NORTH RIDGEVILLE, Ohio — Needing to stop Olmsted Falls, just 3 yards from the goal line after a botched punt, North Ridgeville came up with a defensive stand that set the tone for its 43-17 victory Friday night in a Southwestern Conference high school football showdown of unbeaten teams.
The Rangers (4-0), who are ranked 12th in the cleveland.com Top 25, gave up just 81 yards and three first downs. No. 20 Olmsted Falls (3-1) settled for a field goal on that early goal-line stand. The Bulldogs also gained 36 of their 81 yards on one run by Logan Connelly, setting up quarterback Jimmy Rosol Jr.’s touchdown run late in the second quarter on a fourth-and-goal play inside the 1-yard line.
Connelly gave the Bulldogs their other touchdown on a 92-yard kickoff return in the third quarter.
North Ridgeville broke a 10-all tie with touchdown runs by senior Charlie Steinmetz and junior Zack Barnhart. The Rangers answered Connelly’s big play with a 34-yard TD run by junior quarterback Cole Miller, as the defense continued its stout play.
Watch the video above and hear from junior defensive tackle Hemzah Fahmawi, senior linebacker Austin DeShazo, Steinmetz, Miller and North Ridgeville coach Bryan Morgan.
Contact sports reporter Matt Goul on X (@mgoul), Threads (@mgoul) or email ([email protected]).
