High school football: Perry’s Matt Rosati says he has fun coming up with trick plays
By John Kampf, The News-Herald
POSTED: 09/25/16, 10:51 PM EDT | UPDATED: 3 HRS AGO
Generally speaking, coaches adhere to the KISS method — Keep it simple, stupid.
Perry coach Matt Rosati comes from a different school, though. His mind set seems to be of the KIFF method — Keep it fun, fellas.
Two of the first five plays the Pirates ran in their 49-7 win over Wickliffe on Sept. 23 were trick plays, which isn’t a big surprise to anyone who has watched Rosati’s teams over the years at West Geauga and now at Perry
When it comes to the so-called gadget plays, Rosati is the Inspector Gadget of The News-Herald area.
“The repertoire is long,” Rosati said with a smile. “Over 28 years, you have some things you’ve done and can recycle them now and then.
“It’s fun. The kids enjoy it.”
Perry came out of the gate motioning into a spread set that consisted of only the center, QB Kolston Brewster and a back in the center of the field. Four others, including two linemen, split out to the far right and four to the far left.
A few players later, the Pirates ran a jet-sweep with Andy Foley, who pulled up for a long pass completion deep into Wickliffe territory.
Foley is 3-for-3 passing this year for 84 yards.
“I do like them,” Rosati said of trick plays. “But some are just built in to our offense. The one with Andy, it’s a run-pass option. If teams aren’t going to cover it, we’ll throw it.”
Rosati said the Pirates usually go into a game with five trick plays in the game plan. He says sometimes none get used, but sometimes all of them are run.
“We like to put people in a bind, and with those plays, people don’t know what we’re going to do,” Rosati said. “We enjoy that. We talk about what is going to happen if we do this or do that. Honestly, quite often we have no idea what’s going to happen.”
CUP OF JOE
From afar, it looked like things were tough for Brush to start the season. At 0-3, it looked like an unfortunate business-as-usual season for a program that had won only three games over the past two years.
That was far from the case, and the Arcs have proven that over the last two weeks.
Brush lost its first two games of the season (to North Canton Hoover and Perry) by a total of nine points.
Apparently, all the team needed was a cup of Joe and a little confidence.
Since inserting Godwin Joe at quarterback, Brush has won two of its last three games. The Arcs this coming weekend will be aiming for their first three-game winning streak since ending the 2013 season with five straight wins.
“The kids were frustrated after they lost some close ones early,” Brush coach Jeff Fink said. “I’m really proud of their determination overcoming that. We’ve gotten better each week.”
Brush tweaked things to get the train going in the right direction. Joe and Tommy Loya swapped positions, with shifty Joe giving the Arcs a dual-threat QB and Loya giving the team a field-stretching play-maker at receiver.
Brush lost to Strongsville the first week of the switch, but has since won both of its Western Reserve Conference games — 37-12 over Madison and 41-20 over South. After scoring 43 total points in its first three games, Brush scored 78 in its last two.
“Godwin is doing a great job managing the game,” Fink said. “We moved Tommy to wideout and I think he’s had a touchdown in every game.”
Another big key has been the emergence of Christian Wright at running back. Wright carried the ball 21 times for 212 yards and two touchdowns against South.
Wright has back-to-back 200-yard games and for the season has 703 rushing yards and five scores.
“He’s a dynamic kid,” Fink said. “He’s very tough to tackle. When he’s in the open field, he’s a load.”
Fink isn’t ready to christen his team a WRC contender yet, but the Arcs are certainly trending that way.
“The kids know where we’re at and what this week means,” he said of the game vs. Mayfield. “As long as we keep getting better, we will put ourselves in position to win week in and week out.”
NUMBERS CRUNCHING
At the halfway point of the regular season, it’s time to start checking out the computer ratings and playoff picture.
If the regular season had ended today, eight News-Herald area teams would be playoff-bound. It’s a lower number than most years, but then again there are five important weeks to go before the playoff picture is set.
Thanks to the efforts of Joeeitel.com, here is the unofficial playoff picture and which N-H area teams are currently in playoff-qualifying position.
The top eight in each region advance to the postseason.
• Euclid (3-2) is tied for seventh in Division I, Region 1. The Panthers host Strongsville (1-4) this week.
• Chardon (5-0) is third in Division II, Region 5. The Hilltoppers travel to Kenston (1-4) this week.
• West Geauga (3-2) is fifth in Division III, Region 9. The Wolverines travel to Beachwood (2-3) this week.
• University (4-1) is tied for sixth in Division III, Region 10. The Preppers host Gilmour (3-2) this week.
• Perry (5-0) is irst in Division IV, Region 13. The Pirates host Chagrin Falls (1-4) this week.
• NDCL (4-1) is fifth in Division IV, Region 13. The Lions travel to Benedictine (1-4) this week.
• Wickliffe (4-1) is sixth in Division V, Region 17. The Blue Devils host Orange (3-2) this week.
• Kirtland (5-0) is tied for second in Division VI, Region 21. The Hornets travel to Independence (4-1) this week.
High
school football: Brush registers big win over South
By Jeremy Sommerville, [email protected]
POSTED: 09/24/16, 12:31 AM EDT | UPDATED: 1 DAY AGO
THE LOWDOWN
Brush moved to 2-0 in WRC play with a 41-20 victory over divisional opponent South at Korb Stadium on Sept. 23, as senior running back Christian Wright gashed the Rebels’ defense for 212 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries.
>> Week 5 photo gallery
The Arcs built a 31-13 halftime lead behind the legs of Wright and on the arm of junior quarterback Godwin Joe, who ran for one score and found wide out Aaron Murphy wide open for a 37-yard touchdown just before the half to extend the Brush lead.
In the fourth quarter, with the Rebels driving and within striking distance down, 34-20, the Arcs’ defense stepped up and forced a South fumble at the Brush 12-yard line. On the game’s next play, Wright took the ball 88 yards down the Brush sideline and to the house to seal the victory.
TOP PLAYERS
Wright had 212 yards and three scores, on runs of 20 and 88 yards. Joe managed 272 yards of total offense and scored on a 26-yard run. He was 16 of 33 passing and rushed 14 times. The three-headed monster of Aaron Murphy, Thomas Loya and Markel Toney had five catches each, with Murphy adding a touchdown. Kicker Bradley Heiss added 11 points for the Arcs with two field goals and five extra points.
For the Rebels, quarterback Mike Federico was 31 of 57 for 298 yards and two scores. Steven D’eusanio led the team in rushing with 20 yards. Devanaire Conliffe added 10 catches for 116 yards and two scores, and Nick Romano had seven grabs for 76 yards.
STAT ATTACK
Brush outrushed South, 303-98, and had nearly 100 more yards than the Rebels in spite of running 20 fewer plays.
While the Rebels chose to pass more and the Arcs ran much more the time of possession was nearly identical with South having the ball 23:47 and Brush possessing the rock for 24:06.
THEY SAID IT
Brush coach Jeff Fink >> “Defensively we flew around, we were able to limit them, they’re an explosive offense, so I was really pleased with what we were able to do.”
South coach Matt Duffy >> “Got to give credit to Brush — they came out and did what they do very well … hats off to them. I’m happy with the way our kids played. They continued to fight and we tried to get it back a couple of times and just couldn’t get it done.”
UP NEXT
For the Arcs (2-3, 2-0), a big rivalry matchup at home against Mayfield (2-3, 1-1). For the Rebels (2-3, 1-1), a big rivalry game at North (2-3, 1-1).