Sandusky qualifies for flag football playoffs

Sandusky's first girls flag football team is about to be part of Ohio high school sports history. The Blue Streaks qualified for a 16-team regional as part of the OHSAA's inaugural flag football tournament. "It's an amazing opportunity for our girls," Sandusky coach Mitch Sweet said. "They've worked extremely hard and deserve this. Now we'll see if we can make it pay off." Sandusky was notified Tuesday that it will play Nordonia in the first round of the Cleveland Browns regional at 6 p.m. Monday at InfoCision Stadium on the University of Akron campus. The Blue Streaks need to win two games — and advance to the regional semifinals — to secure a spot in the eight-team finals May 16 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton. If Sandusky wins its opener it will play the winner of the matchup between seventh-seeded Hathaway Brown and 10th-seeded John Hay. Sandusky finished 9-1 in the regular season and qualified for the playoffs as one of five wildcard entries in the northern regional. Eleven conference champions earned automatic bids. Sixteen more teams will play in a regional in southern Ohio affiliated with the Cincinnati Bengals. "Their energy has been amazing all year," said Sweet of his team. "They have earned this opportunity to take it to the next level. "I want to thank the community and our school. There's been so many people who have reached out to support us and work with our schedule. The support has been really cool and it makes a difference. The girls love it and being a part of it. It's been a key to our success." Sandusky received a wild-card bid on the strength of his strong point differential. The Streaks gave up only 80 points in 10 games. Sandusky will play No. 2 seed Nordonia in a regional opener. Nordonia is a second-year program and was undefeated in the regular season. "They look like some of the teams we've played. I think we match up well," Sweet said. "They're similar to a Midview and Strongsville that we've played. "One thing that works well for us is we're probably one of the only teams in the state that played two top-six teams. We scrimmaged Magnificat (the No. 5 seed). I'm not sure now many teams got to see two top-end teams like we did. We've definitely had a measuring stick all year." Willoughby South is the top seed in the regional. Sandusky's only loss was a 13-8 decision to Midview, the No. 6 seed. The Streaks gave up touchdowns late in the first half and late in the game. "Their game-winning touchdown came with four seconds left," Sweet said. "We had them stopped on a fourth down at midfield, but a girl made an excellent play and slipped by us. We were in control for 39 minutes and 45 seconds." Seniors Maekhiya Rameau and Brooklyn Long lead the Sandusky offense. Rameau, a wide receiver, has 21 touchdown receptions. Long, the quarterback, has thrown 30 touchdown passes. Running backs Journey Newell and Vivian Johnson also have scored touchdowns. "One thing that's been fun is we run kind of a triple-option offense, which keeps a lot of teams off balance," Sweet said. "I took some of the principals that I've learned from previous coaching stops and married them with some flag football concepts. It keeps teams guessing; they don't know who's gonna get the ball. Using some deception concepts have been a huge factor for us." Dayzha Laye and Ma'Liyah Reed are other weapons on offense. "We've got a lot of good options and a lot of good hands," Sweet said. "We have other ways to hurt people and it shows." The Sandusky defense has more than 20 interceptions and 20 quarterback sacks this season. Newell and Brie Wright have made seven and five interceptions, respectively. "We are definitely a senior-heavy offense, but all of our starters will be back on defense next year — we start two juniors and three sophomores. That's massive," Sweet said. Sandusky had 40 girls come out for the school's first flag football team. The junior varsity went 7-3-1 this season. A total of 162 high schools in Ohio sponsored flag football this spring. "It's not most fun coaching I've ever had and I've been a part of some really awesome experiences," Sweet said. "Just being new, helping girls find new avenues of competition has been something I'll never forget."