High school football: Medina can't come back against Cleveland Heights

The Medina football team tried to rally twice Friday, but too many mistakes and too much of Cleveland Heights quarterback LaMarques Greenwood led to a 42-28 Greater Cleveland Conference defeat. The Bees (2-5, 1-3) cut a 20-7 deficit to 20-14 and a 36-14 hole to 36-28 before running out of steam against the Tigers (2-5, 2-2). Greenwood was magnificent, completing 18-of-34 passes for 239 yards and four touchdowns, rushing 12 times for 34 yards and a score, passing for two two-point conversions and catching one on a Philly Special from four-star recruit Henry Perrymond. The game was marred by execution errors. Medina recovered an incredible three onside kicks but also threw three interceptions, including two as it tried to rally in the fourth quarter, while Cleveland Heights committed 12 penalties for 136 yards, giving it 509 in the last five meetings against the Bees. Medina lost starting quarterback River Blomquist after he was hit squarely in the helmet after scrambling — the Tigers were assessed a personal foul — and nearly rallied behind Beckett Vogrin, who threw 80- and 11-yard touchdowns to Brian Wuchter and Kellen Hathaway, respectively, before being picked off twice inside the Cleveland Heights 10-yard line in the fourth quarter. Wuchter finished with four grabs for 106 yards, but five other receivers combined for only eight catches for 51 yards. Vogrin completed 9-of-22 passes after Blomquist completed only 3-of-12, and Caleb Sherman tried to throw back to Blomquist on a trick play but was picked off by Deon Solomon, who rumbled 20 yards to the end zone to open the scoring late in the first quarter. Medina took a short-lived 7-6 lead early in the second quarter when Blomquist found Wuchter from 21 yards. However, Greenwood threw four touchdown passes, two conversions and caught another in a 30-7 run that spanned from the 4:46 mark of the second quarter to the 4:39 mark of the third. The Bees' score during that period was Wuchter's 80-yard reception. Medina began its final push on a 1-yard run from fullback John Nagel. The Bees got the ball back and Hathaway's 11-yard TD reception cut the deficit to 36-28 with 8:03 to play. Medina again got the ball back, but Vogrin was intercepted. Greenwood then provided the insurance on a 16-yard run. Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com. Cleveland Heights 42, Medina 28 CLEVELAND HEIGHTS 6 14 14 6 — 42 MEDINA &emsp;&emsp;0 7 14 7 — 28 First C — Deon Solomon 20 interception return (pass failed), 1:01. Second M — Brian Wuchter 21 pass from River Blomquist (Landen Cusick kick), 8:32. C — Jariah Morgan 24 pass from LaMarques Greenwood (pass failed), 4:46. C — Henry Perrymond 14 pass from Greenwood (Greenwood pass from Perrymond), 0:47. Third M — Wuchter 80 pass from Beckett Vogrin (Cusick kick), 11:47. C — Sirr Gibson 10 pass from Greenwood (Elijah Harris pass from Greenwood), 9:08. C — Perrymond 9 pass from Greenwood (Gibson pass from Greenwood), 4:39. M — John Nagel 1 run (Cusick kick), 0:48. Fourth M — Kellen Hathway 11 pass from Beckett Vogrin (Cusick kick), 8:03. C — Greenwood 16 run (run failed), 6:18. &emsp;&emsp;C &emsp;&emsp;M First downs &emsp;&emsp;20 &emsp;&emsp;18 Rushing &emsp;&emsp;31/134 37/113 Rushing average &emsp;&emsp;4.3 &emsp;&emsp;3.1 Passing &emsp;&emsp;18/34&emsp;&emsp;12/35 Passing yards &emsp;&emsp;239 &emsp;&emsp;157 Total offense &emsp;&emsp;65/373 72/270 Punting &emsp;&emsp;1/35.0 4/38.8 Penalties &emsp;&emsp;12/136 &emsp;&emsp;7/47 Fumbles &emsp;&emsp;4/3 &emsp;&emsp;6/0 RUSHING: Cleveland Heights — Harris 13-62, Greenwood 12-34, Perrymond 2-23, Matt Valentine 2-10, John Morris 1-9, n/a 1-(-4). Medina — Vogrin 14-60, Sydney Lloyd 10-54, n/a 1-8, Brian Wuchter 2-8, Nagel 1-1, Blomquist 8-(-5), Team 1-(-13). PASSING: Cleveland Heights — Greenwood 18-34-239-1. Medina — Blomquist 3-12-35-0, Caleb Sherman 0-1-0-1, Vogrin 9-22-122-2. RECEIVING: Cleveland Heights — Perrymond 6-91, Gibson 4-44, Solmonon 3-44, Harris 3-40, Morgan 1-24, Morris 1-(-4). Medina — Wuchter 4-106, Jayden Tagalicod 3-21, Hathaway 2-18, Vogrin 1-7, Lloyd 1-3, Sherman 1-2.