By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

Matt Furino is in his third stint as the football coach at Field High School.

Field running back Drexal McAmis pushes across the goal line for a first-quarter touchdown during Friday’s matchup with Mogadore.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

In each of his previous two, he can specifically pinpoint games when he felt his Falcons make a turn toward the promising direction they had worked so hard to find.

In the middle of his first run, spanning from 1996 to 2007, it was a huge win over a talented Streetsboro team.

Returning to coach from 2012 to 2015, it was a game that quarterback Caleb Wohlwend saved by breaking nine tackles on a third-and-18 play that rallied the Falcons.

On Friday night, as the district proudly unveiled its new field turf at Kenneth Lohr Stadium, Furino thinks he found the moment that will define the turning point of his third tenure.

The Falcons celebrated a 14-12 victory over crosstown rival Mogadore, defeating the Wildcats for the first time since 2004, noting that the rivalry was dormant from 2005 through 2018.

Friday’s win was also the 100th of Furino’s career.

There was no room in the spotlight for Furino, though, as he placed all of it on his team and the rush of emotions he knew they felt following the result.

Mogadore quarterback Karson Jaber releases a pass toward the sideline.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

“This is a special group. These kids are just different,” Furino said. “The you think about it, it was a picture perfect night for this team and the community. We needed a win like this to get over the hump, to win a big game against a great team, to win a close game, then to do it on a night like tonight when we are playing on the turf for the first time. We needed all of that. This was a big moment for us.”

Furino said he believed in it all along.

“All day long I felt like today was going to be something special,” the 20-year veteran said.

It didn’t come without its tense moments, though, and one in particular, late in the game, had all of the same late-game heroic feelings that Mogadore has become known for.

Field took possession of the game with 5:14 to play and ran the clock down to 1:56, when it was faced with a fourth-and-3 play on Mogadore’s 49-yard line.

Following the Cats’ final timeout, they stuffed the Falcons’ run to the left and forced a turnover on downs with 1:50 remaining in the game.

One play later, at 1:42, Mogadore was suddenly down to Field’s 19 on a 32-yard pass from Karson Jaber to Conner Lehner. The next play was a designed run for Jaber that the Falcons thwarted, then a throw into the end zone on the next play was picked by Victor Brown with 1:04 left.

Field defensive back Victor Brown (left) steps in to intercept a pass late in the fourth quarter to seal the Falcons’ victory.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

Brown was tackled in the end zone for the touchback and the Falcons closed the game in Victory Formation.

Reflecting on the decision to go for it on fourth down instead of trying to pin the Wildcats deep in their own territory with a punt, Furino said the discussion was between him and his players.

“I told them that I didn’t care what anybody else in the entire stadium thought, I wanted to know if they wanted to go for it or not,” Furino said. “They wanted to go for it, and I told them that if we didn’t get it, then they needed to have my back. They told me, ‘We will stop them. They will not score on us.’

“In a weird way, I am almost glad that we did not convert that fourth down,” Furino said, “because this time it was our turn to make the plays. This just tells me that this group is ready for the big moments. For me, there was never a moment where I didn’t think we were going to win this game and tonight was a coming out party for Field.”

The party started with a pregame ceremony to highlight the new stadium’s new field turf, which was led by district Superintendent David Heflinger and concluded with Furino cutting a ceremonial ribbon. 

The Falcons were then the first to get on the scoreboard, using a 17-play drive that pulled 10:36 off the clock and ended with a 2-yard touchdown run by Drexal McAmis. Alec Grimm kicked the extra point to give Field (1-0) a 7-0 lead in the second quarter.

Mogadore’s answer was immediate.

Field running back Drexal McAmis is tackled by Mogadore’s Cole Reese.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

After being held without a first down in the first quarter, the Wildcats’ ensuing drive gained steam, then broke through when Conner Lehner took a toss-sweep to the right, made a couple of nice jump cuts, and bursted to the end zone from 48 yards out.

The extra point missed, allowing Field to hold onto the lead, 7-6, which held until halftime.

The two teams were scoreless in the third quarter, then Field extended its lead on a 33-yard pass from Peyton Anderson to Mikai Peeple.

With one-on-one coverage down the right sideline, Peeple high-pointed the pass from Anderson, despite nice coverage from the Wildcats’ defensive back, and pulled the ball out of the air near the 2-yard line before stepping into the end zone.

“That was a great play, and we told Mikai that we saw the man coverage and that we were going to throw the ball his way so go make a play. He definitely made a play,” Furino said.

Grimm once again kicked the extra point and the Falcons’ lead grew to 14-6.

A nice 40-yard kick return by Maddox Smith set up the Cats’ next possession on its own 40. Lehner extended a couple of runs, then Jaber went over the top to Nick Stephenson for a 25-yard completion near the goal line. 

Aaron Rumschlag took the handoff on the next play and plunged in over the right side of the line for the score, cutting Field’s lead to 14-12 with 5:19 remaining. Mogadore’s 2-point conversion pass failed, with Blake Dunderman getting pressure on the Cats’ quarterback to impact the play.

“It was a great game, and we simply missed too many opportunities and made too many untimely mistakes,” Mogadore head coach Matt Adorni said. “We felt like we had some opportunities to change this game, but we did not hit. I am proud of our defense, but our offense needs to improve and needs to get more efficient.

“Field is a much-improved team, they are a tough team and you have to give them credit for tonight,” Adorni added. “For us, we need to regroup and get ready for Ravenna.”

Field dominated the time of possession and totaled 54 plays to Mogadore’s 36. Aiding those statistics was the Falcons’ ground game, which amassed 252 yards on 49 attempts.

McAmis was the leader with 162 yards rushing, while Victor Brown added another 73 on the ground.