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Football playoffs: Mentor 39, Brunswick 14
Second half dooms Blue Devils' run

Cardinals' defense nabs three interceptions; offense takes advantage

By Nate Ulrich Beacon Journal sportswriter

PARMA: One of the most prolific passers in Northeast Ohio had to lose. Unfortunately for Brunswick senior Sean Bedevelsky, he will be the quarterback going home instead of getting a chance to win a state title.

Bedevelsky's counterpart, Mentor senior quarterback Bart Tanski, completed 27-of-41 passes for 321 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Cardinals to a 39-14 victory over the Blue Devils in a Division I state semifinal Saturday night at Byers Field in Parma.

The Cardinals (11-2) will advance to a state title game for the second consecutive year. Mentor will play Cincinnati St. Xavier (14-0), a 10-7 winner over Dublin Coffman, at 7 p.m. Saturday at Fawcett Stadium in Canton.

The Blue Devils ended their season with a 13-1 record and fell short of earning a chance to vie for their first state championship.

''The sad thing in high school football when you're really good is all you remember right now is the last game,'' Brunswick coach Rich Nowak said. ''Only one team goes without the loss, so everybody will remember this last game, and it hurts. But we had 13 great games in front of it, and I'm proud of our kids. We played a great team, and we gave it our best effort tonight.''

Bedevelsky, the Beacon Journal Football Player of the Year, entered the game with 3,041 yards passing, 30 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He was playing like himself in the first half as he led the Blue Devils to a 14-10 halftime lead. However, Bedevelsky uncharacteristically threw three interceptions in the second half, and Mentor capitalized by outscoring Brunswick 29-0 after halftime.

''I just came out and made some bad decisions,'' said Bedevelsky, who completed 19-of-35 passes for 260 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. ''They're a great-coached team, so they came out and did what needed to be done in the second half.''

Brunswick opened the scoring when Bedevelsky hit senior receiver Jordan Gribble with a 16-yard touchdown pass in the front-left corner of the end zone with 5:01 left in the first quarter.

On the ensuing possession, Mentor countered with a 16-play drive that ended with a 24-yard field goal by senior Kevin Harper. The Cardinals then took a 10-7 lead with 10:22 left in the second quarter when Tanski hit senior wide receiver Steven Orkis with a 45-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline.

Brunswick answered with a four-play, 81-yard scoring drive to take a 14-10 lead. Senior wide receiver Ben Karaba caught a Bedevelsky pass over his shoulder and raced down the left sideline for a 55-yard touchdown with 3:41 left in the first half.

But on their first possession of the second half, the Cardinals took control.

Tanski hit senior receiver Michael Popelas with a 7-yard touchdown pass that capped a 10-play drive and gave the Cardinals a 17-14 lead with 9:05 left in the third quarter.

Three plays later, the Blue Devils were forced to punt. But the snap on the punt sailed over Bedevelsky's head, forcing him to recover the ball in the end zone and take a safety. Mentor then added another touchdown seven plays later when Tanski hit senior receiver Cory Zikesch with a 9-yard touchdown pass, extending the Cardinals' lead to 25-14.

''They kept coming, and we couldn't answer,'' Nowak said. ''I felt like I had a gun with no bullets. We just kept making mistakes that we haven't made all year.''

PARMA: One of the most prolific passers in Northeast Ohio had to lose. Unfortunately for Brunswick senior Sean Bedevelsky, he will be the quarterback going home instead of getting a chance to win a state title.

Get the full article here.


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