'I feel like everyone was locked in': GlenOak football soaring, No. 1 next in OHSAA playoffs
CANTON — The GlenOak Golden Eagles have been flying high with no plans on landing.
The Golden Eagles made a huge turnaround from a 1-3 start to the high school football season, giving them a shot at the state's No. 1-ranked Division I team, St. Edward, in the second round of the playoffs. GlenOak and St. Ed's meet at 7 p.m. Friday in a Division I, Region 1 quarterfinal at Lakewood Stadium.
A trip to the regional quarterfinals seemed unlikely when a three-game losing streak had GlenOak sitting at 1-3. During that slump, the Eagles were outscored 101-17.
After going through that stretch, changes had to be made. According to senior Avantae Burt, it started with how the Eagles practiced. For example, all the starters practiced against each other instead of with the reserves.
“We have to go out there and be locked in,” Burt said. “ Like no clowning, no talking and no nothing. It’s best on best, like I said from the start. Everybody has to do their job.”
The Golden Eagles started their turnaround in Week 5, beating Hoover 27-24. The next week, they suffered their fourth loss, losing a double-digit lead in a 31-28 loss to Green. It would be their last loss. The Golden Eagles won four straight Federal League games to end the regular season, including an upset victory over McKinley in Week 9.
Add in last week's first-round playoff win over Lorain, and GlenOak has won five of its last six. Most were by one possession.
“I feel like everyone was locked in,” GlenOak junior quarterback Adrion Burt said. “I don’t know where, but it just clicked. We got it to click before it was too late.”
Adrion battled through the flu last week, which forced him out of the first before his strong second-half performance led the way in GlenOak’s victory over Lorain. It was GlenOak's first playoff win in nine years. Adrion said his return to action was fueled by the senior class and not wanting to let them down, including his older brother Avantae.
"It’s our guys’ senior year,” Adrion said. “There are guys out here crying because of this. People take this game really seriously. For some people, all they got is football. ... So, that’s why I’m here (Friday night). It’s my brother’s senior year. I might not be able to play with him again.”
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GlenOak's offense is powered by a rushing attack led by 1,000-yard rusher Jamar Johnson and the Burt brothers. Johnson averages 7.0 yards a carry.
“Jamar is a powerful running back,” Avantae said. “We got the best backs in the city. (It’s) me, him and including my brother. He’s a quarterback and a running back.”
Also not to be overlooked in GlenOak's turnaround is the defense. Led by the likes of linebackers David Potter (13 tackles for loss in the regular season), the Eagles have allowed an average of 9.8 points a game in their five-game winning streak.
“Our kids believed. We started playing great defense, No. 1,” GlenOak head coach Scott Garcia said. The kids played really good, solid ... defense.”
The Golden Eagles, the eighth-seed in Region 1, look forward to the challenge of getting ready for top-seeded St. Edward. St. Ed's routed 16th-seeded Elyria 42-0 last week.
“We’re just ready to get back to work,” Avantae said after the win over Lorain. “We still got to put stuff together. Everything is not even done yet. We still got a lot of work to do.”
This article originally appeared on The Repository: GlenOak football has confidence after turning season around
