Thanks to a little help from Riverside, the Hilltopper football team crossed another item off its 2016 to-do list.
Chardon’s lopsided 49-28 win over Brush on Friday night in Lyndhurst, combined with Riverside’s shocking 20-14 overtime upset of South, gave the Toppers their first conference championship since 2003, when they were Premier Athletic Conference champs.
It is Chardon’s first Western Reserve Conference title since the league reformed last season.
While the Hilltoppers are glad they won the championship, they know there is much more work ahead.
This is the first league title for Chardon coach Mitch Hewitt, who said his team was happy about the win but hungry for more.
“It’s not the end of our goals,” said Hewitt. “We’re very happy about that; we get a banner hung up. But this team has bigger aspirations and the mission is not over.”
“It’s crazy. I can’t believe it. It’s like a dream come true,” said senior defensive lineman Dustin Clute.
He added playing at home in week 11 is their next goal: “That’s always been our goal, to walk down that hill to Chardon Memorial Field one more time.”
For senior quarterback Tommy Benenati, the thought of being WRC champions was hard to fathom.
“I still can’t believe it. I didn’t hear the announcement – I just saw everybody scream,” said Benenati. “It’s awesome. I can’t really explain it. I’m just so happy for all of our seniors.”
The quarterback was quick to point out that regular-season work is not finished.
“We just got to think 10-0,” he said. “That was our goal from the beginning of the season, to be 10-0 when we start the playoff run. We can’t look to the playoffs, we have to look at South as our top priority.”
The Toppers were certainly in the right frame of mind against Brush.
The Arcs (4-5, 4-2 WRC) initially took a 7-0 lead in the game, but the Hilltoppers (9-0, 6-0 WRC) never panicked and went on to score three consecutive touchdowns.
Two Benenati touchdown runs were sandwiched between a Dinko 25-yard jaunt.
It looked like the Toppers were going to head into the locker room up 21-7 at halftime, but the Arcs managed to score quickly. Godwin Joe’s 56-yard touchdown run seemed to steal some momentum, but Benenati said there was no panic in the locker room at halftime. Instead, their head coach was confident they would get the win.
“He amped us up,” Benenati said. “I felt a breath of fresh air coming out to start the second half.”
In the second half, the Hilltopper offense simply grinded away the clock. Slow, methodical drives allowed Chardon to chew up large chunks of time, keeping Joe and Christian Wright, Brush’s elite running back, on the sidelines.
It wasn’t until the fourth quarter, with Chardon in command 35-14, that Brush mounted a late rally.
However, the Toppers responded each time Brush scored with a score of their own. Benenati scored his fifth touchdown of the night, and Dinko ripped off a 56-yard touchdown run, reminiscent of his 63-yard touchdown last week against Riverside.
Chardon amassed 549 yards of offense – all on the ground, while picking up 22 first downs. The team likewise limited Brush to 366 total yards of offense, 206 courtesy of the running game.
Wright finished the night with 127 yards rushing, one of his lower outputs of the season.
“The game plan all week was to stay gap sound,” said Clute, “take away his rushing lanes so he can’t use his speed.”
The defense that shut down Wright now turns its attention to South and its record-setting quarterback Mike Federico, the school’s all-time passing leader.
“South is a dangerous team. They’ve got a grass field, so it’s going to be a lot of fun,” said Benenati.
A win against the Rebels will give Chardon its first 10-0 season since Hewitt’s senior year in 1998.
It would also give Chardon a home game in week 11.