By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

To be honest, Friday could not have started much worse for the Streetsboro Rockets.

A pair of Streetsboro defenders team up to stop Northwest running back Parker Kraft during Friday’s matchup in Streetsboro.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

On the receiving end of the opening kickoff, the Rockets’ returner misread the flight of the ball and did not catch it, then it rolled past him and was going to stay inbounds before he purposely pushed it out of bounds at the Rockets’ 7-yard line.

Then, the first play from scrimmage was blown dead before the snap on a false start, moving the ball back to the 2-yard line.

Then, the second play from scrimmage was also blown dead for a false start.

Streetsboro was now starting at its own 1-yard line and a furious head coach on the sideline.

“Oh, I was very much frustrated,” Streetsboro head coach Pete Thompson said. “It was the most frustrating moment of our entire season to this point. We looked like a team that didn’t know what they were doing. I was not happy.”

Thompson’s mood soon changed.

“It sure is nice to have No. 7 to fix things,” the veteran coach said of his senior quarterback Cohen Klimak.

Rockets senior quarterback Cohen Klimak sprints away from the Indians’ secondary on his way to a 47-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

Klimak got the Rockets out of the jam with a read-option keeper that went for 20 yards. On the next play, he handed it off to running back Marcus Council for an electric 56-yard gain. Three plays later, Klimak pushed across the goal line for a 1-yard touchdown.

It was the first of three touchdowns for Klimak, which completely changed the opening drive and set the stage for a convincing 34-7 victory for Streetsboro over the visiting Northwest Indians.

The win pushes the Rockets into the Division IV regional semifinal vs. Perry (11-1), which defeated Struthers on Friday by a final of 3-0.

The Rockets’ win also set a single-season record for wins at 12.

To get there, Streetsboro, which has yet to be defeated this year, took control of the Indians (9-3) by scoring 20 points in the game’s first 17 minutes.

Klimak’s first touchdown, which capped a 99-play drive, was followed by another scoring run from Klimak. This one came from 47 yards out at the 3:29 mark of the first quarter. Manny Gibson was the next to get into the mix with a 12-yard run around the right edge, using a crisp cutback near the 5-yard line to get to the end zone, to make the score 20-0 at halftime.

While the offense found success consistently, averaging 9.4 yards per play in the game, the Rockets’ defense duplicated much of the same domination it has all season.

Streetsboro’s Marcus Council tries to pull away from a Northwest defensive lineman.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

Northwest entered with an offense capable of gaining yards through the air with quarterback Chase Badger and on the ground with Parker Kraft, who rushed for 426 yards and five touchdowns in the Indians’ first-round playoff victory over Orange last Friday.

“The idea of gameplanning for him caused some sleepless nights for our defensive staff,” Thompson said of Kraft. “Seeing what he did last week immediately catches your attention, and he jumped off the tape when we were watching film. Tonight, I thought our defense responded tremendously well.”

Trailing 6-0, the Kraft ripped off consecutive big runs — of 16 and 14 yards — on Northwest’s opening drive, but a quick in-game defensive adjustment by the Rockets to go from a two-high safety to just one solidified the team’s run defense and Kraft managed jut 37 yards over his next 13 carries.

Northwest turned heavier to the passing game, trailing by three scores going into halftime, and amassed 136 yards through the air, including the team’s lone touchdown — a 29-yard pass from Badger to Kraft — in the fourth quarter.

The Rockets have now given up seven or fewer points in eight of their 12 wins this season, including five shutouts.

Streetsboro wide receiver Jackson Gula pushes forward for extra yards after a 21-yard reception.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

In the second half, Streetsboro increased its lead to 27-0 with a third-quarter touchdown run of 17 yards from Janiere Cook, then upped the advantage to 34-0 in the fourth quarter on Klimak’s third touchdown of the game, which was another 1-yard run. Extra points for all of the Rockets’ scores except the first were booted by kicker Logan Sadowski.

Klimak finished with 150 yards rushing on 15 carries, while Council also went over the century mark with 117 yards in only seven attempts.

Gibson added 39 yards rushing and Cook had 41.

For the game, the Rockets rushed for 380 yards, with the offensive line making plenty of space and ball-carriers attacking all gaps, then using deft cutbacks to turn solid gains into game-breaking plays, with the team totaling 13 runs of 10 or more yards.