Monroeville runs past St. Paul

MONROEVILLE — Ethan Smiley wants no credit. In fact, the Monroeville junior held his coaches responsible. Moments after St. Paul got a big turnover on downs with possession of the ball and momentum, there was a chance for the game to swing with the Eagles leading 22-7 in Friday's Firelands Conference game at Marsh Field. But on a third and 5, Smiley read a Wyatt Houser pass the entire way. He made the interception and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown to put Monroeville up 29-7 with 5:25 left in the third. That proved to be the final game changer in the 36-14 win. "I blame that all on my coaches," said Smiley of the interception. "They told me how to get out there in my pass drop and I just caught the ball." Despite the appearance of an easy touchdown return, Smiley didn't feel that way, either. "I was honestly thinking, 'Please don't catch me,'" he said. "But we pushed the whole way through. I don't want any credit. We played a great team game." Monroeville (5-4, 5-1) posted back-to-back wins in the FC rivalry matchup with the Flyers (5-4, 4-2) for the first time since the 1990-91 seasons. Both teams will be on the road in the playoffs next Friday in Division VII Region 25. "Huge credit to Ethan because he didn't start the season at that position," Monroeville coach Tylor Nester said. "But our guys trust the process and continue to push. "But credit to our kids for their preparation this week and throughout the season. It would be really easy for our kids after an 0-3 season and the loss to Western to pack it in, but they continued to trust the process and kept fighting." In the first half, the Eagles ran just one negative play — an incomplete pass with 2:13 left in the second quarter. St. Paul advanced to the Monroeville 39 on the opening drive of the game, but consecutive holding penalties stalled the drive. The Eagles then covered 59 yards in eight plays and took 3:59 off the clock. Cooper Cleary ran five of the eight plays and scored on a two-yard run with three minutes left in the first quarter. Isaac Krueger added the extra point. After a quick stop, the Eagles took over at their own 34. Clark threw 34 yards to Jake Fries and 14 yards to Cleary to spark things. Cleary then ran four straight times from 18 yards out and scored on a one-yard run with 10:03 left in the half. Krueger then ran in the two-point run on a designed play to make it 15-0. St. Paul saw another scoring opportunity snuffed out by the Eagles' defense and penalties. The Flyers moved from their own 45 to the Monroeville 20, which included two third-down conversions and an eight-yard run by quarterback Wyatt Houser on a fourth-and-2 from the 25. But on second-and-8 from the 23, the Flyers were flagged for holding. A fourth-and-20 pass by Houser two plays later ended the drive. Monroeville then covered 70 yards in nine plays over 3:24. Clark threw consecutive passes of 25 and 21 yards to Alex Dowell and Jake Fries to the 3, then Cleary ran it in from there to make it 22-0 with just 42 seconds left in the half. However, St. Paul senior Levi Rospert returned the ensuing kickoff 59 yards to the Monroeville 28 with 30 seconds to go. Houser ran for 12 yards, spiked the ball, then found Hudson Davis for six yards. He then connected with Zach Roth over two Monroeville defenders for a 10-yard touchdown pass with 10 seconds left. Nate Griffin added the extra point for a 22-7 deficit. That set up the series of events with the Flyers stopping Cleary on a fourth-and-1 to start the third, only for Smiley to return the interception for a touchdown. St. Paul responded with a 40-yard touchdown run by Casey Fries with 2:32 left in the third, only for Cleary to score on a 17-yard run on the next Monroeville drive with 10:44 left in the game. The Flyers had one more chance to draw closer, but were stopped on a turnover on downs at the Monroeville 10 with 5:30 left in the game. "Credit for Monroeville for making the big plays when they needed to," St. Paul coach Chris Doughty said. "It seemed like we were just a step behind on some things and a little short in some situations. I thought our kids gave a great effort and continued to make plays, but it wasn't quite enough. "But give credit to Monroeville tonight. They are a solid team that is firing on all cylinders right now. They did a great job of execution and deserved to win." Cleary ran 30 times for 206 yards and four touchdowns for the Eagles. Clark was 10-of-11 passing for 138 yards with Jake Fries catching three passes for 60 yards. For St. Paul, Casey Fries ran 18 times for 92 yards and a touchdown.