NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio — Lake Catholic took some time to get into a rhythm against Holy Name on Thursday night, but the family connection from quarterback Frankie Trinetti to wide receiver Ace Peterlin made for a record-setting night in a statement 35-3 win for the Cougars.
The Cougars, ranked 17th in the cleveland.com Top 25, improve to 6-0 with the win. The Green Wave are 2-3.
Connecting for three first half touchdowns, Trinetti and Peterlin share a bond that goes well beyond the football field and once again in the Lake Catholic record books. Peterlin rewrote Cougars history with 13 grabs all from his cousin Trinetti to mark another special moment in the pair’s on-field career together.
“Me and him are cousins and we’ve been playing football with each other since we were born,” Trinetti said. “He’s six months older than me, so he’s my older cousin and I’ve looked up to him and just having him out there is unbelievable.”
One of the most impressive characteristics of the chemistry between Trinetti and Peterlin is their ability to find each other when a play breaks down in Lake Catholic head coach Marty Gibbon’s mind.
“That many receptions is unbelievable and a lot of those plays aren’t drawn on a piece of paper the way they are,” Marty said. “He just keeps making plays out of nowhere, so it’s a credit to (Peterlin) and their trust with each other.”
Peterlin couldn’t take all the credit for his performance and said he was thankful for not just his cousin, but his on-field family as well.
“It’s not possible without the rest of the team with the O-line blocking, every play giving it their all and having other good receivers,” Peterlin said. “It’s really a team game with our quarterback getting out of the pocket, making plays go on for longer and allowing me to do a scramble drill. It’s great.”
It’s that trust not only in their team, but specifically in one another through years of playing football with one another that led to a special performance by both.
“I’ve been playing with him for awhile, building chemistry and it’s just great to know he has the trust in me to just give me a chance to catch anything thrown my way,” Peterlin said. “It’s just awesome,”
Another key factor for the Cougars’ offense was the line that fed into another big performance by senior Jimmy Gibbons, who had a pair of scores to show just how balanced the Cougars’ offense is through six weeks.
“He’s the type of kid that gets stronger as the game goes on and he’s playing both ways,” Marty said. “He’s just one of those guys that’s hard to tackle in the second half.”
Through six weeks, Trinetti and his team still have all their goals on the table with plenty of season and growth still left to be done, but one area the team still has some room for improvement is the youth in their offensive line led by junior Nathan Zappitelli who holds seven Division I offers to MAC schools and just made a visit to Ann Arbor this past weekend.
“Up front we’re young, we’ve got some young players and they’re coming together real well,” Trinetti said. “We’ve just got to keep harping on them that they’re going to be great later in the season.”
Both teams will have an eight-day layoff between games to get some much needed rest before the Cougars host rival Padua Franciscan. Holy Name hosts Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin next.
