All around, Olmsted Falls got off on the right foot against Canfield, on Sept. 1.
On the defending Division III state champs’ field, Olmsted Falls came out on top, 42-14.
“It was a tough game, (both teams) played extremely hard,” Olmsted Falls Coach Tom DeLuca said. “Canfield also had a couple injuries that didn’t help their cause. I thought the kids put together the full game with the message from last week against Brunswick.”
Olmsted Falls came off a 33-21 win against Brunswick, but there were speed bumps along the path to victory, especially in the second quarter to trail, 21-14.
“We got that cleaned up this game and it showed what we could do if we played a clean and solid game of football,” he said.
The offense emphasized getting linemen to the second level, to block the linebacking corps that included Iowa State commit Danny Inglis. DeLuca thought he lived up to the hype of a Power 5 prospect.
“(Canfield’s) linebacking group was pretty darn good,” DeLuca said. “That was a focus for us, which was getting to our second-level blocks this week and creating space for our quarterback and pitch guys. That was positive. I think we did a nice job getting hats on their linebackers, who were darn good.”
Olmsted Falls rushed for 197 yards. Derek Neckar led the team with 73 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Jimmy Rosol threw for 89 yards, two touchdowns and was 6-of-9. He also rushed for 42 yards and a touchdown. Each of his touchdown passes went to Andrew Bonness.
Holding an opponent to 14 points could be seen as a solid defensive performance. However, DeLuca thought the unit could have played better.
“We ran to the ball really well, but we have to clean up our tackling,” he said. “I didn’t think that our tackling was the best that it could have been. (Canfield’s) running back is (Inglis). He is really physical and tough, but also pretty darn fast. We have to do a better job of finishing tackles. I thought we bounced off a few (times).”
Olmsted Falls will begin its Southwestern Conference schedule against North Ridgeville on Sept. 8.
The Rangers are also 3-0 and brought back 15 returning starters from their 42-10 loss to Olmsted Falls last year. DeLuca thinks they will be a formidable opposition in Week 4.
“This is the start that we wanted, we are still improving and our kids are well-aware of the type of opponent that we are going to have in North Ridgeville,” he said. “This is a team who I though took a big step last year and they have taken even more of a step this year. In my opinion, they are in the top-end in (the SWC). They make our conference that much deeper and we know that we have a big challenge in front of us.”
