Streetsboro quarterback Cohen Klimak runs for yards during Friday’s first half in Streetsboro.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

For Pete Thompson and his Streetsboro football coaching staff, there are no more surprises when it comes to Cohen Klimak.

They have seen him do almost everything.

And the little they maybe haven’t seen yet, they know it’s coming.

That is the reality when watching the Rockets’ standout senior quarterback.

Categorize Friday as another night of evidence.

The Rockets’ Janiere Cook runs for a 15-yard touchdown in Friday’s first quarter.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

Klimak was electric once again, rushing for 196 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Rockets to their eighth straight win of the season in a 45-14 Metro Athletic Conference victory over the visiting Ravenna Ravens on Senior Night.

Even when the Ravens scripted a brilliant drive to open the game and take a 7-0 lead, it was Klimak who calmly settled the Rockets back in with a 2-play drive to knot the score.

He never stopped leading and his Rockets teammates never stopped following.

“He’s our guy,” Thompson said. “He is a tremendous, tremendous athlete, and he is a great leader. He weighs about 170, but plays like he is about 210. We have a lot of players that can make things happen on offense, but Cohen’s the guy that makes us go.”

On Friday, it took the Rockets a quarter to really get going on both sides of the ball.

Ravenna delivered a well-designed offensive plan in the first half, which exploited holes in the Rockets’ zone defense. It allowed the Ravens (3-5, 2-3 MAC) to hold a 7-0 lead and trail just 21-14 early in the second quarter.

At that point, Streetsboro’s slow start was over.

Rockets running back Marcus Council is tackled by Ravenna’s Amare Marshall.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

The Rockets (8-0, 5-0 MAC) scored 24 unanswered points to win their 14th straight regular-season game.

“Ravenna came ready to play today,” Thompson said. “They came in with a nice offensive gameplan, then on top of that, you always know that a Ravenna football team is going to play hard. Early on, (Ravenna) was good in their execution, and they forced us to go more man-to-man on defense with a two-high safety.”

The Ravens’ passing game, which was responsible for the team’s two touchdowns, both in the game’s first 14 minutes, was the cause for the defensive adjustments for Streetsboro.

Junior quarterback CJ Ross delivered a perfectly thrown ball to Bryant Thompson from 26 yards out for Ravenna’s first touchdown.

Streetsboro scored the next three touchdowns, in a 15-yard run by Janiere Cook, a 14-yard run by Klimak and a 2-yard run from Klimak, to take a 21-7 lead.

Ravenna answered right back, scoring on a 49-yard pass from Ross to Ladarion Askew, who concentrated on a tipped ball, then pulled it in and sped to the goal line untouched to make it 21-14 with 10:11 on the second-quarter clock.

Ravenna’s Amare Marshall hauls in a screen pass in the middle of a collection of Rockets defenders.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

The problem for Ravenna, were the two possessions between its touchdowns, which included an interception and a fumble lost. Those two mistakes shifted momentum to the Rockets, who capitalized to seize control of the game.

“We preached all week that you can’t beat a good team if you beat yourself,” Ravenna head coach Brian Coman said. “We told them that you aren’t going to be able to beat two teams out there. Offensively, I thought we executed pretty well at times tonight. Defensively, I was upset with what we did, but part of that is because Streetsboro is an undefeated team for a reason.”

The Rockets’ path to their 8-0 record has been nothing short of impressive.

They still have yet to give up more than 21 points in a game and Ravenna’s 14 options snapped a four-game streak of shutouts for the Rockets’ defense.

Following Friday’s win, Streetsboro has now outscored its opponents 411-41 this season.

Friday’s win also featured just the second punt of the season for the Rockets and it also included the team’s first turnover of the season.

Ravenna tight end Bobby Melzer, who had four receptions for 73 yards on Friday, pulls in a tough catch.
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Streetsboro will play for the Metro Athletic Conference championship next Friday in a Week9 showdown with Field at Kenneth Lohr Stadium in Brimfield.

The Falcons are 7-1 overall and 4-1 in the MAC after a 37-10 win over Cloverleaf on Friday.

The title showdown was set up by the Rockets taking over their matchup with the Ravens by scoring 24 straight points to close out the game. The run was started on a score by Janiere Cook on a 1-yard plunge into the end zone with 5:11 left in the second quarter.

Klimak scored the next touchdown on a run from 52 yards out with 1:56 to go before halftime, then the Rockets squeezed in one more possession before the break and turned it into a 27-yard field goal by Logan Sadowski. The third quarter was nearly scoreless, but Logan Fincham did reach the end zone before the stanza closed on a 7-yard run with 57 seconds remaining.

Cook finished the game with 71 yards rushing and two touchdowns. 

As a team, the Rockets ran for 341 yards on 42 carries (8.1 yards per carry).

Ravenna was held to only 37 yards in 18 attempts on the ground. However, the Ravens’ aerial attack was more dangerous. Ross (11-of-22) threw for 181 yards and a pair of scores. Bobby Melzer had a team-high four receptions for 73 yards, while Thompson had 42 yards and Askew had 55 yards through the air.