High school football: Brunswick beats Cleveland Heights, unofficially clinching playoff spot

The Brunswick football team clinched a spot in the Division I, Region 1 playoffs and a winning record with a 14-12 Greater Cleveland Conference victory over Cleveland Heights. With their fourth win in five games, the Blue Devils improved to 6-3, 4-2 ahead of a matchup with archrival Strongsville. It's the first time Brunswick has won at least six games since going 6-5 in 2021. The Blue Devils sit fourth in the GCC, one game behind the Mustangs, Riverside and Mentor going into the final week of the regular season. Full video coverage of the game was not available due to a glitch on Hudl.com that affected multiple schools throughout Northeast Ohio. A defensive struggle in rainy conditions for the first three quarters, both teams scored in the game's final period, with the Blue Devils taking a 14-6 lead before the Tigers (1-8, 1-5) answered midway through the final period. A second stand on a two-point conversion by the Brunswick defense was enough to secure the win. After turning the ball over on downs and punting on its first two possessions, junior running back Gavin Ballok got the Blue Devils rolling with a 35-yard touchdown late in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead. Late in the third quarter, Ballok looked to have made a momentum-swinging play when he recovered a Khalail Al-Amin fumble that was forced by Ja'Maurie Garth and gave Brunswick the ball on the Cleveland Heights 29-yard line, but the Tigers forced the Blue Devils to give the ball back on downs at the Cleveland Heights 17. Julian Wise brought the Tigers back within one point when he capped a 65-yard drive with a 1-yard run for a score late in the second quarter, but Cleveland Heights failed to get a pass off on the two-point attempt as it attempted to take the lead. Brunswick made another big defensive play when Drew Dempsey tackled Tigers punter Harrison Williams before he could get the kick away for a 14-yard loss, giving the Blue Devils the ball in the red zone. However, a missed connection on the snap recovered by Cleveland Heights senior Sirius Jones snuffed out the threat. The Tigers struggled in the punting game through the first three quarters, averaging 19.5 yards on four attempts, including a partially blocked attempt that only traveled 6 yards. Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com.