Lake County Sentinel
Chardon Overcomes Mistakes, Rallies to Beat Madison 20-16 in First CVC Game
BY KEN KRIZNER
STAFF
(MADISON, OH) - It was a night filled with mistakes at Madison’s Dick Hamblin Field. In some ways, Chardon made more mistakes than Madison. But in the end, the Hilltoppers got a 45-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Cole to Aiden Hardesty with less than 2 minutes to go and held on for a 20-16 victory over the Blue Streaks.
The Hilltoppers overcame 11 penalties, most of them illegal procedures but two holding calls that nullified touchdowns to escape with the victory.
“I don’t have words for this game,” said Chardon Head Coach Brian Landies. “In some ways, I’m so proud of them for being resilient and overcoming our mistakes and coming out with a win. But in other ways, we put ourselves in some bad situations. We have to get better.”
It was a significant victory for Chardon (2-2) in that it was their Chagrin Valley Conference debut. On the other side, for the second consecutive week, Madison (1-3) couldn’t hold a second half lead.
Hardesty’s touchdown capped an 80-yard drive that took about 7 minutes off the clock. The Hilltoppers used the running attack of seniors Drew Platz and Rocco Tarantino to move the ball inside Madison territory. After a Chardon timeout, Hardesty was able to get behind the Blue Streaks’ defensive backfield and went in untouched.
Following the touchdown, Madison had two chances to take the lead. On the ensuing drive, sophomore quarterback Lucian Kingus was intercepted at the Chardon 21 by senior linebacker Jack Weaver.
The Hilltoppers were unable to move the ball on their next possession, and the Blue Streaks utilized their three timeouts and got the ball back at their own 32 yard line after a punt with less than a minute remaining.
After one completed pass, however, Kingus was thrown for a 10-yard loss by senior defensive end Collin Cole. As time ran out, Kingus completed a 30-yard pass to senior Kamrin Wilson but well short of the endzone.
Prior to the game-winning drive, both teams used the other’s mistakes to take control.
In the first quarter, a shanked Madison punt set the Hilltoppers up at the Blue Streaks 46 yard line. It took one play for junior running back Cooper Borden to go around the right end, break free, and score the first touchdown of the night.
Madison had a difficult time sustaining drives in the first half. At times, the running of Kingus and junior Parker Johnston netted the Blue Streaks good yardage. The Hilltoppers defense was able to answer, forcing two punts and two turnovers on downs after Madison went for it on fourth down.
But Madison’s defense, aided by Chardon penalties, forced a punt. However, the punt was muffed by the Blue Streaks and the Hilltoppers recovered at the Madison 23 yard line.
Platz, with runs of 7 and 9 yards, got Chardon inside the 10 yard line, leading to an 8-yard touchdown by Cole and a 13-0 lead four minutes into the second quarter.
For the second time in the first half, Madison turned the ball over on downs after failing to pick up a first down on fourth down. But Chardon’s next drive included three holding penalties, forcing a punt.
The Blue Streaks began moving the ball in the late minutes of the second quarter. But the drive ended when senior linebacker Ryan Kolcum intercepted a pass deep in Hilltoppers’ territory.
As it was getting the second half kickoff, Chardon may have had thoughts of driving down the field and putting more distance between themselves and Madison.
But senior Mason Nusker, kicking off for the first time in his high school career, placed the ball in a perfect, uncovered spot. The Hilltoppers were slow to react, perhaps thinking the ball was heading out of bounds. However, the live ball stuck to the grass at the Hilltoppers’ 33 yard line and was easily recovered by the Blue Streaks.
“That was not planned at all,” said Madison Head Coach Mike Gilligan.
Madison made Chardon pay for the mistake. Behind the running of senior Anthony Telenko, the Blue Streaks got the ball to the 5 yard line but faced another fourth down. This time, Kingus hit senior wide receiver Noah Wargula in the end zone for the touchdown. It was Madison first touchdown against Chardon since 2018. Wilson followed up with a two-point conversion and Blue Streaks had pulled to within five points.
On Chardon’s next drive, the first of the two touchdowns nullified by holding penalties occurred. Instead of a 75-yard touchdown pass, the Hilltoppers were forced to punt.
But Chardon’s defense stopped Madison, forcing the Blue Streaks to punt. Chardon’s Tarantino, cutting up field after receiving the punt, fumbled when he took a hard hit, and the Blue Streaks recovered on Chardon's 35-yard line. Three plays later, the combination of Kingus and Wargula struck again, this time on a 9-yard pass. Johnston added the two-point conversion and Madison had a 16-13 lead.
Both teams traded punts through the end of the third quarter and into the fourth quarter before Chardon began its game-winning drive with 9 minutes to go in the game.
For the second consecutive week, Madison fought back from a halftime deficit to take the lead only to give it up late. Last week, it was against Holy Name.
“Obviously, we have to work on keeping the lead once we get it,” Gilligan says. “We have a lot of new starters who are still getting their feet wet. Hopefully, they will learn from this. We will focus on getting better at every single position.”
Landies, meanwhile, said a game like this, where mistakes are made but you ultimately come out on top, shows the true character of his team. He does have one stipulation, though. “I hope we don’t find ourselves in this kind of hole again,” he pointed out.
Next week, CVC Lake Division play continues for both teams. Chardon will play host to undefeated Eastlake North in what shapes up to be a critical game, while Madison is on the road against undefeated Willoughby South.
POSTED 09/05/2026 01:06
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Madison's Anthony Telenko goes for yardage during the Blue Streaks' 20-16 loss to Chardon. Photo by Ken Krizner
