As penned by our A.D. COUNTRY BOYS FROM CONNEAUT There was so much more that transpired last Friday night than a 14-7 District X Football Championship over state ranked Cathedral Prep from Erie. Reflecting on the historic night I feel compelled to expound on the back-story of these “country boys from Conneaut”. The departure for the “big game” was much different than the previous week when numerous fire trucks had escorted the team through the streets of each community on their way to the District X semi-final game against Erie Central Tech at Edinboro University. This was a game the Eagles were favored in because they had beaten them two weeks prior in a regular season contest rather easily. However, this was a game when the defense – which had received little accolades due to the high scoring offense the Eagles’possess – had to step up and stop the 3rd leading scoring team in the District behind DuBois and Conneaut. Mission accomplished as CASH held the Falcons to an early touchdown only. Fast forward to Friday night when coach Gould indicated to me that they had “done their thing” last Friday and he wanted to be completely focused this week. So without hoop la, the Eagles were off to snowy Edinboro University to take on the mighty Ramblers of Cathedral Prep. The Ramblers were looking for their 20th District X title and are traditionally ranked in the top 5 teams in PA annually. 80 players strong on the opposite sideline stretching from the 25 to 25 yard lines, compared to the 36 boys from Conneaut. This was certainly a David and Goliath story. Fan support though for the Eagles was incredible as Eagle fans – who were dressed for the tundra - outnumbered the populous from Erie city. As action began Prep won the toss of the coin and elected to defer to the second half. The Eagles who were sky high marched 64 yards on 13 plays to score and subsequently kicked the extra point for a 7 point lead. The score came on a pass from Hunter Merritt to Brennon Miller in the corner of the end zone on 4th down. The locals could not have had more confidence at this point in the game. However, the Ramblers on their first possession went 76 yards on 3 plays, kicked the PAT and now the game was even. After those scores this became a game of defense. Were the Eagles capable of stopping the high scoring Ramblers? Twice Prep was inside of the 5 yard line late second quarter only to have the mighty untouted Eagle defense put up a wall. After an Eagle turnover deep in their own territory with time running out the Ramblers waited until 2 seconds remained in the half to call their final time out. Seemed like a typical Sunday NFL game. Attempted field goal from the 24 yd line goes wide left and the Eagles stay even. During the third and fourth quarters Conneaut had some tremendous defensive plays sacking the quarterback on numerous occasions and moving the ball in situations where it was 3rd and long and even 4th and long. However, neither team could sustain a drive. Time in the game had now become an issue. After another sack on the Prep quarterback, the Ramblers were forced to punt deep in their own territory giving the Eagles one last shot starting at the Prep 46 yard line but only 3:12 remained in the game. In that final series the locals were able to convert on a critical 4th and 6th situation with back-up quarterback Connor Mattera picking up the first down. With 7 second remaining and no more time outs, Merritt connected with Henry Litwin for the game winner. Shear bedlam broke out as hundreds of fans rushed to mid field to congratulate the “country boys from Conneaut”. They had come with a purpose and mission accomplished. After nearly an hour on the field the boys made it to the locker room. Inside that locker room was the traditional sounds of country music blasting away and teammates all hugging/high fiving/and fist bumping each other and singing every word at the top of their voices. If you have never witnessed a football locker room after a game the floors are littered with chairs, tape wrappings, and liter of all sorts. As all of the showers were completed players jumped in and stored the chairs away, picked up all of the debris, and swept the floor as if no one had ever used the facility….country boy pride. The team enjoyed a fine after game buffet meal at Charley’s in Edinboro. When most of the players had exited toward the bus one could observe big #75 senior defensive tackle Jake Guitierrez and little #9 senior safety Justin Ledford cleaning off the long tables of debris and placing it in the garbage containers. Country boys at work making sure they had left a good impression of their beloved CASH. At approximately 11:30 the coach carrying the District X Champs exited I-79 at Saegertown to be the main attraction in a 90 minute parade of fire trucks and emergency equipment from numerous local communities. The nearly mile long parade traveled through the Boro of Conneautville and then to Conneaut Lake and its final leg to Linesville. Pulling into the CASH parking lot at 1:00 a.m. the team found themselves surrounded by approximately 100 fans who just wanted to keep celebrating this historic event. After meeting with family and friends the players for the first time ever began a new tradition – they went over to the original school bell from the early 1900’s that was brought over and erected a few years back by the C.A.S.H. flagpole, climbed the 6 foot brick sub-structure, and took turns grabbing the gong and ringing it one time each. The C.A.S.H. communities should be proud of their “Country Boys From Conneaut” who had climbed the mountain, met their goal, made history, and returned to their roots. John Acklin – Proud C.A.S.H. – A.D.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 20:55:50 +0000
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