High school football: Key pick-sixes help Medina pull away from Stow

MEDINA — Cason Diiulio threw for almost 400 yards in his first game in charge of the Medina football team's prolific five-wide offense, but it was up to Bees defensive backs Camden Sokolowski and Tallen Hulvey to make sure the junior transfer's three interceptions were merely a footnote. Locked in a tie game with Stow midway through the third quarter, Sokolowski and Hulvey each had pick-sixes in a span of three Bulldogs possessions as the Bees pulled away for a 42-14 victory Friday in the non-league season opener for both teams. "During halftime, when our offense was struggling a little bit, I went up to (Hulvey) and (linebacker) Cooper J (Josefczyk) and told them we were going to have to win the game," Sokolowski said. "I scored, then (Hulvey) scored." The 6-foot-1, 230-pound Josefczyk, who added a 14-yard touchdown run, was all over the field, as was defensive lineman Cooper Estes (2 sacks). Both players played a huge role in Sokolowski's pick-six, as Josefczyk (TFL) nearly had a sack while flushing Bulldogs quarterback Jacob Harrington out of the pocket. When Harrington (10-for-25, 70 yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs; 19 carries, 73 yards) managed to get free, Estes closed in and the QB flipped the ball forward along the Medina sideline. It landed right in the arms of Sokolowski, who raced 40 yards to put the Bees up 21-14 with 4:10 left in the third quarter after Finn Kelps made the third of his six extra points. "I was very surprised when it came to me, because I had the guy covered in the flat," the 6-0, 185-pound Sokolowski said. "I thought I was going to have to come up and make a tackle, then he flipped it up and I took it. There was straight green grass ahead of me." Hulvey, who had another interception on the last play of the game and also recovered an onside kick, made it a 28-14 game with 10:54 remaining in the fourth quarter when he jumped a short out route, stepped in front of a pass intended for Daylon Keeling (6 catches, 55 yards, TD; 1-for-1 passing, 33 yards) and raced 55 yards untouched. "They kept running that little bubble pass, and I caught on to it," Hulvey said. "When No. 2 came out I jumped it and did my thing." Medina gave up 20 first downs and 344 yards total offense but limited the Bulldogs to 11-for-26 passing for 103 yards while also getting a sack from Brayden Smigel and tackles for loss from Chad Gatchell Jr. and Carson Mann. Other than losing track of big tight end Nate Brown for an 18-yard TD in the third period, the defensive backs and linebackers played particularly well, as Stow had just two completions of more than 10 yards. "We really picked it up in the second half and turned the game over," the 6-2, 215-pound Hulvey said. Diiulio, who spent his freshman year at Walsh Jesuit and was the Senate Athletic League MVP as a sophomore at John Marshall before moving to Medina, had moments of absolute greatness that were a bit offset by his three picks. The 6-1, 180-pound junior was also fortunate two possible fumbles were ruled incomplete passes, but he otherwise displayed some pinpoint accuracy while finishing 23-for-43 for 397 yards and three TDs. "We went up and down the field," said Diiulio, who also led the Bees in rushing with six carries for 49 yards. "We've got to cash in for a few more scores, but in the end we got the 'W.'" The Bees appeared to have scored a 62-yard TD on the first play of the game when Diiulio threw backward to Sydney Lloyd, who threw back to Diiulio, who then found a wide open Brian Wuchter, but Lloyd's throw back to the QB was ruled a forward pass. Medina got on the board on its next drive when Diiulio hit Jackson Riffle on a perfect deep ball for a 53-yard score. After the Bulldogs, who finished 1-9 a year ago, tied the game when Harrington hit Keeling for an 8-yard score, things got a little hairy for the Bees. Keeling took a throw backward from Harrington and found the rugged Brown, who fought his way all the way to the 1-yard line before fumbling the ball out of the back of the end zone. The Bulldogs also missed a 24-yard field goal, so they could have held the lead midway through the third period. On Medina's ensuing possession after Brown's fumble, Diiulio threw his first pick while attempting to go deep across the middle. "I'll take the blame on that one, but our coaches said they were holding our guy," he said. "I still have to make a better read." The Bees had first-and-goal at the 7-yard line on their next possession when Diiulio tried to go short across the middle, but Stow linebacker Nick Hosey picked off the pass at the 2 and raced back to his own 37. "That was on me," Diiulio said. "I thought it was the right read, but I pointed it too soon." Other than that — his last interception came late in the game with Medina firmly in control — the successor to All-Ohio QBs Drew Allar and Danny Stoddard made a number of great throws while missing long on a few others. Diiulio hit Lloyd for a 4-yard score early in the fourth quarter — Lloyd caught the ball at the 9, juked a defender and got out wide — and Riffle on a perfect 20-yard slant for a TD with 4:18 to go. Riffle, the fastest guy on Medina's roster, finished with four catches for 118 yards, while Wuchter had six receptions for 101. Max Meyers had four catches for 69 yards, Lloyd had five for 64 and Kellen Hathaway had three for 42. Like their quarterback, all five players are juniors. "It's amazing," Diiulio said. "They're all fast and reliable guys. They're just dudes you want to have on your team." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on X. Medina 42, Stow 14 STOW 7 0 7 0 — 14 MEDINA 7 7 7 21 — 42 First M — Jackson Riffle 53 pass from Cason Diiulio (Finn Kelps kick), 8:04. S — Daylon Keeling 8 pass from Jacob Harrington (Zachary Conrad kick), 4:34. Second M — Cooper Josefczyk 14 run (Kelps kick), 1:26. Third S — Nate Brown 18 pass from Harrington (Conrad kick), 6:27. M — Camden Sokolowski 40 interception return (Kelps kick), 4:10. Fourth M — Tallen Hulvey 55 interception return (Kelps kick), 10:54. M — Sydney Lloyd 4 pass from Diiulio (Kelps kick), 9:41. M — Riffle 20 pass from Diiulio (Kelps kick), 4:18. S M First downs &emsp;&emsp;20 19 Rushing &emsp;&emsp;48/241 14/84 Rushing average 5.0 6.0 Passing &emsp;&emsp;11/26 23/43 Passing yards &emsp;&emsp;103 397 Total offense 74/344 57/481 Punting &emsp;&emsp;5/39.2 2/29.0 Penalties &emsp;&emsp;6/53 6/61 Fumbles &emsp;&emsp;2/1 2/0 RUSHING: Stow — Harrington 19-73, Caden Boyd 12-72, Nick Hosey 11-54, Israel Purkiss 6-40, Keeling 0-2. Medina — Diiulio 6-49, Josefczyk 3-17, Caleb Sherman 2-13, Max Meyers 3-5. PASSING: Stow — Harrington 10-25-70-3, Keeling 1-1-33-0. Medina — Diiulio 23-43-397-3. RECEIVING: Stow — Keeling 6-50, Brown 3-50, Paul Biltz 2-3. Medina — Riffle 4-118, Brian Wuchter 6-101, Meyers 4-69, Sydney Lloyd 5-64, Kellen Hathaway 3-42, Sherman 1-3. MISSED FIELD GOALS: Stow — Conrad 24 (WL).