Coffman’s Sammy Molony runs off the grid trying to stop Jerome running back Luke McLoughlin, who carried 34 times for 159 yards in the Celtics’ win. (PressPros presentation photos by Brent Clark).
They say, ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’… and on Friday night there was something beautiful from Dublin Jerome’s perspective in his first career victory over rival Dublin Coffman.
Dublin, OH – There’s nothing so drastically different about the view from opposite sides of a football game that things look drastically disparate.
But perspective… that’s where the points of view separate.
That’s why Dublin manager Jerome Brett Glass saw nothing but beauty in a 16-7 win over rival Cross-Coffman that left Shamrocks manager Geron Stokes unmoved. and uninspired.
“I felt like two average football teams were making mistakes all over the pitch,” Stokes said. “A bunch of average football. That’s what it looked like. We just returned it and they didn’t.
Coffman’s two fumbles set up Jerome for his touchdown and the first of his three field goals, giving the undefeated Celtics (4-0) all the points they need for their first career win in the series after six losses. .
“Our kids have been saying, ‘Make history’ all week, writing it on the whiteboard and stuff,” Glass said. “You could see the passion of the crowd tonight.
The student sections were filled one hour before the game. I have never seen anything like it. It was a long time coming. I am super proud of our children and our program.
Turnovers aside, Jerome’s final advantage landed on lead running back Luke McLoughlin, who carried 34 times for 159 yards and his team’s only touchdown.
Aiden Lowery holds the ball in the air after setting up his team’s only touchdown with an early recovery from a fumbled punt.
“He’s just tough,” Glass said. “He was a bit knocked up and didn’t play (much) last week. He hasn’t trained much this week, but he’s a competitor. He was not going to miss this game no matter what.
McLoughlin carried just three times for 13 yards in Jerome’s win at Shaker Heights, but that followed a 34-carry, 247-yard, two-touchdown effort in a Week II win over Toledo Whitmer.
He carried eight times on Jerome’s first possession which ended in his lone TD, but Coffman assisted by fumbling a punt to his 26 after stopping the Celtics near midfield.
“The turnovers,” Stokes said. ” You can not do that. You lose the football match.
Coffman nearly denied Jerome his first score after the fumble, forcing a fourth-and-two bet on 18.
Quarterback Zakk Tschirhart found Aiden Lowry – who recovered the fumbled punt on 26 – for eight yards to back up the walk which McLoughlin finished with a one-yard run.
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Coffman responded with an 80-yard drive that developed on Daven White’s 36-yard catch and raced down the right sideline. The Shamrocks took their own fourth down bet for revenge, 7-7, thanks to Carson Cox’s two-yard touchdown.
Tschirhart’s interception by Jaden Cooper stopped Jerome’s attempted response, but the Shamrocks returned that with a fumble in their 30 three games later.
Coffman’s Jaden Cooper forces an incomplete on this pass attempt to Jerome’s Marek Tzagournis.
McLoughlin carried three times and Marek Tzagournis’ 10-yard reception set up Carter Holden for a 26-yard field goal and a 10-7 halftime lead.
Holden struck again from 22 yards with 1:48 left in the third quarter after both teams went on extended drives that failed in opposing territory on unfinished fourth downs.
A 28-yard punt from Coffman in the next series gave Jerome another short field, from the Shamrocks’ 43 yards. McLoughlin’s 24-yard run on the opener and a 12-yard catch from Tzagournis set Holden up for a 21-yard field goal with 10:19 left that ended the score.
“It would have made things a little better if we had been able to take advantage of some red zone opportunities,” Glass said. “But Carter Holden was huge (with) three field goals. When we made it a two-point game, it took them out of their comfort zone and made them throw a little more.
That’s not Coffman’s preference, at least not yet in the second year of Stokes’ regime after leaving Minster, where he’s gone 71-31 in eight years, with two state championships and a second-place finish.
The Shamrocks like to play the possession game, as evidenced by having the ball 38 minutes against Canton McKinley’s 13 last week in Coffman’s 28-26 win.
Coffman QB Quinn Hart found Jerome’s defense difficult to navigate.
No one knows this better than Glass, who, like Stokes, is in his second year in the Dublin system. Glass lost its first game last year, 49-42 in overtime, despite returning three kickoffs for touchdowns.
“Last year gave me nightmares,” Glass said. “They ran 90 plays and we had 30. So we’ve seen that before where they run the ball. We saw that tonight, but the turnovers were absolutely huge.
So does McLoughlin, who now has 99 carries for 585 yards and six touchdowns in four games.
“The way he led us with a tough run…in the second half they knew we were going to run the ball and it didn’t matter.” said Glass. “He was going to gain four or five yards.”
Stokes can certainly appreciate toughness, but in the fog of defeat brought about by his side’s mistakes, he stayed on that topic when asked about McLoughlin’s efforts.
“Everyone looked slow,” he said. “Everyone looked unruly. Just two average football teams. That’s what it sounded like honestly.
“No one could score. It wasn’t because they were playing great defense. It looked like two average football teams.
Bruce Hooley hosts The Bruce Hooley Show from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday on 94.5 FM The Answer in Dayton and 98.9 FM The Answer in Columbus.
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