Lake County Sentinel
Blue Devils calm Hurricanes 42-0
BY TIM SHIRER
SPORTS EDITOR
(WICKLIFFE, OH) - On Friday night the Wickliffe Blue Devils opened the home portion of their schedule hosting the Brooklyn Hurricanes. The Blue Devils entered the game 2-0 after opening the season with wins at Oberlin and Shaw. The Hurricanes were off to a tough 0-2 start as they fell to Grand Valley and Oberlin. Things did not get any easier for the Hurricanes as the Blue Devils acted as a land mass quieting the Hurricanes 42-0.
Wickliffe got on the board quickly, just 1:21 into the game when Ralph Jackson scampered for 32 yards to the endzone putting Wickliffe on top 7-0. The remainder of the quarter was scoreless.
Then with 11:09 left in the second quarter the Blue Devils completed a 12 play 67 yard drive when Jackson scored his second TD of the night taking it in from 3 yards out. After senior Drew Rossman hit the extra point, the Blue Devils led 14-0.
By the end of the quarter the Blue Devils lead had grown to 28-0 courtesy of two TD’s, the first a 45-yard pick-six by senior Markese Robert and then junior Nick Oboczy a 19-yard TD run. The Blue Devils were also aided by another strong defensive effort which included senior Corbyn Haas recovering a fumble to thwart a Hurricanes drive.
After the Hurricanes first possession of the third quarter the running clock took effect. The Blue Devils scored a couple more times to run the score to 42-0.
The Blue Devils dominated the game statistically as they outgained the Hurricanes on offense 277-144, which included 254 yards rushing from eight different rushers.
Blue Devils coach Marce Porcello talked about the depth after win saying, “A bunch of different guys carried the football tonight and we executed very well on offense as well.” He went on to say, “I though we played really hard tonight which is exactly what I ask these guys to do, play as hard as you can for 48 minutes and I thought we did that.”
Sometimes having a lot of options can be a problem, but it doesn’t seem to be that way for the Blue Devils as Porcello continued with, “Yeah, we have been preaching that all, every week actually, We’re going to get the ball in different people’s hands. We’re trying to be as dangerous as we can on offense, we have a lot of weapons.
Senior quarterback/running back/wide receiver also talked about the team and the depth, “We have a lot of guys who are willing to step up and make moves. It just goes back to Monday practice, everybody is getting reps, everybody is working in, and I think that’s where we separate stuff from last year. Just being able to have that brotherhood and just step up when we need to really helps us out a lot.”
Another senior Ralph Jackson who crossed the goal line twice Friday night backed up what Bucar said, “Lineman, that’s for sure.” He added, “The lineman was the only reason I could get the yards and the touchdowns and celebrate with my team.”
Next week the Blue Devils travel to Cuyahoga Hts. to take on the Red Wolves who are 2-0 after they defeated Crestwood 36-32 Friday night. Gametime is 7 pm.
tshirer@lakecountysentinel.com follow Tim on Twitter @TBBucsTim or follow us on Twitter @LCSentinelcom
POSTED 09/05/2025 22:43
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Photos by Tim Shirer