PAINESVILLE TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Painesville Riverside owned one of the feel-good stories of the football season, turning an 0-4 start into a four-game winning streak and claiming a share of first place in the Premier Athletic Conference. But the Beavers and their fans weren't feeling as good Friday night after Willoughby South ran away with 49-21 victory at Riverside...
PAINESVILLE TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Painesville Riverside owned one of the feel-good stories of the football season, turning an 0-4 start into a four-game winning streak and claiming a share of first place in the Premier Athletic Conference.
But the Beavers and their fans weren't feeling as good Friday night after Willoughby South ran away with 49-21 victory at Riverside Stadium.
The Rebels needed one play to start the scoring spree. Quarterback Ray Russ tossed a strike to a wide-open Devyn Woods about 30 yards downfield and Woods cruised into the end zone for a 64-yard score.
South increased its lead to 14-0 with 8:57 left in the first quarter, Russ throwing an 8-yard touchdown pass to Mitch Bizily. Russ completed 19 of 31 passes for 345 yards and seven touchdowns -- in the first half. He has 37 touchdown passes for the season.
"Anytime our line can give him some time, he's got some weapons and he makes real good decisions," South coach Matt Duffy said. "He made some great throws tonight."
Russ probably could have challenged the state record of nine touchdown passes in a game if it was necessary, but the Rebels were happy to run the ball, and the clock, in the second half.
"Our line did a great job and our receivers did a great job making plays," Russ said.
Woods led South receivers with eight catches for 229 yards. His second touchdown reception was good for 79 yards on another one-play drive in the second quarter.
Bizily had five catches for 62 yards, three for touchdowns.
Russ and company looked like they were running a two-minute drill the entire first half, often getting snaps off seconds after the ball was made ready for play.
"That's our goal," Russ said. "We just want wear the defense down so they can't keep up with us. Our skill guys are real fast and they make a lot of plays. Our offensive line is real smart. They do a lot of good things. It all clicked tonight."
South improved to 8-1 overall and 4-0 in the conference, clinching a share of the championship. Riverside slipped to 4-5, 3-1.
Riverside's first score came on a 9-yard touchdown run by John Studio as the Beavers took advantage of Anthony Bilal's recovery of a South fumble late in the first quarter. Bilal gave the home fans a thrill with a 93-yard kickoff return early in the second quarter.
The Beavers reserves used most of the fourth quarter to grind out a 16-play, 85-yard drive. Steve Ivaskovic scored on a 5-yard run.
"It was just great execution on [South's] part," Riverside first-year coach Dave Bors said. "You can see why they're one of the top teams in the area. Nobody likes to lose, but it's another game we can build off of. When you're building a program, sometimes you're going to have a bad game against a great team."
Bob Migra is a freelance writer in Westlake.