See a photo gallery from the game here. AVON LAKE, Ohio — Maple Heights nearly batted 1.000 on Friday and rolled to a 61-27 victory over Sandusky in a Division II regional semifinal at Avon Lake Memorial Stadium.
See a photo gallery from the game here.
AVON LAKE, Ohio — Maple Heights nearly batted 1.000 on Friday and rolled to a 61-27 victory over Sandusky in a Division II regional semifinal at Avon Lake Memorial Stadium.
With quarterback Shaq Washington and running backs DeVonte Ransom and Andre Stubbs igniting a devastating ground game spurred by outlandish team speed, the Mustangs scored on nine of their first 11 possessions and waltzed to their 12th consecutive victory. They advanced to next week's regional finals for the second year in a row.
Maple Heights, ranked fourth in the state by the Associated Press and eighth by The Plain Dealer, will play Olmsted Falls, a 56-28 winner over Maumee, on Friday at a site to be announced Sunday.
There wasn't much left to determine Friday after Maple Heights, state runner-up last year, scored seemingly at will and built a 34-7 lead with a little more than seven minutes to play in the first half. The Mustangs scored on six of their first eight possessions and led, 41-14, at the half.
"We thought we had [a speed] advantage and we were going to attack the things we saw on film," Maple Heights coach Todd Filtz said. "The things we game-planned for were there for us."
Washington had 100 yards and two touchdowns on six carries in the first half. Ransom had 122 yards and one touchdown on nine attempts and the lightning-quick Stubbs had 101 yards and one touchdown on just three carries. Most of the starters were on the bench by the time the fourth quarter started.
Ransom finished with 209 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries and he also caught a 17-yard scoring pass from Washington that gave the Mustangs a 54-21 lead late in the third quarter. Stubbs, who simply outran everyone for a 67-yard touchdown in the second quarter, finished with 105 yards on just four carries.
Washington, a Cincinnati recruit, finished with 168 yards and three touchdowns on the ground and completed 9 of 16 passes for 144 yards and three touchdowns. Maple Heights, the fifth-seeded team, finished with 675 yards of offense.
"We knew we had to move the ball offensively and we knew the defense would step up," said Washington, who got the Mustangs off and running when he dashed 50 yards on the second play of the game. "The defense struggled early but they put it together at the end."
Sandusky, which upset top-seeded Avon in last week's first round, rolled up 400 yards of offense as well, but it was too little to combat the Mustangs' high-octane attack. Senior Cordney Strickland, who keyed last week's win, rushed for 99 yards and scored three touchdowns on 20 carries for the Blue Streaks (7-5), in the playoffs for the eighth time in school history.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:trogers@plaind.com; 216-999-5169