High school football: Black River's Tyler Mrakuzic named first-team All-Ohio

Black River will just have to imagine what a full season of Tyler Mrakuzic looks like. The Pirates were without their senior playmaker for four weeks after he dislocated his elbow in the first quarter of Week 2. But Mrakuzic only needed half the year to showcase his All-Ohio skills, landing on the first team in Division VI for the second straight season. "The practices took way longer than normal watching the seniors play without me," said Mrakuzic, who joins Buckeye's Nick Tavernelli (2004-05) and Black River's John Guilford (2010-11) as the only players from Medina County to be named first-team All-Ohio twice. "It felt horrible. I knew I had to get back out there as soon as I could." While Mrakuzic was honored as a defensive back — he finished fourth on the team in tackles with 42 and had two fumble recoveries and an interception — he was the go-to threat in Black River's passing attack. He led the Pirates in catches (29) and yards (581) while tying for the team lead in receiving touchdowns with six. Those four weeks on the sideline were tough, as his elbow was immobilized during that time. Mrakuzic said in the initial aftermath of the injury he considered calling it a career. That feeling was quickly dispelled after watching his first practice, as the itch to play again took over. Coach Kyle Clark said Mrakuzic put on a headset and helped the coaches signal in formations while doing as much as he could to help the team as he healed. "He was always itching to get back," Clark said. "He doesn't miss practice, he doesn't complain about injuries and then he's first in every sprint that we do and every conditioning drill. I've told kids if you want to be an all-state player, do what Tyler Mrakuzic does. It was great to show his teammates what it takes to be that caliber of a player." Mrakuzic's first game back came in a 52-0 win against Oberlin in Week 7. He only had one catch for 25 yards, but it was more than enough to shake off the rust. He followed with five catches for 72 yards in a win against Keystone and two catches for 76 yards and a touchdown in spoiling Firelands' perfect Lorain County League season. "I was super nervous," Mrakuzic said of his first game back. "Towards halftime I got all those nerves out and I started playing how I used to. My first catch I jumped over the one Oberlin guy to catch it. That was it. I thought, 'I have to end this year with a bang.'" Joining Mrakuzic on the All-Ohio team were teammates Eric Groesser and Blake Hopkins. Groesser made the second team for his punting prowess, turning out a net of 40.1 yards on 15 attempts, with four inside the 20-yard line. However, the junior did it all for the Pirates, completing 54% of his 197 pass attempts for 1,803 yards and 16 touchdowns to just six interceptions. He also rushed for 417 yards and five touchdowns. On defense he piled up 28 tackles and recovered two fumbles. Hopkins was an honorable mention choice at linebacker after leading Black River's defense with 136 tackles, including 14 for loss and one sack. He had two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. He also was the team's leading rusher with 584 yards and 11 touchdowns and caught 35 passes for 494 yards and four TDs. "If we don't have Eric Groesser, I don't know if we would have won any games this year," Clark said. "And then Blake Hopkins is just a phenomenal inside linebacker. He has a great nose for the football. He did everything for us, and it's not like people weren't getting after him. They sent one to two linemen after him and he was still making plays." Contact Chris Sweeney at 329-7135 or sports@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on Twitter.