Game Balls contest as well.

The Week 5 contenders:

Nate Bauer, Archbishop Hoban: Had 1.5 tackles, a 69-yard interception return for a touchdown and three pass breakups in a 24-7 victory over St. Vincent-St. Mary.

Josh Klingshim, Elyria Catholic: Had two interceptions in a 49-7 victory over Parma.

Roman Moreno, Hudson: Scored two defensive touchdowns, one a fumble return and one an interception, in a 55-7 victory over North Royalton. Also scored an offensive touchdown on a 9-yard pass.

Devin Negron, Lincoln West: Had a 75-yard interception for a touchdown and an 80-yard kick return for a touchdown in a 26-20 overtime victory over Collinwood.

Justin Paonessa, Tallmadge: Had nine tackles and an interception in a 17-7 victory over Kent Roosevelt.

Michael Picone, Crestwood: Had two quarterback sacks in a 39-13 victory over St. Thomas Aquinas.

Marquise Bridges scores five rushing touchdowns to lead Ellet to 48-0 win over CVCA.

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio -- Short yardage or big plays, there was no stopping Marquise Bridges on Friday.

The junior running back rushed for five touchdowns as Akron Ellet rolled to a 48-0 win over Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy.

Bridges scored on a runs of 1, 48, 48, 48, 2, and 7 yards to pace the Orangemen attack. Cameron Brake scored on a 7-yard run, and Ryan Jarvis scored on a 1-yard rush to close out the scoring.

Ellet (4-1) hosts Akron East while CVCA (0-5) hosts Tuslaw next Friday.

Vote for which football player had the best offensive performance from Week 5.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Below is a look at some of the top Week 5 high school football offensive performers from Friday night.

Vote for your favorite in the poll below. Voting is open until Thursday at noon. Check out the Defensive Game Balls contest as well.

The Week 5 contenders:

Austin Brenner, Copley: The junior quarterback helped the Indians to a 56-0 win over Revere by completing 13 of 14 passes, throwing for 399 yards and six touchdowns.

Marquise Bridges, Ellet: It was the Orangemen junior tailback who led the charge in a 48-0 shutout over Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, rushing for five touchdowns, including two 48-yarders.

Jayson Gobble, Stow: The senior running back rushed for 253 yards and five touchdowns, adding a sixth TD through the air to help Stow top Nordonia, 65-37. 

Dontez Rash, Benedictine: Rushing for 196 yards and two touchdowns, the Bengals senior playmaker also added an interception on defense in a 27-7 win over Columbus Bishop Watterson.

Cameron Searight, West Geauga: The Wolverines junior quarterback posted five touchdowns, slinging for three through the air and scampering to the end zone for two more in a 39-13 win over Harvey.

Ryan Singer, Orange: The senior star collected four touchdowns in a 34-31 victory over Chagrin Falls, throwing for 178 yards with two scores, while rushing for 199 yards and adding two scores from the ground.

The shillelagh returned to Hoban, and Midview survived without the help of its standout quarterback.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The shillelagh returned to Hoban, and Midview survived without the help of its standout quarterback.

Those two teams wound up with considerable wins Friday night among teams ranked in the cleveland.com Top 25.

Hoban, ranked No. 10, took down No. 12 St. Vincent-St. Mary, 24-7.

No. 3 Midview, meanwhile, lost quarterback Dustin Crum at No. 6 Berea-Midpark. First place in the Southwestern Conference hung in the balance, All-Ohio receiver Logan Bolin took snaps at quarterback, and the Middies pulled out a 24-14 win at Baldwin-Wallace.

That’s just the beginning of what happened Friday night in Northeast Ohio.

The rundown

• No. 4 Benedictine denied Columbus Bishop Watterson, 27-7.

• No. 16 Strongsville put a stop to No. 22 Medina, 42-19.

• Offense ruled in No. 8 Stow’s 65-37 win at No. 20 Nordonia.

• No. 24 Madison handed Chardon its first loss, 28-0.

• No. 15 Aurora rolled to 5-0 with a 24-7 win at Barberton.

Friday night scoreboard

Click here for results of the 69 games played Friday night in Northeast Ohio. Click on the score of any game for a box score, recap and more content.

How the cleveland.com Top 25 fared

Take a look at how the cleveland.com Top 25 football teams fared Friday. Check back to see how things pan out Saturday for the rest of the top-ranked teams in the area.

Top plays of the week video contest

Capture video of a great play? Find out how to send it to us so we can consider it for the new weekly video contest to decide the Top Play of the Week.

Look for the video compilation Monday and vote for your favorite play of the week.

See hundreds of photos from Friday night

Action galleries

• No. 12 St. Vincent-St. Mary vs. No. 10 Hoban (gallery)

• No. 3 Midview at No. 6 Berea-Midpark (gallery)

• Columbus Bishop Watterson vs. No. 4 Benedictine (gallery)

• No. 8 Stow at No. 20 Nordonia (gallery)

Feature galleries

• Avon Lake vs. North Ridgeville (gallery)

• Independence vs. Fairport (gallery)

• Kenston vs. Mayfield (Kenston gallery, Mayfield gallery)

• Lakewood vs. North Olmsted (Lakewood gallery, North Olmsted gallery)

• Richmond Heights vs. Hawken (Richmond Heights gallery, Hawken gallery)

• Hudson vs. North Royalton (North Royalton gallery)

Statewide scores

Click here for Friday’s results from across Ohio.

Game balls

• Vote for best offensive performance of Week 5.

• Vote for best defensive performance of Week 5.

Relive Friday night

Check out the Varsity Blitz Live blog for a rundown of all the latest news, videos and updates. Come back every Friday for Varsity Blitz Live, where you can join the conversation by including #NEOvarsity in Tweets or through cleveland.com's comments.

What’s to come Saturday

No. 1-ranked St. Edward welcomes Bergen Catholic from New Jersey. Matt Goul will provide coverage of the 1 p.m. game. Follow him on Twitter @mgoul.

Later, No. 5 St. Ignatius plays host to Walsh Jesuit at 7 p.m. Follow Joe Noga at @JoeNogaCLE on Twitter for updates.

Saturday’s full schedule for the area

For more high school sports news, like NEOvarsity on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Carlos Carrasco took a no-hitter in the seventh inning and Jose Ramirez, Abraham Almonte and Roberto Perez hit home runs as the Indians gained ground in the wild card race with a win over Kansas City. Watch video

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Carlos Carrasco came within one strike of making history on July 1 at Tropicana Field. History came calling again Friday night more than two months later, but this time the drama ended much sooner.

Carrasco lost his no-hitter in the seventh inning on a clean single by Alex Rios, but the fact that Carrasco and the Indians beat Kansas City, 6-0, meant more to their longshot hopes of claiming a AL wild card spot.

The Indians pulled to within three games of Houston for the second wild card spot as the Astros lost to Texas. The Angels and Twins are still in front of the Indians, but Baltimore fell behind them.

The Tribe has 10 games left in the regular season.

On July 1, Carrasco was one strike away from throwing the Indians first no-hitter since Lenny Barker's perfect game on May 15, 1981. Joey Butler ruined that with a single to right field.

Rios hit a 1-1 pitch to end Carrasco's no-no Friday. The odds on that happening were longer than the Tribe earning a wild card spot. Rios was 1-for-16 against Carrasco coming into that at-bat.

On Thursday night the Royals clinched their first AL Central Division title. The celebration was long and loud so manager Ned Yost didn't have his A lineup on the field Friday night. Still, Carrasco was as sharp as he's been since coming off the disabled list on Sept. 17.

He struck out a career-high 15 batters. Before Rios singled, he allowed just two baserunners with Drew Butera walking in the second and Christian Colon in the sixth.

Carrasco (14-11, 3.44), perhaps to prove a point, struck out six straight Royals after the base hit by Rios. He retired the last eight men he faced in throwing his first one-hitter.

The Indians wasted no time taking a lead against Edinson Volquez (13-9, 3.65). Jose Ramirez, the second hitter of the game, hit a 2-1 pitch over the right field fence for a 1-0 lead. It was the fifth homer of the season for the jaunty Ramirez, who managed to run out from under his batting helmet during his home-run trot.

Abraham Almonte made it 3-0 with a two-run homer to right in the second. After Chris Johnson singled with one out, Almonte hit a 1-2 pitch for his fifth homer. Ramirez and Almonte came into the game a combined 0-6 against Volquez.

Volquez left after six innings, but the Tribe continued to flex its power from unlikely sources. Roberto Perez hit a two-run homer off Franklin Morales in the seventh inning for a 5-0 lead. Almonte opened the inning with a walk before Perez hit a 2-1 pitch to left for his sixth homer.

What it means

The Indians (76-76) reached .500 once again with their second straight win after starting their last trip of the season with two losses against the Twins. They are 8-9 against the Royals and 30-39 in the AL Central.

The Royals (89-64), positioning themselves for the postseason, lost for the sixth time in the last 11 games.

The 200 club

Carraso recorded his 200^th strikeout of the season against Jonny Gomes for the second out of the second inning. Carrasco and Corey Kluber (230) are the first Indians pitchers to strikeout 200 or more batters in a season since Sam McDowell and Luis Tiant did it in 1967 and 1968.

Carraso's previous high for strikeouts in a season was 140 last year.

Close, but no cigar

Friday night was the 10th time an Indians pitcher has taken a no-hitter through five innings this season. It was the sixth time Tribe pitchers have taken a no-no into the seventh only to lose it.

What's next?

The Indians continue their three-game series against the Royals on Saturday night as RHP Josh Tomlin (6-2, 2.43) faces RHP Kris Medlin (5-2, 3.51) at 7:10 p.m. SportsTime Ohio, WTAM and WMMS will carry the game.

Tomlin and Medlen faced off on Sept. 15 at Progressive Field. Tomlin threw a complete game four-hitter, but lost, 2-0. Medlen threw 6 1/3 innings for the win.

In his last seven starts, Tomlin is 6-1. He's 6-4 lifetime against the Royals. Medlen is 2-0 lifetime against the Tribe. He's 4-1 in his last six starts and has not allowed a run 11 1/3 innings in his last two starts.

Cardale Jones started and wasn't pulled against Western Michigan. Is the Buckeyes' quarterback controversy over? Watch video

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Cardale Jones started the game. He basically finished it. So is Ohio State's quarterback controversy over?

That's the question after the Buckeyes' 38-12 win over Western Michigan on Saturday in Ohio Stadium.

After Meyer named Jones the starter this week, 64 percent of readers said that was the wrong decision.

On Saturday, after two weeks of sluggish play, Ohio State eclipsed 500 yards of total offense with Jones at the helm. He finished 19-for-33 for 288 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed 10 times for 18 yards.

J.T. Barrett did play, entering late in the fourth quarter with the Buckeyes holding a decisive edge. Perhaps with a chance to still plant a seed of doubt in Urban Meyer's mind, Barrett threw an interception on his first drive.

Barrett finished 1-for-3 for 0 yards and an interception, and with one carry for 0 yards.

"I thought Cardale played OK," Meyer said. "He threw for 288, but I still give him OK because we have high expectations and had a couple turnovers."

Jones missed on a couple of under-thrown deep balls that could've led to more scores for the Buckeyes, but was still it enough to cement himself as Ohio State's quarterback after three weeks of uncertainty? Doug, Ari and Bill discuss in the video above.

What do you think? Is Ohio State's quarterback controversy over?

See how the cleveland.com Top 25 high school football teams fared on Saturday for Week 5 of the 2015 season.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Find out how the cleveland.com Top 25 high school football teams fared on Saturday for Week 5 of the 2015 season.

Follow all of tonight's action here. And check this post throughout the night, as scores will be updated in real time as games become final.

Where do you think the teams should be ranked when the new poll comes out on Monday? Let us know in the comments section below.

We want to hear from you. Let us know what you think of the rankings, or even post your own poll below.

cleveland.com High School Football Top 25

1. St. Edward (4-1)

Defeated Bergen Catholic (N.J.), 31-28.

Next: Hosts Cocoa (Fla.) on Oct. 3. 

2. Mentor (4-1)

Defeated Shaker Heights, 35-12.

Next: At No. 21 Solon on Oct. 2. 

3. Midview (5-0)

Defeated No. 6 Berea-Midpark, 24-14, on Friday.

Next: Hosts Westlake on Oct. 2.

4. Benedictine (5-0)

Defeated Columbus Bishop Watterson, 27-7, on Friday.

Next: Hosts Padua on Oct. 3.

5. St. Ignatius (2-2)

Hosting Walsh Jesuit.

Next: Hosts Parma on Oct. 2. 

6. Berea-Midpark (4-1)

Lost to No. 3 Midview, 24-14, on Friday.

Next: At Olmsted Falls on Oct. 2.

7. Mayfield (5-0)

Defeated Kenston, 42-13, on Friday.

Next: Hosts Brush on Oct. 2

8. Stow (5-0)

Defeated No. 20 Nordonia, 65-37, on Friday.

Next: Hosts Twinsburg on Oct. 2.

9. Glenville (4-1) 

Defeated John F. Kennedy, 46-0, on Friday. 

Next: At East Tech on Oct. 2.

10. Archbishop Hoban (5-0)

Defeated No. 12 St. Vincent-St. Mary, 24-7, on Friday. 

Next: Hosts Walsh Jesuit on Oct. 2.

11. Avon (4-1)

Defeated Westlake, 56-13, on Friday.

Next: Hosts Lakewood on Oct. 2.

12. St. Vincent-St. Mary (4-1)

Lost to No. 10 Archbishop Hoban, 24-7, on Friday.

Next: At Canton GlenOak on Oct. 2.

13. Brecksville (5-0)

Defeated Twinsburg, 27-0, on Friday.

Next: Hosts No. 20 Nordonia on Oct. 2.

14. Maple Heights (5-0)

Defeated No. 19 Bedford, 22-14, on Thursday.

Next: Hosts Cleveland Heights on Oct. 2.

15. Aurora (5-0)

Defeated Barberton, 24-7, on Friday.

Next: At Highland on Oct. 1.

T16. Solon (3-2) 

Lost to Euclid, 48-36, on Friday.

Next: At No. 16 Strongsville on Oct. 2. 

T16. Strongsville (4-1)

Defeated No. 22 Medina, 42-19, on Friday.

Next: Hosts Euclid on Oct. 2.

18. Hudson (4-1) 

Defeated North Royalton, 55-7, on Friday.

Next: Hosts Cuyahoga Falls on Oct. 2.

19. Bedford (2-3)

Lost to No. 14 Maple Heights, 22-14, on Thursday.

Next: Hosts Garfield Heights on Oct. 2.

20. Nordonia (2-3) 

Lost to No. 8 Stow, 65-37, on Friday.

Next: At No. 13 Brecksville on Oct. 2.

21. North Olmsted (3-2)

Defeated Lakewood, 28-12, on Friday.

Next: Hosts North Ridgeville on Oct. 2.

22. Medina (3-2)

Lost to No. 16 Strongsville, 42-19, on Friday.

Next: Hosts Brunswick on Oct. 2.

23. Perry (5-0)

Defeated Wickliffe, 43-6, on Friday.

Next: At Chagrin Falls on Oct. 2.

24. Madison (4-1) 

Defeated Chardon, 28-0, on Friday.

Next: Hosts Riverside on Oct. 2.

25. Lake Catholic (3-2) 

Defeated Youngstown Cardinal Mooney, 28-0, on Friday.

Next: Hosts Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin on Oct. 2.

For more high school sports news, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. 

A complete transcript of Urban Meyer's remarks after Ohio State's win over Western Michigan. Watch video

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Everything Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said after the Buckeyes' 38-12 win over Western Michigan on Saturday.

COACH MEYER: As always, thank our incredible student body and the fans. And the Buckeye Walk was outstanding, and so was the skull session.

So always very much appreciative as I speak on behalf of our players. Also Jacob and Noah. Today was Muscular Dystrophy Coach, I think it's called Coach For Cure. And I'm proud to say that everyone associated with Ohio State Football, including some of folks here that were gracious enough to donate some money to an incredible cause. Used to wear this patch on my arm for many years. And I wore it because someone said wear a patch on your arm. And I had no idea why I was wearing a patch on my arm. And this young man is a part of our family. I love this guy. He's a guy that makes my day. It's not just him, it's his family. And we raised $10,000 for an incredible cause in Jacob's name. So very appreciative for those of you that also were contributors.

We played much better on offensive line. Controlled the line of scrimmage. The receivers had a very good day. Offensively, it's close. The alarming part is the underthrown deep ball, which is fixable. It's not fixable when you don't have wideouts that can stretch a field. But we do.

And I've not seen the videotape, and it's hard to see exactly what goes on on the field, but I know at least three or four underthrown touchdowns, or potential big hits. We have to get those fixed.

But overall, I thought Cardale played okay. He threw for 288. I still give him the okay because we have high expectations and a couple turnovers.

I thought Zeke is our most consistent offensive player. Our perimeter blocking was much better. Curtis Samuel is obviously a guy that we need to get that ball in his hand a little bit. I thought Braxton competed as well. And so I feel much better leaving this game as we move forward on offense.

Special teams was dynamic. We just had stupid penalty-- they called Mike Thomas holding on a blocked punt. That's the first time. That's it. And they said that the guy ran and he tried to get out of his way and he grabbed his shirt, which I'll obviously look at that. I'm not saying it's wrong. I haven't seen it.

We were going after a block and they called holding. And we blocked the punt. So that was a big change of field position.

We had a huge punt return all the way down inside the red zone and they got called back. So we have to clean up some penalties. But the effort was good.

Defensively, I don't think we played our typical silver bullet self for -- the interior run was an issue. And I'm sure you can visit with Coach Fickell and Coach Ash, we have to get that fixed. I don't know exactly what happened. But, overall, much better performance as we get ready to play a team that's 4 and 0 and start the Big Ten season.

Q. But it was the third straight game with a defensive touchdown. How big a lift is that, and an improving offense and a bonus like that?

COACH MEYER: Yeah, it's the style of defense where we are aggressive. We challenge throws. All I saw is Adolphus running with the ball. I'm not quite sure what happened. The ball was tipped. But that's obviously a big momentum pickup for us.

But think about our punter, too. Our punter and the punt team's right now dynamic. We're protecting. We're covering. There's no return yards. Net 51.

That's a good day.

Q. Seems kind of odd to think of Cardale underthrowing today with his arm strength. Is there anything you think you can make of that before you go watch the film?

COACH MEYER: I talked to both of them, because J.T. had one, too. And they're calling inside nines, and that's kind of a staple of our offense throughout these last three or four years.

And I think it wasn't -- it's the Devin Smith. But they were underthrown because the wideouts were behind them. So that's something I'm going to find out. The one thing that we do is, if we find out we're not good at something, we practice the heck out of it so we're going to practice the heck out of it.

Q. You mentioned the offensive line, crediting them for their work. What did they do in practice this week? What kind of commitment did they make to show that kind of improvement this week?

COACH MEYER: I think they got beat up a little bit and they got -- I mean, I know I was exhausted by the time -- Paul Keels asked me question after question after question. And so I think what I did, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, I got asked the same questions. And I'm sure -- I know I was tired of hearing about it, so I'm sure they were, too.

And Ed Warinner did an excellent job. And so that's what we expect and we can still get better.

Q. You talked about having receivers today that could stretch the field and do that. Did you know coming into today that you had those guys? Were you wondering about that at all?

COACH MEYER: No. That was a little bit -- because we haven't separated like we need to. We separated today. And when I looked up, and once again, I'll have more information next week for you after I watch it. But I can count five times we were behind them. And we had I think just one touchdown. I think we had one or two PIs, but they were underthrown. The underthrown interception was underthrown.

So I think we kind of figured out -- Corey Smith had a good day. Jalen Marshall had a good day. Those are kind of over-the-top guys.

Q. We saw Braxton make some big catches in the opener against Virginia Tech. Where is he in his continued progress?

COACH MEYER: Trying to give him the ball. It's an effort to try -- we're releasing him out of the backfield. We're flipping him the ball, lining him up with the quarterback, and we're just not having the big hits right now and we will.

Q. Has Braxton been showing some, I don't know, lack of confidence? What do you see out of him when he comes back to the sidelines for some of those?

COACH MEYER: No, we're not -- I don't necessarily think it's him. Although I do think -- did he drop one today? Just the concentration.

Q. Trying to make a move and dropped the ball.

COACH MEYER: No, it's not lack of effort. It's not like a 1-2. It's not attitude. It's great. And he had a good week in practice. We'll keep pushing.

Q. Have you ever been around a defense that scored three touchdowns, or touchdowns in three straight games?

COACH MEYER: I can't remember.

Q. But what is it -- what is going on with that group more than anything else that you like?

COACH MEYER: Actually, I bet you the reaction that I imagine you see when I imagine a couple guys come up here is going to be a little disappointed that they didn't play better.

Yeah, we score on defense, but as a whole I felt, once again not until I see the videotape and talk to our coaches, that we could have played better.

And the expectation level right now of our defense is very high. A couple of years ago you would have took that and said nice job. That's not good enough right now.

Q. Looked like it was a concerted effort to increase the tempo. Could you address that? And also the play calling mechanics, did you change anything this week?

COACH MEYER: No, not really. The one guy that's getting more comfortable is Tim Beck upstairs. I thought he did a very good job today. And the way that we've always run it is Ed, myself, run this. Script the series. Much better today. Much more organized. And you have to do that from upstairs. So he did a nice job today.

Q. Tempo?

COACH MEYER: And the tempo is something that we're looking for cleaner defenses than we saw and not playing defense on offense. And we were much better at that today.

Q. The deep ball to Curtis Samuel, Corey Smith was right in the same area. Who was the intended receiver?

COACH MEYER: I'm sorry?

Q. The deep ball to Curtis Samuel, Corey Smith was almost right next to him.

COACH MEYER: Curtis is the second level guy. But just react to the ball that was thrown. I think to Corey Smith. They're not designed to stand right next to each other. Might be an idiot. Not that big an idiot.

"That felt pretty good," Jones said, "to understand that you're going to play multiple snaps and not be pulled in between series." Watch video

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Of course Cardale Jones was going to stand in front of the press after Ohio State's 38-12 win over Western Michigan and try to convince the world that the past two weeks weren't hard. 

The best time to do convincing like that is when things are easy. And they were for Jones on Saturday night.

Jones had just won a football game in which he played the vast majority of the snaps, he accounted for more than 300 yards of total offense and two touchdowns. And the best part of it all: Jones didn't have to discuss a quarterback controversy when it was over.  

OK, maybe that was second best. Not wondering if he was going to be benched after making a mistake was probably his favorite. 

"That felt pretty good," Jones said, "to understand that you're going to play multiple snaps and not be pulled in between series." 

Jones made a ton of mistakes, but he never feared coming out of the game. He threw an interception, he threw a backward pass that turned into a fumble, he underthrew multiple touchdown passes and he had an intentional grounding penalty that took points off the board. 

But he didn't come out of the game. That's bigger than any play Jones made. 

Cardale Jones played the majority of the snaps in Ohio State's 38-12 win over Western Michigan. Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer 

Because that was a message from Urban Meyer that Ohio State is beginning to settle on a quarterback. Though Meyer left the door open for J.T. Barrett to get into the game earlier in the week, sticking with Jones as a firm assertion that the Buckeyes are going to forge ahead with one quarterback leading the way. 

That's a vote of confidence. That's a statement. And that's something Jones needed. 

"I kind of put all that stuff behind me," Jones said. "Just got back to really what got not just me, but our offense and our team, to this point. Just playing within ourselves and not worrying about making mistakes." 

As much as Meyer believes that the quarterback will always be looking over his shoulder at a place like Ohio State, there's something to be said about a quarterback looking over it in the middle of a drive. 

Last week's 20-13 win over Northern Illinois was a disaster. The offense was inept, Jones played poorly, and, worse of all, he was replaced by Barrett multiple times during the game. So when Ohio State escaped with a win, that left a gaping hole in the quarterbacks room: Who is the guy?

Jones acted in front of the media that he took it all in stride, but did he really? How about when he changed his description in his bio on Twitter following the game to read "3rd String QB @ The Ohio State University Oh Wait, 2nd String." 

This is how Cardale Jones' Twitter profile read after Ohio State's win over Northern Illinois. He changed it shortly after. Bill Landis, Northeast Ohio Media Group 

"It was childish and I shouldn't have done it," Jones said. "Flat out."

Why did you do it, though? 

"It was childish and I shouldn't have done it," Jones said, again. "Flat out."

OK, if he won't say it, then we will. It's because he was engaged in a quarterback battle that was seemingly never-ending. He didn't know if this was his team, and a guy like Jones, who is prone to making mistakes along with his big plays -- he's boom or bust, remember -- has to have the confidence to go out onto the field and just sling the pigskin. 

So tell everyone how easy the past few weeks have been, Cardale. We'll let your roommate keep it real with the world. 

"I definitely think (the Western Michigan game) means a lot to him," defensive back Tyvis Powell said. "He feels like people trust him more, the coaching staff trusts him more. Just building a stronger bond, because he was down in the dumps after last week. So it's good to see him go out there and bouncing back, coming back the way he did." 

Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer looks pleased after QB Cardale Jones connected for a touchdown with receiver Jalin Marshall in the second quarter.Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer 

Jones didn't come out of the game until Ohio State led by 26 with less than seven minutes remaining in the game. Barrett came off the bench and threw an interception in mop-up time. 

Could that be the best thing that could have happened for Ohio State? Barrett isn't going to pass Jones in this quarterback race by throwing picks, so there's nothing about Saturday that makes you think twice. 

The quarterback position is all about confidence. And though Jones didn't always look sharp against the Broncos, at least he didn't look gun-shy. He played assertively, like this is his team. 

So hold the quarterback controversy questions.

Ohio State is Jones' team. 

It's best the Buckeyes finally know that. 

See Ohio high school football statewide scores for Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Here are Ohio high school football statewide scores for Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015.

Akr. Buchtel 32, Akr. Firestone 12

Akr. East 43, Akr. North 12

Bellaire St. John 36, Youngs. Valley Christian 7

Cin. Aiken 26, Day. Ponitz Tech. 6

Cin. McNicholas 19, Day. Carroll 7

Cle. Hay 36, Cle. John Adams 12

Cle. John Marshall 6, Cle. Rhodes 2

Cle. St. Ignatius 30, Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit 27

Cols. DeSales 28, Cov. Catholic, Ky. 7

Euclid 48, Solon 36

Gates Mills Gilmour 26, Cle. VASJ 0

Geneva 41, Beachwood 12

Hunting Valley University 34, Cle. Cent. Cath. 22

Lakewood St. Edward 31, Bergen Catholic, N.J. 28

Lima Cent. Cath. 48, Tol. Rogers 18

Linsly, W.Va. 33, Garfield Hts. Trinity 15

Madonna, W.Va. 49, Ashtabula St. John 12

Mentor 35, Shaker Hts. 12

Oak Hill 26, Portsmouth Notre Dame 6

"I had a lot of fun out there throwing the ball around," receiver Michael Thomas said. "We missed a couple opportunities, but that's a good thing because I'm excited for next week and the season to come. Once we get those corrected, we'll be unstoppable." Watch video

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Are you scared of Ohio State's receivers? If you're going to have a nickname like Zone 6 and puff out your chests on social media and make videos of one-handed catches - all things the Ohio State receivers do - then you must scare people.

"I feel like us doing that, we do have to live up to that," sophomore receiver Jalin Marshall said Saturday. "But being at Ohio State, I feel like we have to be great in general because it's Ohio State. It's not an average school. We have to live up to the name we give ourselves, which is Zone 6, and we have to live up to the university and there are expectations each and every week."

That expectation on offense is danger. Last week, Urban Meyer said the Buckeyes were playing defense on offense, which is like asparagus for dessert or watching a driver's education film when you go to the movies.

This is supposed to be fun. This is supposed to be alive. If the defending national champions are going to figure out their starting quarterback and put up 50 points per game and be the team they want to be, average at receiver won't cut it.

In Saturday's 38-12 win over Western Michigan, the No. 1 Buckeyes (4-0) weren't perfect in their last nonconference game of the season. But they were dangerous. So don't focus on the underthrown deep balls by Cardale Jones, which will be easy to fixate on. It will be just as easy to fix with a guy who can chuck it to Toledo.

Focus on where the receivers were - in the danger zone.

"Everybody beat their man on each deep ball we threw," Marshall said.

"I can count five times we were behind them," Urban Meyer said, "and we had I think just one touchdown."

Meyer had wondered about his receivers through three games, admitting the idea of all that recruiting talent translating into catching talent had crossed his mind, "because we haven't separated like we need to," Meyer said.

When you saw starting quarterback Jones struggling against Hawaii and Northern Illinois, yanked in the second quarter in both games, his receivers weren't helping his cause. If they aren't open, it's hard for any quarterback to look great. Add in the Buckeyes' problems blocking outside, and it was easy to look at Zone 6 and focus on the two that were missing.

With all the supposed depth at the receiver position this season, it's possible the Buckeyes had the ideal three-man mix starting at the position last year: deep threat Devin Smith; Evan Spencer, the best blocking receiver Urban Meyer ever coached; and do-it-all pass catcher Thomas.

With Smith and Spencer gone, through three games the Buckeyes looked like Thomas and some fast dudes. No blocking. No deep threat.

The perimeter blocking was pounded home this week, because those 50- and 80-yard Ezekiel Elliott runs that everyone loves don't happen unless receivers are wiping out corners and safeties.

"Coach was saying it was on us, we have a great running back, a great offensive line, and he was saying guys weren't blocking on the perimeter," Thomas said. "So my main goal going into the game was make sure I did my job and I blocked on the perimeter so I don't have to hear that when we go watch film in the morning."

Translation: Can we please stop talking about receivers blocking? It's so boring. Let's talk about running and catching. That got better, too.

"I had a lot of fun out there throwing the ball around," Thomas said. "We missed a couple opportunities, but that's a good thing because I'm excited for next week and the season to come. Once we get those corrected, we'll be unstoppable."

If you are Indiana, Ohio State's opponent in the Big Ten opener next Saturday, and you see Corey Smith and Jalin Marshall and Curtis Samuel running behind defensive backs, you might be a little nervous, even if the outcomes were incompletions and in one case on a throw to Marshall in the endzone, an interception.

"When you can get over top of the defense, then that's got to scare people when they watch film," offensive coordinator Ed Warinner said. "That will help us down the road."

Thomas did make an adjustment to catch a 38-yard touchdown on the Buckeyes first series. That was a solid start for a stymied offense, to score on its third play on a complete coverage bust after a Western Michigan corner blitz.

Good, right?

"Not really," Jones said, "because I underthrew it."

He was joking, but he really did underthrow almost everything. One he didn't was a 37-yard post to Marshall after a little outside move made the defender bite and another receiver going in motion took the deep safety out of the play.

"I froze him a little bit. Once I figured out the safety was out of the middle of the field, I knew if he threw it where he did, we'd score," Marshall said.

So that worked. So did many other things about the deep balls - the routes, the decisions to call them and work the gameplan to Jones' strength, all but the throws.

After a week in which the offensive line didn't block and the receivers didn't get open and the head coach couldn't decide which quarterback should play, if your biggest problem is that Cardale Jones isn't throwing the ball far enough ... that is not a problem.

"Of course it's on me," Jones said. "You gotta go back and watch and every underthrown ball, the receiver had a guy beat by a decent amount of yards. They were easy layups, and Coach Meyer pulled me to the sideline and said, 'That's your strength. That helped us get to this point.'

"He's right. I gotta complete them."

He will. He will.

Ohio State's offense didn't need perfection against another MAC foe, just a reminder of potential.

"I think we score 50 points and reach 600 yards of offense," Marshall said of what the Buckeyes would have done with a few more deep ball successes. "We'll get that fixed in practice and next weekend we'll hit them."

So 31 points by the offense (the defense added another touchdown) and 511 yards of offense had to suffice. That included a career-high 288 passing yards for Jones - 31 more yards than against Wisconsin last year, 45 more than Alabama, 46 more than Oregon, 101 more than his best this season.

That included danger, even in the misses. 

"Just trusting my guys some more and having more faith in them to throw it," Jones said. "As you saw, they took the top off the defense - I just underthrew a couple of them."

Celebrate Ohio State's deep ball misfires Saturday. Enjoy every underthrown pass that could have been a touchdown but wasn't. Soak in what didn't happen - because of what could be.

Jose Ramirez had three hits and scored three runs as the Indians scored early and answered a Kansas City rally with one of their for their third straight victory.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -The Royals are already where they want to be at this time of the year. The Indians are still trying to get there and that was evident Saturday night at Kauffman Stadium

The Indians, facing long odds in the wild-card chase, scored early, withstood an enemy rally and pulled away again for a 9-5 victory over Kansas City. The Indians remained three games out of the AL's second wild card as Houston beat Texas.

The Angels and Twins stand between the Tribe and Houston. The Twins beat Detroit and the Angels were still playing Seattle on Saturday night.

The Tribe, finally above .500 for the first time since April, has won 19 of its last 29 games. The problem is they have only nine games to play.

This was a night for offense as starters Josh Tomlin and Chris Medlen each left after 3 2/3 bruising innings. The Indians took a 2-0 lead in the first on Carlos Santana's two-run triple that was misplayed by right fielder Alex Rios.

The Royals made it 2-1 on Ben Zobrist's homer in the first off Tomlin. It was the 12^th homer Tomlin has allowed in nine starts.

The Indians built a 6-2 lead with two runs in the first, third and fourth innings. After Jose Ramirez hit a lead-off triple in the third, Francisco Lindor delivered him with a sacrifice fly and Yan Gomes followed with his 12^th homer. In the fourth, Ramirez doubled home Mike Aviles and scored on a wild pitch. That's when the Royals made their move.

They scored three runs in fourth against Tomlin. The big hit belonged to Salvador Perez, who came into the game hitting .667 (8-for-12) against Tomlin. Perez, after a single by Kendrys Morales and a ground rule double by Mike Moustakas, lined a doubled to the wall in left center to make it 6-4. When Alcides Escobar singled off Jason Kipnis' glove at second base, Perez scored to make it 6-5 as Zach McAllister replaced Tomlin.

The Indians responded with a three-run sixth to pull away for good. After Abraham Almonte walked and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Mike Aviles, Kipnis singled to right for 7-5 lead. After Ramirez singled for his third hit of the night, Francisco Lindor delivered Kipnis with a single to center as Ramirez went to third. Santana ran his way out of a double play on a grounder to second to bring home Ramirez for a 9-5 lead.

The Royals, who clinched the AL Central on Thursday, had no response. McAllister, Jeff Manship, Kyle Crockett and Bryan Shaw held them scoreless and hitless over the last 5 1/3 innings. The win went to McAllister (4-4), who pitched 1 1/3 innings. Manship lowered his ERA to 0.97 with two scoreless innings.

The Indians out-hit the Royals, 12-7.

What it means

The Indians (77-76) finally climbed above .500 for the first time since April 9 when they were 2-1. They'd been at .500 six times since Sept. 13, but failed to win the next game.

The Royals (89-65) put their A-team on the field, but were still in chill mode after clinching the AL Central on Thursday. The Royals and Tribe are tied at 9-9 in the season series.

In Friday's game, manager Ned Yost fielded a split-squad lineup to give his regulars a rest after they clinched Thursday.

Chisenhall update

Lonnie Chisenhall left in the fourth inning after reaching first on an infield single. He felt cramping in his hamstrings on the way to the bag and was replaced by Jerry Sands.

Chisenhall, who came into the game hitting .294 (40-for-136) since his recall from Class AAA Columbus on July 30, has reached based in 30 of his last 40 games.

Follow the bouncing helmet

A treat for Indians fans was watching the helmet fly off Ramirez's head as he ran the bases on his various hits.

It flew off between second and third on his leadoff triple in the third. It came off between first and second on his RBI double in the fourth.

But those still couldn't top Friday night when Ramirez lost his helmet during his home-trot in the first inning.

Thanks for coming

The Indians and Royals drew 38,167 fans to Kauffman Stadium. It was KC's 20^th sellout of the season.

What's next?

The Indians end their season series with the Royals on Sunday afternoon as RHP Danny Salazar (13-9, 3.51) faces KC's Chris Young (10-6, 3.29) at 2:10 p.m. SportsTime Ohio, WTAM and WMMS will carry the game.

Salazar is coming off a 3-1 loss to the Twins on Tuesday. He is 2-1 in three starts against the Royals this season. Salazar held KC to one run over seven innings in a 5-1 victory on Sept. 16 at Progressive Field.

Young's last 10 appearances have been in relief. His last start was July 28 against the Indians. He's 0-1 against the Tribe this year in five appearances. He's allowed seven runs in 14 innings.

St. Ignatius rallies for a touchdown in the final eight seconds to defeat Walsh Jesuit.

PARMA, Ohio -- St. Ignatius receiver Jimmy Berger hauled in a 38-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Dennis Grosel with eight seconds left to give the Wildcats a come-from-behind victory Saturday against Walsh Jesuit at Byers Field.

The Wildcats, ranked No. 5 in the latest cleveland.com Top 25, moved 80 yards in seven plays in the final minute before Grosel found Berger on a crossing route. The senior wideout caught the ball near the 20 yard line and dove for the pylon in the right corner of the end zone for the game-winning score.

"Jimmy was on the backside all the way across the field and I saw him throw his hand up," Grosel said afterward. "Our line did a great job giving me time to throw it."

Grosel, who tossed a 35-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Musbach in the first quarter, finished 12-of-18 passing for 203 yards, and led the Wildcats with 124 rushing yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns.

The last St. Ignatius quarterback to orchestrate a game-winning drive in the final minute was Brian Hoyer against Erie Cathedral Prep in 2003.

"We were thinking short, quick, and get out of bounds," Grosel said. "They really hadn't stopped the pass all game. We knew that and believed in ourselves."

Pat Keough's second touchdown catch, a 22-yard reception from quarterback Mac Shinaberry, gave Walsh Jesuit a 27-23 lead with less than a minute left. Noah Ball's kickoff into the end zone put 80 yards between St. Ignatius and a win the Wildcats desperately needed.

The victory improves the St. Ignatius' record to 3-2, while Walsh Jesuit drops to 1-4. St. Ignatius faces Parma on Friday back at Byers field, and the Warriors travel to Dowed Field to take on unbeaten Archbishop Hoban.

Walsh Jesuit's plan to control the ball and keep St. Ignatius' offense on the sidelines was effective throughout the game. The Wildcats defense had trouble stopping Warriors tailback Joseph Penna and reading screen passes to fullback Josh Bennet out of the backfield.

Penna carried 40 times for 212 yards and a 16-yard TD in the second quarter. Bennet caught six passes for 60 yards and the Warriors converted 11 of 16 third down attempts. Shinaberry finished 16 of 24 passing for 205 yards.

First-year Walsh Jesuit coach Scott Beigie credited his offense for executing its game plan, and Penna for his toughness.

"Joe's a special one," Beigie said. "Some of that goes to the offensive line. We know we're going to get 10 in the box but they keep grinding."

St. Ignatius coach Chuck Kyle said his offense came through when it counted, and added the Wildcats will continue to work on staying disciplined defensively.

"It's like a nightmare when you can't get off the field on third down," Kyle said. "We didn't discipline ourselves to take care of that they were trying. It was very frustrating, and we've got to learn from that."

For more high school sports news, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Contact high school sports reporter Joe Noga on Twitter (@JoeNogaCLE), by email (jnoga@cleveland.com) or log in and leave a message in the comments section below.

Here are high school sports highlights from Saturday.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Here are high school sports highlights from Saturday. See below for information on how you team’s accomplishments can be recognized in these daily roundups.

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY

Fleet Feet Strongsville Invitational

Led by senior Gavin Gaynor's win, Hudson won the Fleet Feet Strongsville Invitational with 76 points. Gaynor finished in 15 minutes, 20.96 seconds.

Solon's Danny Cohen finished in second place (15:21.95). Chagrin Falls' Joe Bistritz (15:39.73), Brunswick's Andre Bollam-Godbott (15:43.51) and University School's JP Trojan (16:04.97) rounded out the top five.

Medina finished second as a team with 82 points, led by Matt Stump's 10th-place finish (16:19.88).

JB Firestone Invitational at Black River

Led by a second and third-place finish, Buckeye won the team competition at the JB Firestone Invitational with 88 points.

Buckeye senior Colin Their finished second (16:10.4) and Aidal Gallagher came in third (16:53.5). Black River's Tanner Hawley came in first place (15:58.1).

Willoughby South came in second with 98 points, led by Matt Richmond's fifth-place finish (17:01.6). Highland's team finished third with 144 points, and Firestone was fourth with 145.

Malone Invitational

In the Division I race, Jon Bach helped Wadsworth finish fifth as a team with 144 points. Bach was fourth with a time of 16:31.2.

Louisville had five runners finish in the top nine to win with 27 points. Canfield's Chase Kern was the race winner (15:46.9).

In the Division II meet, CVCA edged out Field for the top spot. Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy had 88 points, and Field finished with 89.

CVCA won with only one top-ten finisher. Ray Benson was the Royals' top finisher, coming in tenth place (17:27.6).

Field senior Clark Bookman crossed the finish line first (16:31.1).

In Division III, Rootstown was in second with 68 points. St. Thomas Aquinas swept the top seven spots to win with 15 points.

Kyle Borbely had Rootstown's best finish in eighth place (18:14.3).
Midwest Catholic Championships

St. Edward senior Oscar Rodriguez was the meet champion at Dayton Carroll with a time of 16:15.6.

STVM was the top local finisher as a team, coming in third with 97 points. The Irish also won the Silver Division team championship. Freshman Alex Phillip was St. Vincent-St. Mary's top finisher, coming in fourth place (16:32.9).

St. Edward finished fifth as a team with 116 points.

Niles Invitational

Southeast finished sixth at the Niles Invitational led by Tyler Worrell, who finished in 29th place (19:44).

Warren Howland had three runners finish in the top five to win with 28 points.

Todd Clark Invitational at Cloverleaf

Shaker Heights' Justyn Moore came in first place with a time of 16:07.47.

Stow was the top local team, finishing second with 89 points. The Bulldogs had three runners finish in the top ten, led by Jonathan Holtz' fifth-place finish (16:25.78). Massillon Jackson won the team title with 50 points.

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY

Fleet Feet Strongsville Invitational

Brunswick freshman Vanessa Pasadyn fell short of winning the individual championship with a second-place finish (18:07.07). Solon's Olivia Howell finished fourth (18:21.72) and Chardon's Rachel Banks came in fifth (18:32.06).

Olentangy Liberty won the meet with 85 points including two of the top three finishers. Chardon was the best local team in the meet, finishing third with 155 points.

JB Firestone Invitational at Black River

Highland sophomore AnnaMarie DiGiaccobe was the first to cross the finish line with a time of 18:28.3, and her teammate Kaylie Kenne finished second (19:31.9).

The Hornets finished second as a team with 81 points. Ashland won the team title with 75 points.

Berkshire's Kylie Scott finished fourth (19:50.7), and Black River's Hannah Heath finished fifth (20:27.2).

Black River had three top-ten finishers, which helped earn the Pirates third as a team with 99 points.

Malone Invitational

In the Division I race, Lindsey Leatherman's fifth-place finish (20:12.9) helped lead Wadsworth to a third-place finish with 82 points.

Massillon Perry won the meet with 76 points followed by St. Thomas Aquinas with 80. St. Thomas Aquinas' Athena Welsh won the race with a time of 18:31.1, winning by more than 40 seconds.

In the Division II race, CVCA had three top-five finishes to win with 39 points. Freshman Claudia Bosshard was Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy's best finisher, coming in third place (19:59.5). CVCA's Hannah Karayan was fourth (20:09.3) and Sarah Holzman was fifth (20:18.0).

Rootstown won the Division III title with 25 points. Junior Emma Burns had the winning time for Rootstown among competitors with full teams (21:50.2).

Midwest Catholic Championships

St. Joseph Academy sophomore Sydney Seymour finished in second place with a time of 18:31.7.

Gilmour won the Silver Division, and finished second as a team to Sacred Heart in the overall team competition. The Lancers had 93 points, led by Hannah Markel's fourth-place finish (19:01.4).

STVM came in fourth place as a team with 116 points with a pair of top-ten finishers.

Niles Invitational

Southeast finished in third place as a team with 100 points, led by Julia LaChance's ninth-place finish (21:43).

McDonald won with 19 points and had four of the top-five finishers.

Todd Clark Invitational at Cloverleaf

Shaker Heights had a pair of top-five finishers to finish second as a team with 80 points. Mimi Reimers was the meet's runner-up (19:09.53) and teammate Sophie Carrier was fourth (19:37.71).

Lutheran West's Michaela Bierly came in fifth place (19:39.95).

Massillon Jackson was the team champion with 77 points. Cloverleaf finished third with 90 points, followed by North Royalton in fourth with 107 points and Walsh Jesuit in fifth with 133.

BOYS SOCCER

Berea-Midpark 7, Kenston 0

Berea-Midpark set multiple school records in its win at Kenston. The Titans have a school-record 11-game winning streak, and Danny Ruple, who had two goals, has the school record for most goals in a season with 22.

Cannon Dees had three goals for Berea-Midpark (11-0), and Danny Sasak added two goals and two assists.

Chagrin Falls 2, University School 1

Mac Mazzola had two goals to give the Tigers the home win against the Preppers.

Peter Benjamin scored for University School.

Gilmour 3, Wickliffe 2

Two goals and an assist from Gilmour's Matt Chiancone helped the Lancers edge past Wickliffe. Devin Fedele also scored for Gilmour.

Kyle Roundy and Mark Trefzger had goals for Wickliffe.

Lutheran West 2, Keystone 0

Goals from Sam Kasputis and Brian Koscianski helped keep Lutheran West undefeated in Patriot Athletic Conference play.

Max Hayes 2, VASJ 1

Goals from Ryan DeLeon and Jose Ortiz led Max Hayes past Villa Angela-St. Joseph.

The game was tied at 1-1 at halftime.

North Ridgeville 2, Elyria 0

North Ridgeville extended its unbeaten streak to three games and goalkeeper Kyle Milner made five saves to get his third shutout of the season.

Alex Baroni and Riley Sayre scored for the Rangers.

Olmsted Falls 1, Brecksville 0

Bobby Illig's goal in the second half was enough to give Olmsted Falls the win.

GIRLS SOCCER

Avon Lake 1, Stow 0

Allie Heschel's goal was enough to power Avon Lake to a win. Avon Lake goalkeeper Elise Duvall made three saves for her 15th career shutout.

Avon Lake improved its record to 9-1-1.

Bay 3, Toledo St. Ursula 1

Bay took a 2-0 lead and scored again in the second half to stay undefeated. Bay's Alex Hoffman scored two goals and Maddie Ault scored as well.

Jillian Dubil made eight saves in goal for the Rockets.

Hathaway Brown 3, Kettering Alter 1

The Blazers won their first soccer game at their new stadium, Wolf Field, after rallying from a 1-0 halftime deficit.

Hathaway Brown is 8-2-1 on the season.

Hudson 1, Columbus Bishop Watterson 1

Erin Torrence had a goal for Hudson in its draw against Columbus Bishop Watterson.

Mayfield 5, Beachwood 0

Mayfield's Kristen Blanchard had a part in all five of her team's goals, scoring three and recording two assists.

Marissa Handel had the other two goals and also had an assist.

Mayfield's Chimamaka Palmer recorded three saves for the shutout.

GIRLS TENNIS

Hathaway Brown 4, Olentangy Liberty 1

Hathaway Brown, ranked No. 1 in Division II, defeated Olentangy Liberty, which is ranked No. 3 in Division I.

Maddie Lynch and Megan Qiang had singles wins for Hathaway Brown. Catherine Areklet and Franny Murray won in first doubles, and Isabella Davario and Rebecca Wolf won in second doubles.

North Coast League Championship

Walsh Jesuit had four champions to win the team championship at Archbishop Hoban.

Paige Carmichael won in first singles, and Gabi Constantini won in third singles for Walsh Jesuit. Skye Harwood and Caroline Dickerson were the first doubles winners, and Nicole Kessinger and Lilly Joyce won in second doubles.

NDCL's Aubrey Zahuranec won the second singles championship.

Western Reserve Conference Championship

Mayfield won all three singles championships to win the team conference championship.

Elizabeth Rotenberg was the first singles champion, Kristen Hsu won in second singles and Shannon McGill was the third singles winner.

Kenston's Mackensie Bush and Ellen Model won the first doubles title. Chardon's Lauren Nichols and Lindsey Nichols were the winners in second doubles.

VOLLEYBALL

Mentor Power Tournament

Mentor, Gilmour, Magnificat and Nordonia all won their semifinal matches in the first day of the Mentor Power Tournament.

Mentor beat Holy Name, 25-19, 25-14. Gilmour won in two games against Jefferson Area, 25-23, 25-22.

Magnificat defeated Walsh Jesuit, 25-18, 26-24, and Nordonia needed three games to beat Highland, 25-22, 23-25, 25-23.

Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin and Lake Catholic fell in their semifinal matches and will face each other on Sunday.

Each team won their two pool matches. In the semifinals, NDCL lost to Massillon Jackson, 23-25, 25-21, 25-23, and Lake Catholic lost to Ursuline, 25-19, 14-25, 25-22.

In final round matches at 10 a.m., on Sunday, Holy Name will play against Walsh Jesuit and Mentor will face Magnificat. At 11:30 a.m., Highland will play against Jefferson Area and Gilmour faces Nordonia. At 1 p.m. NDCL will go against Lake Catholic and Massillon Jackson will take on Ursuline.

How your team can be included in these roundups

These roundups are based on box scores and game notes entered in cleveland.com’s database by school or team representatives. If your team is not participating in the box score program please contact your athletic director or coach and encourage them to do so. They can obtain instructions and database login information from High School Sports Manager Kristen Davis at kdavis@cleveland.com.

The Buckeyes' offense awakens from its lethargy, but what starting quarterback Cardale Jones' missed throws show is how much more is there for the taking.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The big bang-bang-bang theory of football awakened Ohio State's once-quiet offense Saturday at the Horseshoe and bolstered the case of Glenville's Cardale Jones to be the starting quarterback now and forever. Or at least until the 2016 NFL Draft.

But this is an Ohio State season in which current reality seems stunted, compared to that of the national championship season just past. Ohio State scored only one offensive touchdown last week in a struggling victory, 20-13, over Northern Illinois of the Mid-American Conference. A 38-0 win over Hawaii the week before caused grumbling too.

The Buckeyes' 38-12 victory over another MAC challenger, Western Michigan, Saturday left plenty of room for improvement in the saga of the 6-5, 250-pound Jones. "12 Gauge" -- the number and the nickname, the man and the myth, the hits and the misses -- were all on display against Western.

Jones threw two touchdown passes. He passed for 288 of Ohio State's 511 yards in total offense. He completed passes for 40, 38 and 37 yards, the latter pair for touchdowns. Small boys will try to emulate some of those throws all autumn in Ohio on playgrounds, only at shorter distances and with smaller-bore arms.

For all that, Jones left everyone wanting more. He left enough yards on the field that a spectacular day became a good one. A dominating performance became faint praise from coach Urban Meyer.

A notoriously demanding grader, Meyer said, "I thought Cardale played OK."

Jones can throw the ball 80 yards. In popular imagination, Jones is living the dream of every bench warmer everywhere. If he can dream it, he can reach it.

"The alarming part is the underthrown deep ball, which is fixable," Meyer said.

I wrote about Jones' deep throws, and the  catches they forced Ohio State receivers to make earleir this season.

At this time last season, after a 50-28 fourth-game victory over Cincinnati, Meyer was worrying about whether or not his wide receivers could beat tight coverage. This year he's not.

This game, the passing woes were on Jones and back-up J.T. Barrett. The latter threw the worst interception of the evening.

"I know of at least three or four underthrown touchdowns or potential big hits," said Meyer.

Jones hit three different receivers for explosive plays of 20 yards and longer in the first half, when the Buckeyes won the game by taking an 18-point lead.

The first was a 37-yard touchdown pass to Michael Thomas, who was defended by late-arriving strong safety Rontavious Atkins, supported by 10 of his Western teammates shouting at Thomas, "Drop it!"

The next two long passes showed why Jones is going to be drafted higher than is suggested by his body of work, consisting of all of seven starts now, for all that he is 7-0 in them.

In the second quarter, Ohio State used motion and Jones' quick look to the left for a possible swing pass to move defenders that way. He didn't pump fake so much as pivot, then turned back to the middle of the field and threw  a 37-yard strike that Jalin Marshall caught in stride for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

Before the half was over, Jones hit the 40-yarder to Curtis Samuel, setting up a field goal.

But in the second half, Jones underthrew Marshall on a deep pass that was broken up; had a throw for Marshall intercepted in the end zone; underthrew Samuel steps from the Western goal line; and missed a diving Braxton Miller, who was wide open, in the corner of the end zone.

"Of course it's on me," said Jones. "Go back and look at them. Every underthrown ball, the receiver had his guy beat by  several yards."

"This is your strength," Meyer told Jones on the sideline. "This is what got us to this point."

"I've got to complete those balls," said Jones.

Even Jones' longest play might have been the result of good luck. He rolled to his right, scanning the field before throwing deep to Samuel. It dropped softly over Samuel's shoulder after tracing a rainbow parabola in the air.

Another wide receiver, Corey Smith, was running near Samuel.

"Curtis is the second-level (deep threat) guy," said Meyer. "But just react to the ball as it was thrown."

"Who was the intended receiver?" I asked.

"I think (it was) to Corey. They're not designed to stand right next to each other," Meyer said.

Samuel was on the inside, Smith the outside. Smith was farther downfield by a stride. Jones underthrew again. Meyer had no complaints about that one.

See how the Associated Press Top 10 Ohio football teams fared in Week 5 for all seven divisions through Saturday.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Find out how the Associated Press Top 10 Ohio football teams fared in Week 5 for all seven divisions through Saturday.

DIVISION I

1. St. Edward won, 31-28, vs. Bergen Catholic (N.J.). 

2. Huber Heights Wayne won, 49-14, vs. Miamisburg.

3. Fairfield lost, 13-0, vs. Mason. 

4. Westerville Central won, 39-23, vs. Canal Winchester.

5. Cincinnati Colerain won, 42-13, vs. Middletown.

6. Berea-Midpark lost, 24-14, at Midview.

7. Findlay won, 41-7, at Oregon Clay. 

8. Cincinnati Elder won, 56-39, vs. Centerville.

9. Cincinnati St. Xavier won, 14-10, vs. Cincinnati Moeller.

10. Lancaster won, 35-17, at Pickerington North.

DIVISION II

1. Cincinnati La Salle won, 56-19, vs. Cincinnati Northwest.

2. Perrysburg won, 42-3, vs. Bowling Green.

3. Aurora won, 24-7, vs. Barberton.

4. Mayfield won, 42-13, vs. Kenston.

5. Worthington Kilbourne won, 38-0, vs. Mt. Vernon. 

6. Warren G. Harding lost, 33-22, at Youngstown Ursuline.

7. Midview won, 24-14, vs. Berea-Midpark.

8. Chardon lost, 28-0, at Madison.

9. Cincinnati Turpin won, 31-17, vs. Cincinnati Glen Este.

10. Cincinnati Glen Este lost, 31-17, at Cincinnati Turpin.

DIVISION III

1. Benedictine won, 27-7, vs. Columbus Watterson.

2. Archbishop Hoban won, 24-7, vs. St. Vincent-St. Mary.

3. Poland Seminary won, 42-7, vs. Ashtabula Edgewood.

4. St. Vincent-St. Mary lost, 24-7, at Archbishop Hoban. 

5. Wapakoneta won, 24-14, vs. Lima Bath. 

6. Zanesville won, 44-21, Canada Perp (Ontario). 

7. Buckeye won, 47-7, vs. Clearview. 

8. Clyde lost, 27-14, at Sandusky Perkins. 

9. Trotwood-Madison won, 41-31 vs. Lebanon. 

10. Jackson lost, 28-7, at Wheelersburg. 

DIVISION IV

1. Steubenville won, 47-0, vs. Dover. 

2. Perry won, 43-6, vs. Wickliffe. 

3. Hamilton Badin lost, 38-31, at Middletown Bishop Fenwick. 

4. Johnstown-Monroe won, 34-22, vs. Granville. 

5. Middletown Bishop Fenwick won, 38-31, vs. Hamilton Badin.

6. St. Clairsville won, 37-13, vs. Wintersville Indian Creak. 

7. Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin won, 21-14, vs. Canton Central Catholic.

8. Columbus Bishop Hartley lost, 28-24, at Beavercreek. 

9. Germantown Valley View lost, 21-18, at Franklin. 

10. Kettering Archbishop Alter won, 63-7, vs. St. Bernard Roger Bacon. 

DIVISION V

1. Coldwater won, 40-7, vs. Anna 7. 

2. Columbiana Crestview won, 47-19, vs. Jackson-Milton.

3. Wheelersburg won, 28-7, vs. Jackson. 

4. Chillicothe Zane Trace won, 48-0, vs. Southeastern.

5. Cadiz Harrison Central won, 33-27, vs. Martins Ferry. 

6. Millbury Lake won, 49-18, vs. Fostoria. 

7. Milan Edison won, 55-0, vs. Castalia Margaretta.

8. Doylestown Chippewa lost, 37-21, at Creston Norwayne. 

9. Brookville won, 21-0, vs. Monroe.

10. Swanton won, 45-7, vs. Bryan. 

DIVISION VI

1. Maria Stein Marion Local won, 42-7, vs. St. Henry.

2. Columbus Grove lost, 19-7, at Ada, on Friday. 

3. Cincinnati Country Day won, 41-7, vs. Cincinnati Summit Country Day.

4. Spencerville won, 61-25, vs. Convoy Crestview. 

5. Columbia won, 42-28, vs. Sullivan Black River. 

6. Bainbridge Paint Valley won, 42-7, vs. Chillicothe Unioto 7.

7. Lucasville Valley won, 55-15, vs. Portsmouth Sciotoville.

8. Cuyahoga Heights won, 54-13, vs. Middlefield Cardinal. 

9. Jeromesville Hillsdale lost, 41-20, at Apple Creek Waynedale. 

10. Mechanicsburg won, 48-8, vs. N. Lewisburg Triad.

DIVISION VII

1. Danville won, 64-0, vs. Fremont St. Joseph Central Catholic.

2. Caldwell won, 46-13, vs. Waverly. 

3. Fort Recovery won, 41-0, vs. Rockford Parkway.  

4. Lucas won, 44-12, vs. Waterloo.

5. Warren John F. Kennedy won, 38-28, at Steubenville Central Catholic. 

6. West Unity Hilltop won, 50-28, vs. Edon.

7. Mogadore won, 42-21, vs. Loudonville.

8. Minster won, 20-12, at Versailles.

9. McComb won, 56-6, at Arcadia.

10. Toronto lost, 14-9, at Shadyside. 

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"But I knew they were going to try to cut tackle me, that's what's been happening every week. So when expecting a cut tackle I'm going to go up and over them. Watch video

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ezekiel Elliott considers his hurdle a matter of survival.

"My first time hurdling someone in football was last year when we played Alabama, and this year it's been a real emphasis it seems like from defenses to cut tackle me," Elliott said after Saturday's 38-12 win over Western Michigan. "I'm tired of taking those shots to the legs, those thigh bruises, so I decided to go up top a couple times."

Saturday's hurdle over Western Michigan was his second of the season, part of a 124-yard day that was his ninth straight 100-yard game. A high school hurdler, he's starting to know how to line defenders up when he wants to go high.

"I think it's more of an instinctive thing," Elliott said. "You've got to kind of watch film and study the tacklers because you really don't want to try to hurdle guys who are trying to hit you up top, you'll get flipped or something.

"But I knew they were going to try to cut tackle me, that's what's been happening every week. So when expecting a cut tackle I'm going to go up and over them.

"It definitely is a good feeling. It's gotten a lot more natural."

Everyone see Ezekiel Elliott's hurdle today? He's been doing that since high school. pic.twitter.com/xAlJQLfn1K

-- C-Town Track (@ctowntrack) September 27, 2015

We are starting to catch on to Ezekiel Elliott's go to move. #WMUvsOSU https://t.co/kw2u4QADXi

-- ESPN CollegeFootball (@ESPNCFB) September 26, 2015

Ezekiel Elliott had over seven yards per carry. Cardale Jones had time to throw. What did that mean for Ohio State's offensive line? Watch video

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It was one play of a couple during Ohio State's win over Western Michigan on Saturday that suggested the Buckeyes' offensive line was at least starting to figure some things out.

Ezekiel Elliott started running wide, but had to shift his run up the middle of the field when the outside no longer became an option. He had space in the middle because a pulling Jacoby Boren got the second level and took a linebacker out of the play.

Had Elliott not been tripped up, it would've gone for the kind of big-hit touchdown run he's been looking for over the last three weeks. Instead it was a 15-yard run in the third quarter. He'll take that too, because any run that goes for 10 yards or more means the Buckeyes' offensive line is starting to overcome its struggles.

The offensive line wasn't perfect, but Ohio State will merely take better as it prepares to open Big Ten play next week at Indiana.

"I think they got beat up a little bit (this week)," Urban Meyer said. "And I'm sure -- I know I was tired of hearing about it, so I'm sure they were, too."

They were beat up because for two weeks the offensive line struggled to protect whoever was playing quarterback, or carve out holes for Elliott against odd-man fronts.

That's not all on the offensive line, it's part of the greater offensive mechanism that also includes receivers and tight ends blocking, a good play-action game to keep defenses honest and quarterbacks who make smart decisions with the ball. But Meyer would be the first to tell you that it starts up front.

The guy should get "offensive line-driven team" trademarked. He says it enough.

The lack of execution through two weeks got compounded by the fact that Ohio State had four starters returning to what many considered the best offensive line in the country by the end of last season.

"We felt like we weren't living up to our expectations," right tackle Chase Farris said.

So that made this week tough.

"It's frustrating because everybody assumes that after seven months you just pick up where you left off and that's not the case," offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator Ed Warinner said. "There's new pieces on the coaching staff, there's new pieces on the offense. Things change and you're never the same.

"You have to develop a team. Nothing we did last year is helping us win any games this year. We all understand that, that's not necessarily what everybody else understands. You start from scratch and build a new team."

The questions, the work to figure out what was going wrong with a group that on paper should be a real strength of this team, that all made for a strenuous week that ended with the offensive line at least taking a step in the right direction.

Ezekiel Elliott averaged more than seven yards per carry on Saturday thanks to better play from Ohio State's offensive line. Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer

The big hits Elliott has been looking for? They appear on the horizon. He averaged 7.8 yards per carry on Saturday after getting less that five yards per carry against Hawaii and Northern Illinois. Curtis Samuel actually took the big one with a 40-yard touchdown run up the middle in the fourth quarter.

Cardale Jones faced some pressure, but was only sacked once.

"I think they (the line) went out there and demanded that the defense steps up because they played well and pushed the defense off the ball on every play," receiver Jalin Marshall said.

Anything good the offense, and the line did on Saturday should come with the caveat that Western Michigan came into the game ranked 93rd in the country in total defense. A major part of the offensive line's success was because the defense Western Michigan played on Saturday was actually the defense Ohio State had prepared for on film.

The Broncos' four-man front fell more in line with the type that Ohio State's offensive line thrives on, one that allows the Buckeyes to get double-teams and get to the second level to open things up for the running game.

So if Saturday was merely just a boost to the confidence for a unit that appeared to be playing with very little, then that's something as the Buckeyes continue to work the kinks out up front. Sometimes you need a slump-buster.

That's important going into next week, because Indiana is kind of the poster child for the odd-man fronts that have given Ohio State problems.

"They were a very stout front," Elliott said. "We really didn't run the ball that well against them (last year)."

Meyer has invoked the name of Indiana, not necessarily a team you'd consider a defensive juggernaut, a few times over the last few weeks while Ohio State has struggled to move the ball.

Whatever struggles the Buckeyes had against the Hoosiers and other odd-man fronts, they'll have a chance to rectify that next week. Saturday was a step in the right direction, a boost to the collective confidence of the offensive line.

Playing well and moving the ball against Indiana will mean the Buckeyes' offensive line is on its way to being what everyone thought it would be this year.

"They're a hard-working group, a very tough group and they have a lot of pride," Warinner said. "They knew they weren't where they wanted to be. So they went to work, that's the obligation they have to the team, to prepare well and make sure we can protect the quarterback and run the football. I thought they did a better job of that. So we took some steps in the right direction."