High school football: Strongsville beats Brunswick in Battle of Boston Road

BRUNSWICK — The Battle of Boston Road has become quite heated quite rapidly, and Strongsville's resurgence under second-year coach Jason Trusnik is a big reason why. The Mustangs now have a two-game winning streak after beating nemesis Brunswick 24-7 in the Greater Cleveland Conference finale Friday that featured multiple unsportsmanlike penalties by Strongsville and a Brunswick late hit penalty that led to a key player exiting due to injury. The game was more competitive than the final score indicates, but the Blue Devils (5-5, 4-3) ultimately could not overcome a horrific first half in which they finished with minus-7 yards total offense. Brunswick scrapped admirably and cut the deficit to 10-7, yet Strongsville (8-2, 6-1) responded immediately and held on to drop Brunswick to 10th in the Division I, Region 1 computer ratings. Brunswick will travel to Massillon Jackson (5-5) next week in a rematch of a 2024 first-round game. "I think you get two new coaches in who are really passionate about the game of football, and you've got kids who want to win who aren't used to it," Blue Devils coach Kole Carter said. "You put yourself in this position with two storied programs and they're on the up-and-up, you want to be the one who comes out on top and create some separation. Sadly, the last two years it hasn't been us." Brunswick was outgained 370-160 and finished with minus-16 yards on the ground, the fourth-worst effort in the program's 79-season history. Even so, the Blue Devils had a golden opportunity to get back in the game thanks to a halftime adjustment. With Strongsville's big, physical 4-2 alignment led by Texas A&M recruit Storm Miller at linebacker shutting down the running game, Brunswick found success to open the second half on quick passes to Gavin Moore (7 catches, 113 yards). Moore had a whopping four catches for 81 yards on the opening drive of the third quarter, including a full-extension, diving 37-yarder to set up Sean Barnett's 1-yard quarterback sneak that cut the deficit to 10-7. As gritty as the defense had played to that point, Brunswick couldn't get a third-down stop on the ensuing possession. Alex Espay (4 catches, 108 yards) got loose for a 63-yard reception on third-and-10, then caught a 16-yard touchdown from Jack Kasner on third-and-9 to move the lead back to two possessions. Brunswick stalled on its next possession, and the teams traded punts that landed at the other's 1-yard line before Strongsville capped the scoring when freshman running back Austin Tatulinski (15 carries, 51 yards; 3 catches, 73 yards) took a simple checkdown pass, broke two tackles and rumbled 54 yards to the house with 4:13 remaining in the game. "It's a hard thing here at Brunswick, especially when I got the job because people said we had a lot of country-strong guys, but we just don't have them in our hallways right now," Carter said. "I thought we matched up really well skill-wise and our offensive line has gotten better every week, but that front seven of Strongsville is one of the best in the conference and one of the best in the area, really." Barnett was largely outstanding in the second half, completing 12-of-18 passes for 177 yards after going 1-for-8 for minus-1 in the opening 24 minutes. The senior was sacked six times but that number could have been much worse, as Barnett often got rid of the ball quickly after recognizing blitzes or scrambled to create extra time. Eli Nichols was the leading rusher with five carries for 25 yards. The six sacks lost 36 yards and a wild shotgun snap lost 15 more, though the punt coverage unit was outstanding with a Brayden Miles fumble recovery on a muffed return and Vincenzo DiTeodoro punts that were downed on the 1- and 8-yard lines. "Just some small miscues," Carter said. "We missed a couple signal formations, we missed a couple personnel groups where we didn't get guys on and off the field, had some crucial holds and took a couple sacks on critical downs. "Football is a game of inches, and we can't get behind the sticks and expect to be successful." Brunswick's defense was vastly outsized but battled the best it could, led by All-Ohio defensive end Nichols, who easily surpassed 20 tackles for loss on the season and was an all-around menace from start to finish. The season-long issue of good play, good play, bad play was a theme, however, as Strongsville converted 9-of-14 third downs, kicked a 43-yard Vincet Roncone field goal to open the scoring and found the end zone on a critical checkdown that Tatulinski took to the end zone from 12 yards with 19 seconds remaining in the first half. The Blue Devils' Ajay Rebraca and Logan Matousek also factored in tackles for loss, but the three-headed Strongsville running back rotation of Kendrick Boddie (11 carries, 62 yards), Tatulinski (15, 51) and Jevontae Freeman (5, 22) was effective with 31 carries for 135 yards and Kasner was outstanding after speedy co-starter Nick Carrossellia was knocked out of the game after a helmet-to-helmet hit inside the 5-yard line. Brunswick is inching closer to knocking off the top contenders in the GCC but hasn't been able to get over the hump. The Blue Devils surrendered a 21-6 lead last week in a loss at Cleveland Heights and failed to capitalize on a comeback attempt against Strongsville, though they're confident they can rebound next week and earn their first playoff victory since 2020. "We're going to get a chance to play someone Week 11, and it's going to be a shot at redemption, hopefully," Carter said. "We might get a chance at Massillon Jackson, and I thought we played really well against them in the first half (last season). We just had some injuries that lingered throughout the year and we were really thin and depleted by the time we got into the second half of that game. We're just trying to put together a good week of prep and finally get a playoff win." Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com. Strongsville 24, Brunswick 7 STRONGSVILLE 3 7 7 7 — 24 BRUNSWICK &emsp;&emsp;0 0 7 0 — 7 First S — Vincent Roncone 43 field goal, 1:30. Second S — Austin Tatulinski 12 pass from Jack Kasner (Roncone kick), 0:19. Third B — Sean Barnett 1 run (Vincenzo DiTeodoro kick), 9:20. S — Alex Espay 16 pass from Kasner (Roncone kick), 6:12. Fourth S — Tatulinski 54 pass from Kasner (Roncone kick), 4:13. &emsp;&emsp;S &emsp;&emsp;B First downs &emsp;&emsp;17 &emsp;&emsp;10 Rushing &emsp;&emsp;43/143 19/-16 Rushing average &emsp;&emsp;3.3 &emsp;&emsp;-0.8 Passing &emsp;&emsp;11/16&emsp;&emsp;13/25 Passing yards &emsp;&emsp;227 &emsp;&emsp;176 Total offense &emsp;&emsp;59/370 44/160 Punting &emsp;&emsp;3/25.0 4/34.0 Penalties &emsp;&emsp;9/82 &emsp;&emsp;4/24 Fumbles &emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;3/1 &emsp;&emsp;1/1 RUSHING: Strongsville — Kendrick Boddi 11-62, Tatulinski 15-51, Jevontae Freeman 5-22, Nick Carrossellia 5-15, Dane Albert 1-5, Team 2-(-2), Kasner 4-(-10). Brunswick — Eli Nichols 5-25, Gavin Ballok 2-2, Cohen Easa 1-1, Team 1-(-15), Barnett 10-(-29). PASSING: Strongsville — Kasner 8-11-194-0, Carrossellia 3-5-21-0. Brunswick — Barnett 13-25-176-0. RECEIVING: Strongsville — Espay 4-108, Tatulinski 3-73, Jon Hogg 1-20, Sam Walkiewicz 1-12, Jonathan Cham 1-8, Brayden Alfred 1-6. Brunswick — Gavin Moore 7-113, Landen Kirchner 3-28, Easa 2-21, Anthony Gamboa 1-14.