Lake County Sentinel
Marce Porcello eclipses legendary Tom Rosneck as Blue Devils all-time winningest coach in 38-0 win over Independence
BY TIM SHIRER
SPORTS EDITOR
(WICKLIFFE, OH) - Wickliffe Blue Devils head coach (1998 Wickliffe Graduate) Marce Porcello always gives his players credit for wins, and nothing was different on Friday night after the Blue Devils easily shut out Independence 38-0. The thing that was different after the win on Friday was it was about Porcello even though he wouldn’t admit it as he earned his 72nd win as Wickliffe’s coach. The win made Porcello the all-time leader in wins passing Wickliffe legend and Porcello’s mentor the late Tom Rosneck who passed away earlier this year.
The game was a mismatch from the start as the Blue Devils stopped Independence on their opening drive with a three and out and the Blue Devils offense took over from there. Just five plays and 45 yards later the Blue Devils were in the end zone when senior captain Frankie Bucar took the ball in from five yards out.
The Independence offense could not stop the Blue Devils as they racked up 237 yards in the opening half on 20 carries and took a 28-0 lead into the locker room break. Meanwhile the Blue Devils defense held Independence to just 40 yards on 17 attempts.
The second half was once again all Wickliffe as the running clock went into effect after Wickliffe scored courtesy of an Independence fumble which was first recovered by junior Nick Oboczky who scampered 30 yards before he fumbled and it was picked up by Wickliffe senior Markese Roberts who took it the final 60 yards for a Wickliffe touchdown. After the extra point by senior Drew Rossman the Blue Devils were in control throttling Independence 35-0.
Rossman completed the scoring with 4:40 left in regulation when Rossman booted a 34-yard field goal.
The stats were lobsided in the second half and for the game ended up ugly for Independence as the Blue Devils outgained Independence 340 to 109. The Wickliffe ground game was unstoppable with seven different players carrying the ball a total of 30 times for 329 yards and four touchdowns.
Porcello commented after the game when asked about what his 72nd career win means to him to pass his mentor as a teacher and coach Tom Rosneck, “First of all Coach Ros (Tom Rosneck) was a huge inspiration for me. “He’s one of the reasons I went into teaching and coaching, so you know he passed not too long ago, I know he would be proud of me passing his record.” Porcello went on to say, “What it really means is I have coach a lot of great teams and a lot of great kids and it’s a tradition that we’ve created here at Wickliffe, so that’s what I’m most proud of and I’m honored to be in this situation, but I’m really blessed to be the head coach here. It’s a tribute to these guys, they show up everyday and work really hard.”
Wickliffe assistant coach/defensive coordinator Kevin Sharp, who has been with Porcello as an assistant for all 72 wins spoke also commented on the achievement. “Yeah, it’s been great. I’ve been with Marce the entire time. He took over in 2011 and I’ve been on staff with him the whole time. We’ve had some ups and down, but we’ve stuck with it, and I feel like we’ve built a really strong program and it’s a testament to him for sticking with it and building a really great culture here for our football program.”
Bucar also spoke about his coach and what it meant to be on the field for the historic night, “Yeah, it means everything. He game plans each week, every night, getting us ready for Friday nights. He’s very proud of us for putting our opportunities and everything on the line for him to get this record and it’s very huge for us.”
Next week Porcello and his Blue Devils will play host to state powerhouse Kirtland as the Hornets are also 5-0. Gametime is 7 pm in the Chagrin Valley Conference battle.
tshirer@lakecountysentinel.com follow Tim on Twitter @TBBucsTim or follow us on Twitter @LCSentinelcom
POSTED 09/19/2025 23:13
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Wicklife Blue Devils head coach Marce Porcello talks to his team after Wickliffe defeated Independence 38-0 to earn Porcello his Wickliffe record 72nd win.
Photos by Tim Shirer
