Last year was supposed to be the year for the Chagrin Falls Tigers, but here they are, once again playing in the Division IV state championship game. Last year's senior-dominated team didn't get it done, falling to Kettering Alter, but after Friday's 21-3 domination of Orrville, the Tigers did what nobody outside of their locker room thought they could...
Last year was supposed to be the year for the Chagrin Falls Tigers, but here they are, once again playing in the Division IV state championship game.
Last year's senior-dominated team didn't get it done, falling to Kettering Alter, but after Friday's 21-3 domination of Orrville, the Tigers did what nobody outside of their locker room thought they could do -- make a return trip.
"Nobody expected us to do this," said sophomore tailback Bradley Munday, who had 106 yards on 16 carries including a 52-yard touchdown. "Nobody had confidence in us, but we knew we could do it."
Senior quarterback Tim Porter, who completed 7 of 13 passes for 82 yards, admitted that he didn't expect to return to the championship game at the beginning of the season. But he didn't say it wouldn't happen, either.
"Anything's possible," he said. "You can do anything if you put your mind to it."
Chagrin took control of the game right from the start, taking the opening kickoff and piecing together a 13-play, 68-yard drive that ended on a 3-yard run by Jack Hinman. The Tigers had four successful third down conversions on the drive, including a 31-yard swing pass from Porter to Munday.
While Porter was in control the entire game, his Orrville counterpart, Kyle Lichti, struggled mightily. The sophomore entered the game having passed for nearly 2000 yards with a 49 percent completion rate, but against Chagrin Falls he completed just two of 20 attempts and was intercepted four times.
Munday wasn't a big part of the offense until the regular season ended. That's because Marc Geraci, one of the few returners from last year, was the centerpiece of the offense until being injured in the final regular season game.
"Marc is a great player, really he was the key to our offense," Munday said.
"But when he got hurt I knew I had to step up."
The 5-foot-8 sophomore has had more than 100 passing and receiving yards combined in each of the last three games.
"We knew they had lost a really good player, but this guy's better," Orrville coach Doug Davault said. "We knew he was their best player. The kid can flat-out play."
Munday scored the final touchdown in the second quarter on a 52-yard scamper up the right sideline.