Mentor comes up with the big play for a win over Medina

MENTOR, OHIO – Ben Pierce didn’t expect to be in the game. Justen Hodge didn’t know if he would get the ball. But the quarterback and wide receiver connected on a memorable play Friday night to help Mentor to a 42-41 win over Medina in the Greater Cleveland Conference opener for both teams.

With Mentor trailing 41-35, the Cardinals got the ball on their own 45 with 1:38 remaining in the game with Pierce, their senior backup quarterback, taking snaps.

After an incompletion on first down, the 6-foot-4, 195-pound quarterback dropped back and lofted one over the middle to Hodge, who went up with one hand, made the catch, came down and ran the rest of the way for a 55-yard touchdown. The PAT gave Mentor a 42-41 lead with 1:23 left.

“They called my number and I had to go make a play,” Hodge said. “I went up, caught it, and no one's there and I'm just running and get in the end zone.”

But just minutes before, it seemed like hope might be lost for Mentor.

The Cardinals had driven to the Medina 1-yard-line but lost yardage on three straight running plays before an incomplete pass on fourth down gave Medina the ball at its own 4 with just over two minutes left.

Medina then threw an incompletion on first down and ran the ball on second and third down for short gains, each play followed by a Mentor timeout, and the Bees punted for the first time all game.

After not scoring on the previous possession, Pierce strapped his helmet back on and went to the field to take command of the offense for one final drive.

“(That previous drive) was tough for a few minutes,” Pierce said. “But you have to shake that one off and come back with the next one.”

Pierce entered the game in the fourth quarter with 9:28 left when starting quarterback Scotty Fox had to leave the game after being hit in the head following a run. He completed three of his six pass attempts for 82 yards and the touchdown to Hodge and also ran for a score on his first possession.

Fox finished the game with 145 passing yards and added 89 yards on the ground, including the first three Mentor touchdowns.

Mentor coach Matt Gray talked about how Pierce was a great example of what this Cardinals team is all about.

“That shows the character, and that's what we've been really talking about is character gets revealed at adverse times,” Gray said. “And Ben Pierce was a tremendous, tremendous example of that. Were we expecting that to happen? Not at all, but what did he do? He got us down there. And we didn't score on the one drive there. We could have put our head down. We could have given up but we kept believing in it.”

Belief could have easily slipped away for the Cardinals after close losses to St. Ignatius (16-14) and Riverside (34-31) the last two weeks. But Mentor just kept grinding and when they got the chance this time, the Cardinals made it pay off.

“I’m so proud of how they have just continued to work, and it paid off tonight,” Gray said. “The last two weeks, we had the ball to be able to go score and win the game. And we did not finish that. And we did that tonight and I am just proud of the way that they have not given up.”

The adversity for the Cardinals on Friday started early, as Medina scored on its first possession of the game and then took over on the Mentor 15 for its second possession after a bad snap on a punt caused the punter to go down on a knee with the ball in his hands. The Bees quickly capitalized, and it was 14-0.

The Bees led by multiple touchdowns three times in the game, going up 21-7 after an interception return for a touchdown by Cooper Josefczyk and then again at 41-28 after Jack Wojciak scored on an 8-yard run. But that PAT was blocked, which is why the Cardinals were able to win on their last touchdown and conversion instead of tie.

But no matter the score, the Mentor players felt like they still had a chance in the game.

“The thing we have been stressing all week is to play 48 minutes,” Hodge said. “So when we went down 14-0, we just kept thinking battle, battle, battle, play all 48 minutes and we will come out on top.”

Medina, ranked No. 14 in the latest SBLive Ohio Power 25, was led by quarterback Danny Stoddard, who completed 27 of his 52 pass attempts for 344 yards and four touchdowns and he added 107 yards rushing on 25 carries. He also threw three interceptions.

But when the final whistle blew, all anyone wanted to really talk about was the highlight catch made by Hodge on a great pass by Pierce.

“Ben stepped up and threw a good ball to Jay and Jay made a heck of a play on that one,” Gray said. “You tip your cap to Jay, that was big boy play right there.”

The quarterback’s reaction was a simple one.

“That was a ridiculous catch,” Pierce said.

When asked how often he practices those one-handed catches, the sophomore wide receiver sounded more like a senior.

“Not often,” Hodges said. “We practice two (hands), fundamentals."

That might not be the last time the receiver makes a big play in a big moment and his head coach is excited about the future.

“I'm happy we get him for two and a half more years,” Gray said.