Lake County Sentinel
Euclid Starts Strong, Holds Off Cleveland Heights, 30-12
BY KEN KRIZNER
STAFF
(EUCLID, OH) - Euclid combined the explosiveness of Penn State recruit Kei’Shjuan Telfair and an attacking defense to build a 24-point halftime lead, then watched its offense stall for most of the second half. But the Panthers held off a young Cleveland Heights team, 30-12, at Tom Banc Field at Euclid Community Stadium.
Telfair, a senior wide receiver, dazzled the crowd in the first half with an array of high-flying catches, often with one or two Cleveland Heights defenders draped over him. He scored on three receiving touchdowns and tallied more than 100 yards of receiving offense.
Cleveland Heights (1-7, 1-4 in the Greater Cleveland Conference), meanwhile, was its own worst enemy on the night, committing more than a dozen penalties and turning the ball over six times. The Tigers, playing numerous underclassmen and rotating a freshman and sophomore at quarterback, were coming off a last-second 21-18 loss to Painesville Riverside last week. But they found themselves down by 24 at halftime, and although they played better in the second half, it was too big of a hole to climb out from.
In the first half alone, the Tigers committed four turnovers (three interceptions and one fumble), two of which directly led to touchdowns, one of which was returned for a touchdown and one that kept Cleveland Heights out of the end zone near the end of the first half.
The win left Euclid even on the season at 4-4 (3-2 in the GCC) as Head Coach Damion R. Creel continues to rebuild the Panthers’ program. He is hoping to top last year’s record of 4-6.
Despite the Tigers’ struggles this season, Creel considers the win over Cleveland Heights, an historic Euclid rival, as a bellwether for the program; it was Euclid’s first win over the Panthers in his three years as head coach.
“This is a rivalry, and our kids were up for it,” Creel says. “We’re a team in process, and we hope this is one step for us in transitioning into an elite program.”
On their first possession of the game, the Tigers tried to run the ball up the middle on the Panthers’ defense. While the Tigers did have some success, the drive ultimately ended when freshman quarterback Brayden Higgins threw an interception near midfield.
The Panthers took immediate advantage of the turnover, driving the ball to the Cleveland Heights 22 yard line where sophomore quarterback Rasheed Tutt hit Telfair in stride for his touchdown of the night.
On its next two possessions, Cleveland Heights tried to go the air route, but a heavy Euclid pass rush forced Higgins to hurry his throws, which fell incomplete. Each drive ended with a punt.
After Cleveland Heights’ third punt of the first quarter, Euclid again struck quickly as the Tutt-to-Telfair combination struck again, this time for 77 yards and giving the Panthers a 12-0 lead after one quarter.
Despite the two big plays, Cleveland Heights’ defense was making some plays itself and preventing further damage, forcing a pair of three-and-out possessions. But the Tigers’ offense struggled to get traction and when it did, it turned the ball over.
Sophomore Elija Gosa, the Tigers’ other young quarterback, was forced to get rid of the ball quickly on his first pass attempt. His pass was intercepted by senior cornerback Darrell Aikens, setting up Euclid at the Cleveland Heights’ 32 yard line.
A 21-yard pass to Telfair got the Panthers to the 11 yard line. Cleveland Heights stopped the Euclid offense for little gain on three consecutive plays. But on fourth down it was Telfair again, hauling in his third touchdown pass of the half from Tutt.
On the next Tigers’ possession, Gosa hit freshman Jayce Durham on a 25-yard pass as Durham went high in the air and made a spectacular catch between two Panthers defenders. On the following play, however, Gosa was hit as he was attempting to evade the Euclid rush with the ball falling to the turf. It was picked up by senior Dion Russell who returned it 50 yards for a touchdown.
Cleveland Heights finally got its offense moving midway through the second quarter. Behind the hard running of senior running back Khalil Al-Amin, the Tigers moved the ball to the Euclid 11 yard line. Al-Amin picked up 38 yards on the drive, and the Tigers were aided by a face-mask penalty on the Euclid defense.
However, the Panthers defense stiffened, throwing Al-Amin for a 3-yard loss and preventing Gosa from scrambling for yardage. On fourth down, senior Sincere Hamilton pulled down Euclid’s third interception of the night.
To the Tigers’ credit, they tried to make a game of it in the second half. After stopping Euclid on three straight plays following the second half kickoff, the Tigers put together an impressive drive. With Higgins back in at quarterback, Cleveland Heights mixed the run and pass. Most of the running was done by Al-Amin and sophomore Julian Wise. They combined for 37 yards rushing.
It was Wise who ran a fade route to the back of the endzone and bring in a Higgins pass with a Euclid defender right with him for the first Cleveland Heights touchdown of the night.
The Tigers got the ball right back when Euclid could not pick up a first down after failing to convert on fourth down.
Both teams traded turnovers on consecutive possessions – a Euclid interception and a Cleveland Heights fumble recovery. Al-Amin and Wise again did the heavy lifting on offense, getting the ball to the Euclid 37, where Al-Amin went around the left end and outraced Panthers’ defenders to the end zone to cut the deficit to 12 points.
In the fourth quarter, the Tigers were trying to get to within one score, when the sixth turnover of the night ended the drive and their hopes of a comeback.
A 13-yard touchdown pass from Tutt to freshman Mar-Caleb Woods gave Euclid its final margin of victory.
Cleveland Heights continues GCC play next week at Brunswick.
Euclid has two difficult games coming up in weeks nine (at Painesville Riverside) and 10 (home to Mentor). Still, the Panthers, which came into the game ranked No. 11 in Division I, Region I, may yet find themselves playing a Week 11 playoff game.
Creel says his team needs a good week of practice, then go out and produce against Painesville Riverside. He believes his team has the talent to compete against both the Beavers and Mentor. What it needs is confidence.
“We need the confidence of a collective group that is going in the same direction,” Creel says. “At times, we don’t always go in the same direction. That’s part of the process of learning how to win.”
POSTED 10/09/2026 23:51
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Euclid quarterback Rasheed Tutt tries to avoid the oncoming rush of Cleveland Heights linebacker Ryan Moody.. Photos by Ken Krizner
