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Top-ranked Blue Devils struggle again, but pull away in second half
By Tom Gaffney
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Saturday, Sep 01, 2007
There has been nothing artistic about the two victories by Tallmadge this season.
The definitive word, though, is ''victories,'' which is all that really matters.
The Blue Devils, the top-ranked team in the Beacon Journal poll, did enough right for the second consecutive game, scoring the final 10 points Friday night to get a hard-earned 17-7 victory over host Ellet.
''We have been winning ugly,'' said senior linebacker Collin Habin, one of the team's defensive leaders. ''We have been making a lot of mistakes. We have to clean things up. We are going to be a tough team to beat later in the season.''
In their opener, the Blue Devils had to rally to defeat Cuyahoga Falls 17-14. Against Ellet, the score was tied 7-7 late in the third quarter when Tallmadge junior James Plunket kicked a 27-yard field goal.
Midway through the fourth quarter, tailback Tyler Fortner scored on a 3-yard run.
''One of these days, we will put forth our best effort,'' Blue Devils coach Joe Vassalotti said. ''We have been finding a way to win. That's the good news. Our players responded when momentum was not on our side.''
Tallmadge got solid production from its offense, led by Fortner (30 carries for 129 yards) and quarterback Patrick Pakan (11-of-16 passing for 144 yards and one touchdown).
But it was the Tallmadge defense that was the story of the night, especially the front line and linebackers. Habin, Nick White, Robbie Underwood, Andrew Roy and Aaron Donze led the way in holding Ellet to 89 total yards and four first downs.
''Their defensive front dominated the line of scrimmage,'' said Ellet coach Joe Yost, whose team fell to 1-1 after opening with a 35-3 triumph over Springfield. ''We felt coming in that their de
fensive front was strong, and they were. Their defense controlled the tempo all night.''
Fortner, a 5-foot-10, 190-pound junior, was a reserve last season behind the graduated David Siesel. The 129 yards followed the 168 he had last week against Cuyahoga Falls.
''I have been looking forward to this season,'' Fortner said. ''I learned a lot from watching David Siesel and talking with him. He showed me how to hit the hole hard . . . not to dance.''
The Blue Devils scored on their second possession of the game, going 56 yards in nine plays. The touchdown, at the 3:18 mark of the first quarter, was an 18-yard pass from Pakan to Donze, who caught the ball on a curl at the 5 and ran it in.
The second quarter was strange, by any imaginable definition. Ellet ran one play the entire quarter, and it ended with a fumble. Tallmadge ran 21 plays but could not score.
The Blue Devils used up plenty of clock on a 15-play drive from their own 20 to the Ellet 12, but a series of penalties turned them away. Included in that was a 12-yard touchdown pass from Pakan to Kevin Kollar that was wiped out by one of the penalties.
Ellet's fortunes took a quick turn for the better early in the second half when Chad Keppler recovered a fumble at the Tallmadge 42. Six plays later, at the 6:51 mark, the Orangemen scored on an 8-yard run by Travis Hamad, his third touchdown of the season.
Tom Gaffney can be reached at tgaffney@thebeaconjournal.com.
There has been nothing artistic about the two victories by Tallmadge this season.
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