Streetsboro’s Logan Fincham races toward the goal line for a first-quarter touchdown on Friday at Kent Roosevelt.
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By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

The truth of the matter is that Janiere Cook was overshadowed last season.

Streetsboro quarterback Colton Cox (right) and running back Adrian Monroe celebrate a second-half touchdown.
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Then a junior, the Streetsboro Rockets’ running back rushed for 703 yards and scored 96 points as a key piece in a dominant rushing attack.

However, a year ago, the brightest part of the spotlight was earned by quarterback Cohen Klimak (1,920 yards rushing, 793 yards passing and 222 points).

This year is a different year for the Rockets.

Klimak has graduated and veteran head coach Pete Thompson said that it is now Cook’s “time to shine.”

He certainly was radiant on Friday.

As an emerged leader of a backfield now hit by injuries, the three-year starter totaled 169 yards on 20 carries and scored three touchdowns to lead Streetsboro (2-0) to a commanding 42-7 non-league victory over host Kent Roosevelt.

“Alongside (senior) Arthur (Scott), Janiere has the most experience within our system,” Thompson said. “As a freshman, he was more of a blocking back and ancillary piece to our offense. Last year, he had a great year, but was just overshadowed a little bit.

“He is such a smart kid, both in the classroom and in athletics, and he understands our offense inside and out,” Thompson added. “We really trust him.”

He was trusted to carry the offense in the second quarter when the Rockets’ backfield was reduced by injuries, by scoring on touchdown runs of 1 and 10 yards to help turn a 14-7 advantage to a comfortable 28-7 lead.

Streetsboro then pushed it out to 35-7 on a 3-yard run by quarterback Colton Cox with less than 1 minute left in the second quarter and became the team’s fifth straight possession to start the game that ended with a touchdown.

Streetsboro running back Janiere Cook fights for extra yardage during a run.
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Cook ballooned the lead out further, scoring on a 33-yard touchdown at the 8:28 mark for the game’s final score.

Early in the game, Cook was not alone in the Rockets’ successful rushing attack on Friday.

Junior Logan Ficham (609 yards in 2024 and in an expanded role this season) scored the first touchdowns of the game — both in the first quarter.

The first touchdown came at 7:48 to cap a statement-making 12-play (all runs), 68-yard drive to open the game.

A little under 2 minutes later, Kyle Giacomo jumped in front of a Roosevelt pass on the sideline for an interception. His return was followed by a 40-yard pass from Cox to Adrian Monroe, to set up Fincham’s 9-yard touchdown run. However Fincham, who ran for 83 yards on only seven carries, exited the game with a second-quarter shoulder injury and did not return.

The Rockets’ offense kept moving forward, though, using its strength across the offensive line and discipline within their system.

Kent Roosevelt receiver Teddy Maccarone hauls in a first-quarter touchdown from quarterback Gavin Peeps.
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Both were part of Streetsboro’s defensive success, too. Size and speed allowed the Rockets to consistently disrupt a dangerous Roosevelt offense that had accumulated more than 400 yards of offense in a Week 1 victory over Ravenna.

The Riders (1-1) were held to only 23 yards rushing on Friday. 

Most of Roosevelt’s offense came through the air, with senior quarterback Gavin Peeps connecting on 17-of-36 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown.

The lone score was a 5-yard connection from Peeps to Teddy Maccarone. It cut the Rough Riders’ deficit in half (14-7, 1:32 first quarter) at the time, but it became the team’s lone end-zone visit.

Maccarone was Peeps’ top target in the game, finishing with seven receptions and 70 yards.

“During the off-season, with our first three games against Copley, Kent Roosevelt and Alliance, we knew we needed to be prepared and ready to face three aerial attacks,” Thompson said. “As a coach, who cut their teeth as a defensive guy as a young coach and being a Northeast Ohio coach wired on stopping the run, it felt a little strange to switch things up this summer and worry about how to stop the pass.”

Rockets running back Logan Fincham looks across at the side judge to see if they give him credit for the touchdown.
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