by Michael Leonard

Sports Editor

After a deflating loss the previous week to Hudson, the last thing Stow-Munore Falls football coach Marty Tinkler needed to see was one of Northeast Ohio's best defenses come to town.

Mayfield came into the game at Bulldog Stadium Oct. 3 having shut out its last three opponents.

Make that four straight shutouts for the Wildcats.

Stow dropped its fifth consecutive game, thanks to a 31-0 loss to the Wildcats. The Bulldogs fell to 2-5, 0-2 in the Northeast Ohio Conference River Division, while Mayfield improved to 6-1, 2-0 in the River Division.

Tinkler said he knew his team could be in for a long night.

"Mayfield is the class of our conference," Tinkler said. "We knew they were a very good team and we'd have to play our very best to win."

"In the first half, I think we gave ourselves and opportunity to play with Mayfield," Tinkler added. "We were battling and fighting -- doing all those things. In the second half, they got up in the score and we started doing some things we didn't want to do. I think we gave a great effort and fought hard, but In the second half, mistakes hurt us again."

Mayfield limited the Bulldogs to 151 yards of total offense, including only 29 yards on the ground. Stow also committed two turnovers to none for Mayfield.

The offensive star of the game for the Wilcats was running back Tim Weitzel. Although Weitzel finished with just 40 yards rushing, he scored three touchdowns in three different ways.

First, Weitzel opened Mayfield's scoring in the first quarter with a 3-yard touchdown plunge. The extra point was no good.

Then, Weitzel would throw a halfback option pass to wide receiver Dan Coleman for a 46-yard touchdown. Mayfield would throw for the two-point conversion to make it 14-0 at halftime.

Finally, Weitzel would score on the defensive side of the ball as he intercepted Stow quarterback Nick Vitt and ran the ball back 50 yards in the fourth quarter for Mayfield's final score.

In the third quarter, Mayfield piled on 10 more points. Quarterback Tom Longo hit Coleman with his second touchdown reception of the night, this time from 15 yards out.

Mayfield kicker Carey Spear would nail the extra point and tack on three points later in the third quarter with a 28-yard field goal.

Stow running back Alex Thomas led all rushers with 46 yards, but he also lost a fumble on the night.

Meanwhile, Vitt was under assault all night. Vitt ran 16 times for minus-26 yards, thanks to 11 sacks from the Wildcats.

When Vitt stayed on his feet, he had some success through the air, throwing for 122 yards, but he needed to complete 10-of-29 passes to get that yardage.

Longo was much more efficient, as he finished the game 7-of-11 for 155 yards and a touchdown.

Tinkler said it was no secret why the Wildcats' defense was so stout.

"They're very physical," Tinkler said. "They're very stubborn. You have to earn every point you can get from them. These guys hit for pleasure. They played very well and believe in what they're doing.

Tinkler said the play of his receiving corps was a bright spot. Senior Mike Levendowski had six catches for 30 yards, while senior Carson Merk pulled in two catches for 41 yards and senior Zac Speer hauled in a 40-yard bomb.

Tinkler also said junior Drew Horning had a good night punting the ball, averaging 35.3 yards on his six punts.

Beyond that, Tinkler said there was little to do but move on.

"I told our guys that [a blowout] has not happened to us in a long time, so that's a credit to them," Tinkler said. "All we can do now is get ready for Nordonia and prepare for them."

The Bulldogs face another stiff challenge Oct. 10 as they travel to Boliantz Stadium in Macedonia to take on Nordonia. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.

"We know that Nordonia is a very good football program," Tinkler said. "They've got a great tailback. We know what we've got ahead of us. We know what's on the line and we know what we have to do to finish out the year. We want to win our last three games and get to .500."

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