High school football: Casey Myser sets county mark as Highland hammers Roosevelt

One down, two to go. Highland running back Casey Myser has been pursuing Black River legend Andrew Vaughn's Medina County career records all season. The reigning co-Gazette MVP reached one of the milestones Friday, surpassing Vaughn's standard for total touchdowns as the Hornets hammered Roosevelt 58-7 in Suburban League American Conference play. Myser scored five touchdowns in 2½ quarters of action, moving his career total to 83 to pass Vaughn (82, 2010-13). Myser also tied Vaughn's record of 72 rushing TDs after scoring from 15, 10, 5 and 24 yards against the Rough Riders (4-4, 2-3), who trailed 44-0 at halftime after a 30-point second quarter by the Hornets (7-0, 4-0). The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Myser finished with 10 carries for 125 yards while also catching a 14-yard touchdown from Grady Gibb. The five touchdowns moved his career point total to 498, putting him within striking distance of Vaughn (530) with remaining regular-season games against Revere (6-1, 4-1) and Cuyahoga Falls (1-7, 0-5), plus the postseason. Gibb was stellar again as well. The first-year senior starter completed 7-of-10 passes for 115 yards and touchdowns to Jake Weber (32 yards) and Nick Dobkowski (11) while also rushing for 85 yards on six carries. Backups Dylan Lazar (3 carries, 45 yards), Jonathan Prucha (1, 37 and Frankie Iannaggi (1, 25) also had chunk plays on the ground as Highland racked up 330 yards on only 25 attempts (13.2 average). In four SL American Conference games this season — the Hornets' homecoming matchup last week was canceled by Barberton — the Hornets have rushed for 939 yards on 114 carries for an 8.2 average. Roosevelt, which is seeking its first winning season since joining the SL and will leave for the Metro Athletic Conference next fall, had 196 yards total offense. Dual-threat quarterback Gavin Peeps completed 14-of-30 passes for 151 yards and a 6-yard touchdown to Teddy Maccarrone but was intercepted by Liam Zielinski and Kallen Whitling and was a non-factor on the ground with 29 yards on 10 attempts. Highland led 14-0 after the first quarter and wasn't at its best defensively outside of a fumble recovery by Jameson Gordon on the Hornets 25-yard line. Myser opened the scoring and Gibb recognized a corner blitz to loop the TD to Weber. The Rough Riders imploded in the second period following Dobkowski's TD that made the score 21-0. Whitling returned his interception 74 yards to the 10, where Myser scored on the next play, then Roosevelt's punter tried to run on fourth-and-12 from his own 17 but was tackled well short. Myser scored from 5 yards soon thereafter to make it 34-0. The theme continued from there, as a short punt set up Highland near midfield. Myser caught a wide-open 14-yard wheel route from Gibb for a 41-0 lead and Jonah Kowza hooked a 43-yard field goal just inside the left upright. The field goal is tied for third longest in school history behind Eric Duale's 50-yarder at Green in 2008 and Joe Simonis' game-winning 45-yarder in the mud with two seconds left at Highland Stadium against Nordonia in 2012. Myser's fifth touchdown made the score 51-0 in the third quarter, while Iannaggi scored from 25 yards to cap the scoring. Gordon had an impact performance to lead the defense with the fumble recovery, a sack among two tackles for loss and a near interception. Dan Miller had a tackle for loss and forced fumble, while Evan Foust and Whitling also sacked Peeps. Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com. Highland 58, Roosevelt 7 HIGHLAND &emsp;&emsp;14 30 7 7 — 58 ROOSEVELT &emsp;&emsp;0 0 0 7 — 7 First H — Casey Myser 15 run (Jonah Kowza kick), 5:46. H — Jake Weber 32 pass from Grady Gibb (Kowza kick), 1:05. Second H — Nick Dobkowski 11 pass from Gibb (Kowza kick), 9:41. H — Myser 10 run (Kowza kick), 5:12. H — Myser 5 run (kick failed), 3:49. H — Myser 14 pass from Gibb (Landon Kuzma kick), 1:29. H — Kowza 43 field goal, 0:00. Third H — Myser 24 run (Kuzma kick), 3:52. Fourth R — Teddy Maccarone 6 pass from Gavin Peeps (Sam Snellenberger kick), 5:10. H — Frankie Iannaggi 25 run (Carson Kwiatkowski kick), 1:33. &emsp;&emsp;H &emsp;&emsp;R First downs &emsp;&emsp;20 &emsp;&emsp;11 Rushing &emsp;&emsp;25/330&emsp;&emsp;24/45 Rushing average &emsp;&emsp;13.2 &emsp;&emsp;1.9 Passing &emsp;&emsp;7/10&emsp;&emsp;14/30 Passing yards &emsp;&emsp;115 &emsp;&emsp;151 Total offense &emsp;&emsp;35/445 54/196 Punting &emsp;&emsp;1/49.0 4/28.8 Penalties &emsp;&emsp;4/26 &emsp;&emsp;1/10 Fumbles &emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;0/0 &emsp;&emsp;3/1 RUSHING: Highland — Myser 10-125, Gibb 6-85, Lazar 3-45, Jonathan Prucha 1-37, Iannaggi 1-25, Lucas Gerding 2-10, Aiden Pulice 1-3, Logan Bornino 1-0. Roosevelt — Peeps 10-29, Ke'Shan Talbert 5-10, Jaiden Portis 1-5, Maccarrone 1-4, Mahki Jones 6-2, Team 1-(-5). PASSING: Highland — Gibb 7-10-115-0. Roosevelt — Peeps 14-30-151-2. RECEIVING: Highland — Weber 3-72, Dobkowski 2-25, Myser 1-14, Gerding 1-4. Roosevelt — Sevyn Jones 3-64, Maccarrone 5-34, Jones 3-33, Portis 3-20.