The Kinsman Cup will stay in Burton for another season.
The Berkshire Badgers football team defeated their Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division foes and Geauga County rival, Cardinal, 45-28 last Friday evening at Great Lakes Cheese Stadium in Burton.
“It’s nice to get the win for sure,” said Berkshire Coach Josh DeWeese. “We came out in the first half and were taking care of the things we wanted to. Justin Phillips had a huge night on Friday evening. The linemen and perimeter blocking and all of those guys up front were making plays and giving him holes to run in. Defensively in the first half we had some timely stops.”
In the last 16 seasons, the Badgers (3-3, 1-0) have won the Kinsman Cup nine times, including taking three of the last four contests.
Berkshire has also maintained home field advantage against the Huskies (3-3, 0-1), having not lost a game on its turf since the 2018 season.
“It’s a good rivalry,” said the Badgers’ sixth year coach. “It’s intense and you can see from the number of people here on Friday night it is a big deal to both communities.”
The Badgers dominated in the first half, racing out to a 24-0 advantage, surrendering only four first downs on defense against Cardinal.
The Huskies’ offense struggled to find traction after senior quarterback/defensive back Logan Strever suffered a knee injury.
That forced Cardinal to directly snap the ball to three different players in the first half with senior wide receiver/defensive back Troy Domen and junior back-up quarterback Cal Ciminello each receiving the ball from under center.
“The way we ran the ball with a couple of different packages, it was working,” said Huskies’ Coach Chris Perroti. “But we made mistakes and it bit us. Overall, everybody did a really great job stepping up in the second half.”
After going three-and-out on their first drive, Berkshire engineered a five-play, 54-yard drive capped off by a 22-yard touchdown reception by freshman tailback/defensive back Oliver Miller to take a 7-0 lead in the first period.
The Badgers’ offense continued moving the chains, scoring two more touchdowns on a 7-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Miles Miller and a 12-yard touchdown run by junior running back/linebacker Justin Phillips, extending the lead to 21-0.
Berkshire added to its lead right before the end of the half when senior kicker/defensive back/wide receiver Mason Mendolera drilled 27-yard field goal.
“We really put our foot down,” said the 6-foot-0 Phillips. “We have been struggling with shooting ourselves in the foot. We can’t just get in the end zone. We came out and asserted dominance. We pushed the ball down the hill and we finished the first half well.”
According to Philips, Berkshire had been its own worst enemy in the first five games of the season, recording a 2-3 record against a slew of non-conference opponents, having their momentum stalled by surrendering big chunk plays against their opponents.
Cardinal found new life in the second half, when Ciminello took over the offensive reins and ignited the Huskies with some crisp passing.
After connecting with Domen on a 25-yard reception, Cardinal finished a nine-play, 68-yard drive when Ciminello scored on a 1-yard quarterback keeper and the Huskies converted a two-point conversion, trimming the lead to 24-8.
The teams traded touchdowns in the second half and although the Huskies responded to each touchdown Berkshire scored, it was too little too late.
“They showed a ton of resiliency,” said the third-year Cardinal Coach. “That is the Cardinal football that we know and love and get to coach in week in and week out. We have come back from worse and we needed to make some stops in the second half that we did not make and 28 points was not enough.”
After the Huskies cut into Berkshire’s lead 45-28 with their fourth touchdown of the second half, the Badgers bled the clock out with one of their longest drives, fueled by Phillips, who collected 37 yards on the final drive to finally put away Cardinal.
“Justin is a tank out there,” said DeWeese. “He has great vision and instincts but that does not happen without the five guys in front of him. Cardinal made a push at the end there and we neutralized their threat on the defensive line and we got the second level and we moved the ball down the field when we had to.”
The Badgers will try keep pace in the CVC Valley Division race when they hit the road and take on powerhouse Kirtland at Wilson Stadium on Friday at 7 p.m.
Meanwhile, the Huskies will seek their first conference victory of the season when they welcome rival Crestwood to Richard A. Moss Field in Middlefield the same evening.
