By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

On a night when senior running back Cody Coontz made history, the Rootstown football team repeated it.

For the third time this year, the Rovers came from behind in the fourth quarter to capture the victory.

Rootstown achieved wins in similar fashion over Champion and Field in successive weeks earlier this year and the Rovers were back at it on Friday.

This time, the Rovers topped Southeast 18-13 in a Portage Trail Conference showdown that was as much physical as it was exciting.

“We knew we would be in for a battle tonight,” Rootstown head coach Chris Knopick said. “Coach Youel does a great job preparing his team and they had a great gameplay tonight. Their team is filled with tough kids and they are well coached. We are really proud of our kids and how they played. We told them, it doesn’t have to be pretty, but we just have to find a way to go 1-0 this week, and we did that.”

The win thrusts the Rovers in to a Week 10 matchup at Mogadore that puts the PTC championship on the line. The Wildcats defeated St. Thomas Aquinas on Friday (40-18) and will enter the Week 10 game undefeated in league play. Rootstown would need to defeat the Wildcats to force a share of the PTC crown.

For Coontz, he became the 17th player in Portage County football history to run for more than 2,000 yards in a single season. He is the third Rootstown player to reach the rushing milestone, joining Aaron Urchek (2,071 yards in 2005) and Caleb Kaut (2,105 in 2017).

On Friday, Coontz carried the ball 36 times and totaled 186 yards and scored the game-winning fourth-quarter touchdown. Coontz, now has 2,040 yards on the season.

“Cody is a special kid,” said Chris Knopick, who is a Southeast High School graduate and won against his alma mater for the first time after losing 14-7 to the Pirates last year. “He runs down hill harder than most kids. The big difference for Cody this year compared to last year is that he spent so much time in the weight room to prepare for this season. And credit has to be given to the guys up front and the guys on the edge blocking. Cody running for 2,000 yards is a team achievement. It takes 11.”

Ironically, Southeast was trying to use its 11 to stop Coontz.

Coontz, known for his gamebreakinig abilities that include 10 touchdowns of 30 yards or more this season, had a long run on Friday of 17 yards. Southeast was physical and made him earn all 186 yards.

“We came in knowing we were going to have to try to use everyone to slow (Coontz) down, and we still couldn’t do it,” Southeast coach Patrick Youel said. “We had seven players assigned to him and when you have a great running back like that, you are only trying to contain them. We were physical, but he just kept coming at us. He is an unbelievable player.”

Rootstown held a 12-7 lead at halftime, and after a scoreless third quarter, the lead changed twice in the fourth quarter.

The first came when Southeast (4-4, 1-2 PTC) jumped ahead 13-12 on a 4-yard run by Austin McLean with 8:39 to play. The score was set up by a big 33-yard completion from quarterback Randy Williams to Michael Phillips down the left sideline.

The Rovers, though, answered right back.

On the ensuing kickoff, Rovers junior Dawson Morgan returned the ball 34 yards to put the Rovers (7-2, 1-1) in good field position to start their next drive in Southeast territory.

After a series of runs from Coontz and quarterback Luke DeAngelis, the Rovers marched down to the Pirates’ 8-yard line and into the red zone.

Rootstown had turned the ball over on downs twice before in the red zone (once on the Pirates’ 1 and the second time on the Southeast 18) as its offense seemed to sputter once inside the 20 on Friday.

This time, though, the Rovers broke through and a determined Coontz ran took a handoff from DeAngelis on a dive play and powered in from 8 yards out.

The touchdown allowed the Rovers to regain the lead 18-13, with 6:22 to play, after a failed 2-point conversion.

Then it was time for Rootstown sophomore Nic Malek to put his fingerprint on the game.

With Southeast driving to try to reclaim the lead, the 5-foot-8, 145-pound defensive back stepped in front of a pass for an interception on the Rovers’ 10 yard line during the Pirates’ next possession.

The Rovers’ run game helped pull some time off the clock, but they eventually had to put it back to the Pirates.

Southeast, with no timeouts, gained possession on its own 20 with 49.8 seconds to play. Already facing an uphill challenge, Malek ended it with his second interception of the game to close out the Rovers’ victory.

“Nic is a tough kid. He is a wrestler,” Knopick said. “His interceptions, those were two huge plays for us. We knew (Southeast) was probably going to come out and throw the ball on us. We repped deep balls all week, and our guys responded.”

Rootstown was without standouts Drew Nero and Brian Youngblood, who both were out with injuries.

The Pirates were led offensively by Williams, who rushed for 144 yards and threw for 87 yards. After Southeast stuffed Rootstown on its opening drive on the 1-yard line and forced the Rovers to turn it over on downs, Williams took the second play from scrimmage 81 yards to help set up the team’s first touchdown of the game — a 4-yard run by Evan Muncy for a 7-0 Southeast lead. Williams added a 47-yard run in the first quarter as well, with his two gamebreakinig runs accounting for 128 of his 144 yards on the ground.

“That was a great football game tonight,” Southeast head coach Patrick Youel said. “Two good football teams … this is what high school football is all about. We are crosstown rivals, just 10 minutes apart from each other, our players know each other. Our guys gave a gutsy performance. I am proud of them. They never gave up. I love them. We have to pick ourselves up and get ready for next week now.”

With Southeast leading 7-0, Rootstown got on the board on a 27-yard quarterback-option-keeper by Luke DeAngelis. The extra point was blocked by Evan Riffle to allow the Pirates to hold onto the lead 7-6. Rootstown jumped ahead 12-7 on a 12-yard pass from DeAngelis to Chris Cooper with 3:49 to play in the second quarter.

DeAngelis finished with 67 yards rushing and 51 yards passing.