Fallsnewspress.com - Black Tigers drop heartbreaker vs. Magics

Photo courtesy of Distinctive Images Falls quarterback Adam Gammell looks to fire a pass during the Black Tigers’ 14-13 loss to Barberton Aug. 27 at Clifford Stadium. Gammell threw a pair of touchdown passes in the loss.

Photo courtesy of Distinctive Images Falls quarterback Adam Gammell hands the ball off to running back Chris Pollard during the first quarter of Falls’ 14-13 loss to Barberton Aug. 27 at home.

by Jim Isabella

Correspondent

Cuyahoga Falls -- The view of a football game from a fan's and a media perspective does not always agree with that of a coach.

Anyone who saw Cuyahoga Falls' 14-13 loss to Barberton in the season opener Aug. 27 at Clifford Stadium probably focused on the obvious -- special teams.

Specifically, the Black Tigers failing to tie the game with an extra point kick and missing a field goal that would have won the game certainly stands out. Those four points altered the outcome of the game.

Falls coach Mike Miller spoke about things other than that. One of his first concerns was inexperienced players.

"I don't worry about the things I can control. What I worry about in the first game is about players that are in their first varsity game," Miller said. "You aren't sure what you are going to get."

From the standpoint, the players obviously did not flinch and gave a good effort.

The other point Miller made after the loss is quintessential to the type of program he is trying to build. The third-year coach wanted to see more determination, especially under adversity.

With the Black Tigers trailing 14-0 at one point in the third quarter, Falls rallied before the two missed kicks.

"In the past when we would get down in a game, we could not come back. We fought back; the kids were resilient," Miller said.

Barberton was both fortunate and opportunistic in the game. The best example was on the Magics' first touchdown.

Quarterback Bryan Breitenstine of the Magics connected on a 44-yard touchdown to Kevin Gilcreast finish an eight-play, 77-yard drive with 3:04 left in the first half. But Miller notes how lucky the score was.

"Our defensive back fell down and the kid was wide open," Miller said.

Things looked bleak in the third quarter when Magics' senior Darryl Murphy scored from three yards out with 9:15 left, taking a 14-0 lead.

This is where the Black Tigers showed the character that Miller has longed to see.

Falls cut the lead to 14-7 when quarterback Adam Gammell hit Tyler Habony on a 27-yard touchdown pass into the right side of the end zone and kicker Matt Warren booted the extra point with 6:47 remaining in the third quarter.

Gammell finished the game 10-of-20 for 87 yards and rushed for 41 yards on 16 carries.

The fourth quarter became a back-and-forth fight with both teams get chippy. Murphy who was thrown out of the game after arguing with the officials.

The Black Tigers recovered a fumble inside the Barberton 15-yard line to set up their second touchdown of the game when Gammell rolled to his right and hit Tim Bridenthal from three yards out with 7:09 remaining in regulation.

Depending on your point of view, the Magics were either good or lucky. Barberton linebacker Sean Conner came through the line and blocked the extra point to keep Barberton ahead 14-13.

The game would finish in a most bizarre of fashion.

Just when Barberton looked like it would ice the game with three minutes left in the game, the Magics fumbled on fourth down and it kicked back to the 50-yard line, where the Black Tigers took over.

With eight seconds left, Warren was short on a 40-yard field goal, but a roughing the kicker penalty moved the ball closer.

Unfortunately, his second kick stayed wide right and the Magics escaped with a 14-13 win.

Obviously, the defeat was tough to swallow, but was a far better effort than last year's 35-14 loss at Barberton.

Ironically, the Black Tigers won the first down battle 14-13.

Running back Brandon James of the Magics led all rushers with 99 yards on 20 carries, while Chris Pollard of the Black Tigers led Falls runners with 80 yards on 17 carries.

The Black Tigers were set to play at Eastlake North Sept. 3, but results were not available at press time.

Falls returns to Clifford Stadium Sept. 10 to play Akron North.

Looking forward to Eastlake North, Miller noted its sports a high-octane offense. The Rangers are led by quarterback George Gresko who 26-of-44 for 318 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in North's opening week win over Brush.

"They have a quarterback that loves to throw the football. They also have a good running back (Jordan Morris - 180 yards on 20 carries, two touchdowns)," Miller said.

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