Rivalry games are unlike any other games out there. Both teams have a mutual dislike for one another and would like nothing more than to get the best of their rival. Both the Stow Bulldogs and Cuyahoga Falls Black Tigers took that to heart Friday night as they fought for a full four quarters at Stow High School.

But the Bulldogs with their combination of stout defense and ball-control proved to be too much for the Black Tigers as the rivalry went to Stow as they won 17-7.

Things started out slowly for both teams as both the Black Tigers and the Bulldogs only mustered one first down between them in the first quarter. Both defenses were playing extremely well, not giving the opposing offense any room to operate. The second quarter was a different story as both teams found a rhythm offensively. Stow struck first blood as John Markulis had a 1 yard touchdown plunge with 2:34 left in the first half. Cuyahoga Falls answered right back with a touchdown drive to close out the first half. It started with a Chris Shaffer kickoff return to the 49 of Stow and then rode the strong arm of Dylon Leymon who tossed a 19 yard touchdown pass to Drew Gardner to close out the half.

Second half started off well for Stow as they kept Cuyahoga Falls on their heels defensively. Falls running back Jordan Sweat was kept in check the whole night as he was held to 17 yards rushing, with a long carry of 10 yards. Sweat came into the game averaging 5.4 yards per carry with 412 yards rushing on the season. He did make an impact on the defensive side of the ball, stopping Stow tacklers in their tracks from his linebacker spot. Credit the Stow defense and coach Marty Tinkler for sticking to their game plan of stopping the run and ball-control offense.

Junior QB Duane Mitchell played an efficient game, leading the Bulldogs on solid drives, including one that ended with Mitchell scampering 28 yards for the score to put the Bulldogs on top 14-7.

Mitchell and Markulis did a great job of controlling the clock and eating up yardage with their strong running attack. They accounted for over 100 total yards on the ground and two touchdowns. Drew Horning was also a valuable key to the Bulldogs with his punting and placekicking. Horning drilled a 33-yard field goal with three minutes left to go in the game.


The Stow Bulldogs go to 2-8 on the year while the Black Tigers fall to a 3-7 record.

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