High school football: Cloverleaf rotates quarterbacks, beats Cuyahoga Falls

WESTFIELD TWP. — Desperate to spark his struggling offense, Cloverleaf football coach Justin Vorhies decided a two-for-one package was the way to go. Isaac Smith and Kellen Price were all in. They both want to win, even if that means sharing the most important position in the sport. The move paid off in a gigantic way Friday in the Metro Athletic Conference opener. Each threw for a touchdown and rushed for a touchdown — Smith also caught a TD on the first play from scrimmage — as the Colts welcomed Cuyahoga Falls to the circuit with an impressive 51-7 blowout that was basically decided in the opening five minutes. Cloverleaf (3-1, 1-0) entered play averaging 11.3 points on 277.0 yards. In taking a 30-0 lead after one quarter, the Colts had put up a ridiculous 234 yards on 12 plays from scrimmage (19.5 average). "I was very excited to hear about it," Smith said of the co-quarterback situation. "I knew it was going to be a great thing for us because both of us, we can do it all. He can throw, I can throw. I can catch, he can catch. "We don't care (who's at QB) because it's a team thing. We'll do what's best for the team if it's him at receiver and I'm at quarterback or it's the opposite." Price began the game behind center and Smith, who missed last week's win at Carrollton with a concussion, lined up in the slot. The play call was decided during the week, and Price launched a bomb to Smith on a post route for a wide-open 60-yard TD just 20 seconds into the night. They were only getting started. A punt snap that sailed into the end zone moved the score to 9-0, and Jimmy Tolley (4 catches, 112 yards, 3 TDs) snared a 16-yard TD pass from Smith. The score became 23-0 when Tolley took a quick screen from Smith 70 yards to the house, and Smith completed a textbook opening quarter with a 29-yard scoring run. Tolley's third TD reception happened just seven seconds into the second quarter, and Price and Ashton Gray tacked on rushing touchdowns to account for a 51-0 halftime lead. The Black Tigers (2-2, 0-1) scored on a 25-yard Wassem Mustafa pass to Emmet Berry against the second string in the third quarter. "We worked on it a lot in practice, but I was a little nervous," Price said of his TD pass to Smith. "It was just like the good ol' days in middle school. "Coach believes in both of us, you know? He thinks we both have something the other doesn't. It was very fun throwing a pass to him. It was great." Smith finished 5-for-6 for 132 yards and the three TDs to Tolley, while Price was 3-for-3 for 84 yards to make them a combined 8-for-9 for 216 yards. The beauty of the rotation is both are standout wide receivers — Smith led the Colts in receiving as a sophomore before moving to QB — and it allows Smith to move into the defensive backfield if necessary due to his decreased workload in the running game. Zayne Trent also is an option at the position, as the sophomore saw significant time against Keystone two weeks ago and missed the game at Carrollton but returned and focused on cornerback against Cuyahoga Falls. The Colts also rushed for 230 yards on 30 attempts, with five players gaining at least 29 yards despite the backups executing nothing but counter treys in the second half. The defense continued to be a bright spot, as Mustafa entered play with 761 yards total offense but was a non-factor with eight carries for 37 yards while completing 7-of-19 passes for 83 yards. Linebacker Elliot Jordan was all over the backfield with three tackles for loss, while safety Grady Porter snatched his first interception of the season in the first half. Even if the opponent was a Cuyahoga Falls team that lost its 55 consecutive league game, the performance was exactly what the Colts were looking for. "We were able to execute (the game plan) so quickly," Smith said. "We only got it Monday or Tuesday, so we had to know where we needed to be. That was really important." Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com. Cloverleaf 51, Cuyahoga Falls 7 CUYAHOGA FALLS 0 0 7 0 — 7 CLOVERLEAF 30 21 0 0 — 51 First C — Isaac Smith 60 pass from Kellen Price (Austin Sustersic kick), 11:40. C — Safety (ball snapped out of end zone), 10:10. C — Jimmy Tolley 16 pass from Isaac Smith (Sustersic kick), 8:32. C — Tolley 70 pass from Smith (Sustersic kick), 6:40. C — Smith 29 run (Sustersic kick), 3:50. Second C — Tolley 11 pass from Smith (Sustersic kick), 11:53. C — Price 14 run (Sustersic kick), 6:15. C — Ashton Gray 1 run (Sustersic kick), 2:00. Third CF — Emmet Berry 25 pass from Waseem Mustafa (Elijah Hayes kick), 4:56. &emsp;&emsp;CF &emsp;&emsp;C First downs &emsp;&emsp;8 &emsp;&emsp;24 Rushing &emsp;&emsp;23/45 33/230 Rushing average &emsp;&emsp;1.9 &emsp;&emsp;7.0 Passing &emsp;&emsp;7/19 &emsp;&emsp;8/9 Passing yards &emsp;&emsp;83 &emsp;&emsp;216 Total offense &emsp;&emsp; 42/128 42/446 Punting &emsp;&emsp;4/42.5 &emsp;&emsp;00.0 Penalties&emsp; &emsp;&emsp;6/70 &emsp;&emsp;5/55 Fumbles &emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;3/0 &emsp;&emsp;0/0 RUSHING: Cuyahoga Falls — Mustafa 8-37, John Lipinski 6-23, Mason Maxwell 6-16, Mason Richards 1-(-3), Joshua Bell 1-(-3), Team 1-(-25). Cloverleaf — Price 6-49, Jaden Walker 6-44, Chris Gilliand 5-41, Smith 4-34, Gray 4-29, Ethan Marshall 3-19, Elliot Jordan 2-12, Amir Usry 1-5, Carter Boyer 1-1, Team 1-(-4). PASSING: Cuyahoga Falls — Mustafa 7-19-83-1. Cloverleaf — Price 3-3-84-0, Smith 5-6-132-0. RECEIVING: Cuyahoga Falls — Berry 2-36, Jordan Luster 2-26, Jack Dalman 1-9, Maxwell 1-8, Tony Bryant 1-4. Cloverleaf — Tolley 4-112, Smith 2-69, Brayden Beier 1-24, Gray 1-11.