Lake County Sentinel
Perry Fires On All Cylinders During 56-14 Win Over Orange
BY KEN KRIZNER
STAFF
(PEPPER PIKE, OH) - Time of possession can mean a great deal to the ebb and flow of a football game. Friday night at Lewis Black Stadium at Orange High School, time of possession meant nothing.
During the first quarter of the Chagrin Valley Conference Chagrin Division matchup between Perry and Orange, the Lions had more than twice the time of possession than the Pirates. All that got Orange was a 28-point deficit.
Thanks to a quick-strike offense, backed by an equally effective defense, Perry raced out to a 35-7 lead and was never threatened, defeating the Lions, 56-14.
The Pirates’ offense ran eight plays during the first quarter and scored four touchdowns. Each drive took plays. Overall, four different players scored the seven Perry offensive touchdowns.
“Our offense just executed and did what they were supposed to do,” said Perry Head Coach Bob Gecewich. “We did a decent job of spreading the ball around to different guys. That has been an emphasis for us during the past couple of weeks.”
Perry (7-0, 4-0 in the CVC Chagrin Division) took the opening kickoff. On the second play of the game, senior Greg Mechenbier took a handoff, raced around the left end, turned upfield and went 59 yards untouched for the first score of the game.
Following an Orange punt, again on the second play of the drive, senior quarterback Nate Trefzger found junior wide receiver Traxton Richards open for a 49-yard touchdown pass.
On the Lions’ next drive, Perry defensive back Brayden Martin stepped in front of an Orange receiver and intercepted senior quarterback Itai Tannenbaum, returning it 36 yards to set up a first-and-goal for the Pirates.
Again, on the second play of the drive, senior running back Carter Hopkins went in from four yards out for his first touchdown of the night.
All of this action took place within the first 4 minutes of the game.
To make matters worse for the Lions (3-4, 0-3 in the CVC Chagrin Division), Tannenbaum was hit from behind on his next pass and the ball was plucked out of the air by junior defensive lineman Mason Bilicic who rumbled 15 yards for the Pick Six.
The Lions have some weapons on offense, too, and the game plan was to get the ball to those players in the open field and try to make plays. But the two-way players of Perry are just as talented on defense as they are on offense.
“We’re very fortunate to have speed all over the field on defense,” Gecewich said.
To the Lions’ credit, they stuck to their game plan and did not fold in the face of the Perry onslaught. In fact, on its next drive, Orange went 71 yards using about 5 minutes of clock. Tannenbaum mixed in passes to junior Chaz Rosiles and sophomore Andre Ransom with the effective running of senior EJ Dowdell.
Orange picked up four first downs on the drive, including two on fourth-down plays, and was aided by a pass interference penalty on Perry that got the ball deep into Pirates’ territory. On fourth-down play No. 4, Dowdell went through the middle of the Perry defensive line and scored from 9 yards out.
But it’s difficult for ball control to beat a talented offense with weapons all over the field playing to its utmost capabilities. When the Pirates went back on offense, they picked up 19 yards on a pass from Trefzger to senior Chase Sivon. On the following play, Richards scored his second touchdown of the night on a 41-yard run.
It was more of the same in the second quarter.
Richards’ third touchdown of the night came from four yards out and followed two Trefzger passes, one each to Sivon and senior Brody Krantz.
Meanwhile, the Perry defense continued to make life difficult for Tannenbaum and his receivers. Even after making a catch, Orange receivers had little room to run. And while Dowdell ran hard throughout the game, he was often met by multiple Perry defenders.
Perry’s sixth offensive possession of the first half continued the quick-hitting trend. On the drive’s third play, Hopkins went 9 yards for his second touchdown of the night.
Hopkins believes that Perry’s success is not dependent on just one player. “We have so many weapons, there is never a ‘player of the game,’ ” he said. “It’s a team win.”
Everyone is doing their part on offense, he pointed out.
“The receivers are getting open, and Nate is throwing the ball right where it needs to be,” Hopkins said. “Our line has played great – holes open up so quickly. I feel we’re playing really well on offense. We’re playing really hot.”
On the final possession of the first half, the Pirates went 61 yards in eight plays, an almost methodical drive. It was Trefzger who put the final touches on an almost perfect half with a 9-yard touchdown run and a 56-7 halftime lead.
With a running clock, Gecewich was able to rest his starters and take a look at sophomores Nolan Andrejack and Joe Marcotte at quarterback.
Orange did score one touchdown in the third quarter, taking the second half kickoff and driving 77 yard. Key plays on the drive were an 18-yard pass from Tannenbaum to senior Alex Winston and a 15-yard run by sophomore Adin Frey. Dowdell scored his second touchdown of the night, going in from 16 yards on a fourth-and-1 play.
Losers of three straight, Orange will try to get back into the winning column next Friday when it travels to Ashtabula Edgewood for a CVC Chagrin Division matchup.
Orange Head Coach Rob Senor said his team needs to practice better and be more consistent in its play.
“We need to make our kids believe that when we do things the right way and execute like we’re supposed to, we can be successful,” he said.
He emphasized the need for his team to be more consistent, something that has eluded the Lions for much of this season.
“We’ve talked about that throughout the season, we’re just not consistent,” Senor said. “That showed tonight. Our inconsistencies bleed over from practice to Friday nights.”
Meanwhile, the Pirates march toward the end of the regular season and an anticipated deep Division V playoff run has them at home next Friday against Chardon in a CVC crossover game. Despite outscoring their opponents 222-14 during the past four weeks, Gecewich knows there is still work to do.
“Our guys need to focus on what they’re doing and get better every day,” he said. “There is not a specific thing we’re looking at. There are areas in every facet of the game that we need to tighten up because Division V is brutal, and our region is not a cakewalk by any means. We just need to continue to get better.”
POSTED 10/03/2026 00:45
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Perry's Carter Hopkins on the way to the first of his two touchdowns during the Pirates 56-14 victory over Orange. Photos by Ken Krizner
