St. Paul beats Mapleton for 4th straight win

NORWALK — Home is where the heart is. It's also where an incredible amount of victories take place for the St. Paul football team. Since first making the playoffs in 1995, the Flyers have played 110 Firelands Conference games at Contractors Stadium at the Warren C. Whitney Complex. After Friday's 45-6 win over visiting Mapleton, the Flyers are now 100-10 in those home FC games. St. Paul (5-3, 4-1 FC) also all but clinched a 28th playoff appearance in that same stretch with the win. "It's definitely a tradition, but it's also a family with alumni who come back to practice and stories we hear about past teams," said Zeke Dvorak, who scored on a blocked punt touchdown on his Senior Night. Friday's game was delayed by 22 minutes because of weather. But once it started, it was all St. Paul. Leading 31-6 at halftime, junior Rocco Rizzo blocked a Mapleton punt just four snaps into the second half. Dvorak was right there and all alone to scoop it up and return it 19 yards for the score. "That was quite an experience," Dvorak said. "We've practiced that all the time, but we didn't have one called, and I just heard it hit Rocco's arm, and the ball happened to be right at my feet, and I looked up and didn't look back. "It's such a different experience from an offensive touchdown. Really cool experience and something I'll always remember." In the first half, after a quick three-and-out, the Flyers stopped Mapleton's offense on downs at the St. Paul 27. The very next play, Fries ran through the heart of the Mapleton defense for a 73-yard touchdown at the 5:52 mark of the first quarter. The first Nate Griffin extra point got the Flyers on the board at 7-0. Senior Kade Houck then stripped and recovered a Mapleton fumble to give St. Paul the ball at the Mapleton 32. Three rushes by Abel Couch, the last from 11 yards, put the Flyers on the board again for a 14-0 lead at the 3:12 mark. After the Mounties were forced off the field in three plays, Fries took over again. He returned the ensuing punt 38 yards to the Mapleton 30. He took the next snap and circled to his right and was into the corner of the end zone for the 30-yard touchdown and the 21-0 lead with 1:54 left in the first quarter. Mapleton was able to answer on its next drive, sparked by a 55-yard run by Cameron Nichols. Spencer Mook finished the drive with a two-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter. Rafael Gross blocked the extra point to leave the score at 21-6. St. Paul responded with a long drive that ended when Griffin made a 22-yard field goal for a 24-6 lead with 7:35 left in the half. Mapleton then fumbled two plays into the ensuing drive, and it was Houck again coming up with the football at the Mounties' 11. After a loss of a yard, Fries ran it in from 12 yards out of the left side of the end zone to make it 31-6 with 5:52 left in the half. Fries ran six times for 123 yards and the three touchdowns in the half along with the 38-yard punt return. Each team traded turnovers, then traded possessions to end the half with the Flyers up 25 points. After Dvorak's punt block touchdown, St. Paul added one more score late when River Couch scored on a six-yard touchdown run with 4:15 remaining. St. Paul has it's annual FC rivalry game next Friday at Monroeville (4-4, 4-1) in a game that could determine a first-round home game for the winner.