In the history of the Streetsboro Rockets’ football program, they have only won four league championships. The Rockets are on the verge on capturing their fifth conference banner outright after dominating Metro Athletic Conference foe Field 49-0 last Friday evening at Kenneth Lohr Stadium in Brimfield Township.
“We will celebrate this on Friday night and go back to work on Saturday morning to try and win it outright,” said Coach Pete Thompson. “We tried to compete last year for it and Norton beat us, so it meant something to our kids. This was a computer point game for us as well. Field was sitting on a boatload of computer points so that will certainly help us come seeding time as well.”
By beating the Falcons on Friday night, the Rockets (9-0. 6-0) clinched at least a share of the MAC banner for the first time since the inaugural 2020 season. If Streetsboro triumphs against conference foe Cloverleaf at Gene Clark Stadium in Lodi on Friday night at 7 p.m., it will have gained outright ownership of the MAC title.
In addition to assuming complete control of the MAC, the victory against Field also clinched at least one home playoff game for the Rockets and completing the regular season with a perfect record has the potential to assure the Rockets a top four seeding in the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division IV, Region 13 postseason.
According to Thompson, having that advantage may not guarantee anything for Streetsboro but it will not hurt to play host in the first few rounds in a deep playoff bracket.
“You start to look at our region and it means you might have headaches,” noted the eight-year coach. “Our region is a bear, we have two defending state champions in there and a couple of other undefeated teams.”
On Friday evening, the Rockets got off to a fast start by using their rushing attack to engineer an eight-play, 80-yard touchdown drive capped off by a two-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback/defensive back Cohen Klimak, pushing the Rockets ahead 7-0.
Streetsboro doubled its lead after recovering a fumble on the ensuing kick-off, taking over at the Falcons’ 18 and needed only three plays to go ahead 14-0 when the 5-foot-9 Klimak scored his second touchdown, this time on a four-yard run.
According to Klimak, even after Streetsboro graduated one of the most dynamic playmakers in school history in Preston Hopperton, the running game continued to be as potent as ever with essentially the same offensive line in place.
“It just all comes down to the offensive line,” he said. “People saw Preston leave and they forgot that the offensive line was staying. I think they have done such a good job leading this team especially up front.”
Field tried matching the Rockets’ offensive output by relying on senior tailback/defensive linemen Drexal McAmis, one of the top running backs in Portage County, but Streetsboro’s defense contained McAmis holding him to only 41 yards rushing on nine carries.
Klimak acknowledged that it was no easy feat to slow down the Falcons’ 6-foot-4 running back.
“Everybody knew the whole game to just stay low,” he added. “You can’t run without our legs so that was the whole plan.”
The Falcons mounted several long drives but each one ended due to unforced mental errors and penalties.
The Rockets’ offense continued humming by scoring two more touchdowns in the first half, one on an 18-yard touchdown run by junior running back/linebacker Janiere Cook in the second quarter, followed by a 68-yard touchdown reception by junior wide receiver/tailback defensive back Manny Gibson near the end near the end of the first half, pushing the lead to 28-0.
Streetsboro’s defense assumed total control when Klimak intercepted Falcons’ senior quarterback/linebacker Peyton Anderson and returned it for a 45-yard touchdown, extending the lead to 35-0, triggering the running clock in the second half.
Klimak finished the game by recording 123 rushing yards and three touchdowns on nine carries and completed one pass for 68 yards and a touchdown.
“Cohen is a tough bird,” said Thompson. “He put on 20 pounds of muscle from where he was at last year and it shows. He is still at 175 pounds but he plays like he is 210 pounds and he is fearless on the football field.”
In addition to Klimak propelling the Rockets to another dominating victory, Streetsboro’s defense shined by recording its sixth shutout victory of the season.
“We have the knack to score points but on defense, it’s where we have made our biggest improvement and we had so many veterans coming back,” said Thompson. “With the way we ended last year, we found our groove defensively.”
