GAME PHOTOS: http://bit.ly/2xplahK
It had been talked about for a few years, and finally the Berkshire administration decided to play a Badgers home game at Ledgemont’s old home, R.W. Sidley Field on Burrows Road.
When the Berkshire school district absorbed Ledgemont in 2015, what to do with facilities became a question. In particular, the football stadium had remained unused and unappreciated by most other than youth programs.
With the coming building of a new school by the Kent State University Geauga Branch, the future of the existing buildings in both the Berkshire and former Ledgemont districts is not bright.
However, in a gesture to the entire community, in perfect weather conditions for football, the Berkshire Badgers hosted the Fairport Skippers in a Chagrin Valley Conference battle at the former Ledgemont stadiums.
Several thousand in the stands — former Redskin supporters from Ledgemont, the current Badgers family, and a healthy crowd from Fairport, who appreciated not driving all the way to Burton for their game — all got more than they bargained for.
Berkshire took advantage of Skipper mistakes in the second quarter to take a lead, but the Badgers returned the favor in the second half a tad too often, allowing a third period touchdown by Fairport to hold up in a thrilling 19-14 Fairport victory.
After recovering a fumble on the first play of the second quarter, with Zac Nehas doing the honors, Berkshire was stopped on downs, but showed that they could move the ball efficiently.
Their next possession lasted exactly 34 seconds, with a pair of Jacob Brown pass completions surrounding a Ryan Pennypacker run. The last 35 yards came when Brown hit Rich Klemencic near the 23, who promptly broke a pair of tackles to complete the play.
It looked like the Badgers had finally broken the ice, but Fairport’s Cody Paugh had other ideas. On the following kickoff, he had trouble making up his mind on when to grab the ball as it angled toward the sideline. Finally, he snatched it up as it took a bounce back toward the middle of the field, from his own 19 yard line, and weaved his way back and forth before breaking clear along the sideline for an 81 yard return.
The conversion gave the Skippers a brief 8-6 lead.
Using pooch kicks to avoid big returns, the Skippers (3-1) had the Badgers set up on the Berkshire 49 with the ensuing kickoff.
After a fake around end by sophomore quarterback Jacob Brown had the flow going one way, Brown gave the ball to Ryan Pennypacker up the middle and he was off to the races to regain the lead.
Seven seconds before halftime, Fairport’s Jayden Alton closed the gap to 14-11 by hitting on a 32 yard field goal.
Despite a meat-grinder of an opening season schedule, Berkshire coach Josh DeWeese saw positives among the mistakes his young team made in the contest.
“I think we had some chances in the first half to open the game up, but we didn’t take advantage of them,” DeWeese said. “We have to learn to overcome our mistakes and to play cleaner football for a full game. Some things come from a lack of concentration, like for anybody, but I think we’re doing much better at coming together as a team, taking responsibility for each play, and supporting each other totally.”
The coach appreciated the environment.
“This was a great atmosphere tonight, playing here on this field and in front of such a huge crowd. I don’t think the kids have seen anything like this before, but it was just a super time for them to be playing tonight.”
Pennypacker finished with 126 yards on 15 carries and a score. Brown passed for 106 yards on five of 15 completions.
Pride in both communities was evident in talking with former Ledgemont coach Joe LaRosa, a former assistant at Fairport of recent vintage, along with some of his players before the consolidation.
“I am so proud to see so many former players and parents from Ledgemont days here tonight, both to support the Berkshire team but also to show pride in the kids who grew up here,” said LaRosa, who guided the Redskins to undefeated seasons in 2010 and 2011.
“Things have changed, some for the better, but nobody can alter in any way the memories we have at both schools, and using this facility just gave so many of us a big boost tonight. I thank Berkshire for doing this for all of us.”
Despite the slow start in wins and losses, spirit and pride are not lacking at Berkshire. Eliminating the mistakes will go a long way toward altering the final season record, and there’s still plenty of time.
The game was taped for GTV and can be seen by visiting www.geaugatv.org.
