Brechin comes up big in Colts win

His coach called it a key point in a game that was ultimately full of them.

With his team leading by a single point coming out of the half, Parker St. Onge ran the ball deep into Korah Colts territory but was tackled by Tyler Brechin with plenty of open field ahead of him.

The Colts would eventually keep St. Mary’s out of the endzone en route to a narrow 35-28 win on Thursday night at Superior Heights. 

“Tyler Brechin was unbelievable today,” said Korah Coach Tom Annett. “He made some huge plays for us. The play of the game, without a doubt was when he chased (St. Onge) down from behind and stopped a touchdown and they didn’t get any points (on the drive). That was the play that changed the game.”

St. Mary’s Coach Marty Smith called turnovers an issue at times for the Knights.

“Both teams turned the ball over, but we turned it over more often,” Smith said. “A couple of turnovers killed our momentum. We turned the ball over twice after getting first downs starting drives.”

Annett spoke of the excitement of the game as the local high school loop shifts to three-down football this season.

“A lead was never safe,” Annett said. “There were a lot of big plays. It’s a lot different than last year. Both teams are going to adapt and evolve as we get a better idea of our personnel.”

Korah got on the board with four minutes to go in the opening quarter when Brechin intercepted a pass by Brennan Mitchell to make it 7-0.

On the next drive, Nick Pagnotta ran the ball 62 yards for a touchdown to tie the game for the Knights. 

The Knights would take the lead as Travis Johnson returned a Korah punt 55 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-7.

Nik Gervasi would get the Colts back on even terms with a 14-yard touchdown run with 1:27 to go in the quarter.

Just under four minutes into the second quarter, Jordan Robinson-Wright ran the ball in from six yards out to give the Colts a 21-14 lead.

Korah would pick up a single point as Mateo Perri’s field goal attempt was wide left but went through the endzone, making it 22-14.

With 32.6 seconds to go in the half, Brennan hit Martin Colicchio for a touchdown to make it 22-21 Korah going into the half.

With 19.1 seconds to go in the third quarter, Perri would make the scored 25-21 Colts with a 23-yard field goal.

The Colts would get a single point to make it 26-21 after Perri would be wide right on a 22-yard field goal attempt with just over nine minutes to go in the contest.

With 2:03 to go, the Knights conceded a safety, making it 28-21 Korah. 

Korah would make it 35-21 as Zack Zeppa returned the subsequent St. Mary’s kickoff 52 yards for a touchdown.

With 56.2 seconds to go Travis Johnson caught a touchdown pass from Mitchell to make the final 35-28 Korah. 

The Knights would proceed to recover the onside kick and take possession again in the final minute but would turn the ball over on downs.

Brechin finished the day with four tackles and a pair of interceptions for Korah. Jacob Jurich also had four tackles for Korah. 

Brechin also caught four passes for 66 yards. Bowen Oliver ran the ball five times for 60 yards for the Colts. 

St. Onge finished the day with 73 yards rushing on eight carries while Pagnotta had 59 yards rushing on 11 carries. Dylan Forsyth had 41 yards receiving on three catches. Mitchell threw for 104 yards for the Knights at quarterback, completing eight passed on 18 attempts. 

Defensively for St. Mary’s, Carter Bonin had six tackles.

Korah improves to 2-0 with the win while St. Mary’s falls to 1-1.

In Thursday’s junior game, Korah blanked St. Mary’s 29-0. Michael Nicoletta had a pair of touchdowns for the Colts while Michael Flumian and Gabe Martynuck also had touchdowns for Korah.

The Colts return to action on Sept. 20 against Superior Heights while the Knights face White Pines the following day. Kickoff at Superior Heights for the junior games is 4:45 p.m. with the senior games following at 7:30 p.m.

On Friday night, Superior Heights is set to take on White Pines in both junior and senior action at Superior Heights.