CLEVELAND, Ohio — St. Edward couldn’t hold off the Archbishop Moeller rally Saturday at West Clermont High School where the Catholic Division I powerhouses renewed their rivalry.
The Eagles ended the first half with a three-point lead and had a 24-14 edge after scoring a touchdown in the third quarter, but the Crusaders rattled off 21 consecutive points before the Eagles got back on the board.
Zach Hackleman hauled in his 10th touchdown pass of the season to break the Eagles’ regular season record, but it was too little too late as Moeller won 35-30.
Saturday’s game was one of the top games in the state for Week 9. Moeller (8-1) is No. 1 in the cleveland.com state rankings for Division I, while St. Edward (5-3) is third in the state for Division I and sixth in the cleveland.com area rankings, which consider all teams regardless of division.
Moeller is the second GCL team on St. Edward’s schedule. The Eagles beat Elder last month, 24-17, while Moeller moves to 2-0 against Northeast Ohio after making the trip for a 44-0 win against St. Ignatius in Week 8.
Junior quarterback Matt Ponatoski led the Crusaders by throwing five touchdown passes on 17 of 24 attempts for 193 yards. Cooper McCutchen hauled in three of those passes for 84 yards and scored each of the three Moeller touchdowns in the second half.
Greylo Coach paced the Crusader rushing attack with 97 of the team’s 147 total rushing yards.
The Eagles logged 144 rushing yards, which was paced by Hackleman’s nine carries for 90 yards and two touchdowns.
Thomas Csanyi was 21 of 38 passing for 190 yards two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Hackleman had his finger prints on each of St. Edward‘s four touchdowns on the day as he caught the two touchdown passes from Csanyi. He had nine catches for 93 yards and two touchdowns to first tying and then break Alex Stump’s single season 2013 touchdown reception record.
Hackleman passed Alex Stump’s 2014 record for 677 yards in that regular season in Week 8. The junior now has 848 yards and 10 touchdowns on the season.
The Eagles will face Archbishop Hoban (7-2) in the final week of the regular season. Moeller will head up to Michigan for a matchup with Muskegon.