Inside Byers Field on Friday night, the St. Edward Eagles fell to the Mentor Cardinals 36-35 in another great game between the Northeast Ohio powerhouses.  St. Edward jumped to an early 14-0 lead and went into halftime with a 21-7 lead. Midway into the third quarter, the officials made a very controversial call relating the spot of the football.  On 4th and 2, Coach Lombardo sent his offense for another play, and after a Joey Formani run, the referees called the ball short of the first down marker resulting in a turnover on downs. However, the referees brought out the chain gang and officially measured the spot and concluded Joey Formani gained enough yardage for a St. Edward first down.  After the referees huddled for a couple minutes, they reversed the call to a St. Edward turnover on downs and gave possession to Mentor. St. Edward fans were furious and absolutely confused on the decision by the referees. This controversial play proved to be very crucial as Mentor would score a touchdown because of the turnover.  

After Mentor tied the game at 28, the fourth quarter ended and the St. Edward Eagles received the ball to start the overtime period.  Conor O’Malley then threw a touchdown pass to Joey Formani, giving the Eagles a 7 point lead. On another controversial play, Mentor scored on an Ian Kipp 1 yard touchdown.  Surprisingly, Coach Trivisonno decided to try the 2 point conversion to win the game. Ian Kipp threw a perfect slant pass to a Mentor receiver to win the ball game. With that, Mentor will go on to play Pickerington Central in the state semi-final.  

-Diego Palko ‘21