Inside Brunswick Auto Mart Stadium, the St. Edward football team was able to win its 11th straight game this season.  The St. Edward Eagles defeated the Euclid Panthers, who were the #3 seed in the Region 1 bracket. Euclid came into Friday’s matchup as 9-2 and on a two-game winning streak, but the Eagles shut down the shifty Euclid offense.  After falling to a quick 3-0 lead, the Eagles went into halftime only up 16-9, but their offense surged in the third quarter. On the opening kickoff, senior Logan Nash returned the kick for 90 yards and set up the offense with great field position.  Senior quarterback Connor O’Malley then threw an easy 6-yard touchdown pass to Nick Dotorre. On the next offensive drive, O’Malley threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to senior wideout Mackenzie Wainwright. In total, Connor O’Malley threw for 5 touchdowns on Friday, tying a school record with former St. Edward quarterbacks Brett Kean and Jimmy Keefe.  The St. Edward defense held Euclid scoreless in the 2nd half.    

The St. Edward Eagles will take on the Mentor Cardinals in the Regional Final.  The St. Edward versus Mentor matchup has become a classic rivalry in recent years, with Mentor winning 3 out of the last 4 matchups.  However, St. Edward beat Mentor in the Regional Final last year 24-14 in an instant classic. This year, Mentor beat St. Edward 29-28 during Week 1 in another classic hard-nosed football game.  Some noteworthy storylines come into conversation heading into this week’s matchup. Could this be Coach Trivisonno’s last game as head coach of Mentor? Will St. Edward repeat last year’s regional final, or will the famous phrase, “It’s hard to beat a team twice” be proven wrong by the Mentor Cardinals?  All these questions will be answered this Friday, inside Byers Field in Parma at 7:00 PM. Currently, both teams are ranked in the top 15 of MaxPreps national rankings; St Edward is ranked #15 and Mentor is ranked #8. This game not only has playoff stakes on the line, but the winner of this game will either become or secure its position as one of the Top 10 football teams in the country.  Friday’s matchup has all the pieces and parts to be Ohio’s “Game of The Year”.