Lake County Sentinel
Eastlake North Scores on Final Play of Game to Stun Chardon, 22-21
BY KEN KRIZNER
STAFF
(CHARDON, OH) - It’s the sort of victory that coaches and players dream about. A victory announcing to friend and foe alike that a program has arrived.
Junior quarterback Josh Fenick scored on an 8-yard run as time expired, then bounced off multiple defenders for the two-point conversion, capping off a furious last-minute rally and delivering Eastlake North a dramatic 22-21 victory over Chardon at Chardon Memorial Field.
In a physical, run-dominated game, where the biggest lead was 7 points, Chardon appeared to have the game won when senior running back Drew Platz went in from 32 yards with 50 seconds remaining to give the Hilltoppers a 21-14 lead.
Fifty seconds was all the Rangers needed.
After each team was called for a penalty, Fenick hit junior running back Javion Whaley on a 30-yard pass to get the ball into Chardon territory. It was a spectacular catch by Whaley who came out with the ball as he and three other players were converging. On the next play, Fenick and Whaley connected again, this time a 36-yard play that got the ball to the Chardon 9 with 8 seconds to go.
They were the only passes of the night for Eastlake North.
Following a timeout, Fenick took the snap, made one step inside, then darted for the right corner of the endzone, diving in for the touchdown as time expired. Going for the two-point conversion and the win, Fenick again took the snap. This time he headed up the middle, appeared to have been stopped by multiple Chardon defenders, but was able to squeeze through and cross the goal line, setting off a wild celebration among Eastlake North players, coaches and fans.
“I didn’t feel any hits,” Fenick said of the two-point play. “I just knew that I had to get into the endzone, no matter what.”
The win, described by Rangers’ Head Coach Shawn Dodd as the biggest of his career, keeps the Rangers undefeated after five games for the first time since 2011. It is also Eastlake North’s first victory over Chardon since 2017 and will bolster the Rangers’ playoff positioning in Division II, Region 5, where they were No. 3 going into this week. The Rangers are looking for their first playoff appearance since 2021.
“This is the kind of win that changes our identity and changes the program,” Dodd said. “I am at a loss for words. But I never doubted, even we gave up the late score, that we had the ability to come back and win.”
That belief is shared by his players. Even though the Rangers are run-oriented, Fenick said he has a great deal of confidence in his ability to throw the ball.
“When the coaches called the passing plays, I knew I needed to do what had to be done,” he noted.
Whaley, described by Dodd as a “special player,” wanted to amend for what he said was a mistake on defense earlier in the game that resulted in a Chardon touchdown. He, too, is confident in his ability to bring in a pass, even in traffic.
“It was a great win,” Whaley said. "We didn’t get down on ourselves even when they went ahead. It was a dogfight for sure, but we did not want to lose that game.”
In the first quarter, the Rangers stayed exclusively on the ground, using four running backs and shuffling the snap to different players to keep the Hilltoppers off balance.
After exchanging 3-and-out drives and punts, the Rangers went to work. Sophomore Brycen Palmer went around the left side for a 42-yard run, bringing the ball to the Chardon 30 yard line. Five plays later, junior running back King Mattice went around the right side untouched to the Chardon end zone.
A double penalty, costing Chardon 20 total yards, nullified what would have been the Hilltoppers first first down of the night and led to a Hilltoppers’ punt.
Chardon’s defense kept the Rangers from extending their lead with two stops, the last of which ended when North’s senior kicker Jacob Soto missed a 46-yard field goal.
The Hilltoppers finally registered their initial first down with about 2:00 minutes left in the first half. The drive appeared to stall at their own 45 yard line and they lined up for a punt. However, a pass out of punt formation from Collin Cole to Liam Park netted Chardon 23 yards and a first down.
With time running down in the first half, it appeared Eastlake North had widened its lead. Chardon junior quarterback Andrew Cole had the ball stripped as he was attempting to pass. The fumble was picked up North freshman lineman Peyton Brooks who ran it 50 yards for an apparent touchdown. But a penalty on the Rangers after the fumble brought the ball back, just about ending the first half.
Eastlake North’s defense effectively shut down the Chardon running game in the first half. Platz, who came into the game with a team-leading 471 yards rushing, was held to 12 yards. Quarterback Cole was 0-4 passing and 10 yards rushing.
It was a different story in the second half. The Hilltoppers came out and ran roughshod through the North defense on their first possession of the second half. After taking about 22 minutes to get their initial first down during the first half, the Hilltoppers gained three first downs on consecutive plays to start the second half. They went 60 yards in seven plays, all on the ground and all by either Cole or Platz. It was Platz who took the ball in from 11 yards to tie the score at 7.
But the Rangers responded. As Chardon appeared ready to seize the momentum, Eastlake North converted a 3-and-1 and 4-and-1 on a drive that culminated with Whaley’s first touchdown of the night on a 4-yard run.
Then the Hilltoppers responded right back. Platz’s second touchdown of the night capped a 72-yard drive and tied the score at 14 early in the fourth quarter. Platz, Cole and sophomore running back Rocco Frisco did much of the heavy running for the Hilltoppers as their offensive line began to open large holes through the North defense.
After a North punt, Chardon, starting at its own 14, mixed some Cole passes with Platz runs as again, the Chardon offensive line was having the better of it against the Rangers defensive line. When Platz scored with less than a minute left, it appeared that for the second straight week, Chardon would rally in the fourth quarter.
But it was not meant to be. Chardon Head Coach Brian Landies was philosophical in defeat.
“It’s football; these things happen,” he said. “We had to make one more play to win the game and didn’t make it.”
Landies lamented that the second pass play on the final drive, when Whaley got behind the Chardon defensive backfield, was a play the Hilltoppers practiced against all week. “We just didn’t cover their guy,” he said.
Dodd gave all credit to his players, not only for the win over Chardon but for the 5-0 start to the season.
“These guys have worked extremely hard, from the end of last season through the summer and into this season,” he pointed out. “Now, they’re seeing all of that hard work pay off.”
Chardon (2-3, 1-1 in the CVC Lake Division) gets another undefeated team next week, when it travels to Willoughby South to face the Rebels.
“We have to figure out how to finish a football game,” Landies said. “We have to eliminate little mistakes that turn into big things.”
The Rangers, meanwhile, travel to Lutheran West next Friday, finding themselves tied with their Willoughby South rivals for first place in the CVC Lake Division.
POSTED 09/18/2026 01:06
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. Photos by Ken Krizner
