Hoban puts 'athletes in space' to dominate Walsh in rivalry football game

The phrase "practice makes perfect" was applicable Friday night for Archbishop Hoban football players Payton Cook and Jalen Hightower.

Cook and Hightower are two of Hoban's top wide receivers who generally catch the ball from junior quarterback Tylan Boykin.

The script was unique on Hoban's second offensive play when Cook, a sophomore, lined up to the left, ran to his right to take a handoff from Boykin and then threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Hightower, a senior.

The TD was the first of seven in the first half for undefeated Hoban, which rolled to a 57-7 win over previously undefeated Walsh Jesuit at Dowed Field.

"We practiced that play for two weeks," Cook said. "We had an off week last week. We were going over that play and trying to perfect it all this week. Then we got to the game, called it and it worked perfectly. It felt good completing that play knowing how long it took us to perfect it.

"... I played quarterback from third grade to eighth grade. Throwing a pass again and completing a touchdown on that one pass felt amazing to me. It brought back a lot of memories."

Boykin threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to senior Joey Hardman on Hoban's second possession.

"We had a great Chapel talk and we had our Mum Day, which is huge," Hardman said. "We were locked in. We came right out of the gate and scored two touchdowns in six plays on offense. We came right out of the gate fast."

Said Boykin: "This was a big rivalry week for us. We locked in all week and knew we had to come out here and execute."

Speed propels Hoban to 50-0 halftime lead over Walsh

Hoban (6-0) continued to score and built a 37-0 lead by the end of the first quarter as senior Tysen Campbell returned an interception 50 yards for a TD, junior Eli Lee recorded a sack in the end zone for a safety, senior Caleb Jones ran for a 2-yard TD and sophomore Elbert Hill IV ran for a 42-yard TD.

"It was a good game plan by the coaches," Hoban coach Tim Tyrrell said. "We wanted to put our athletes in space and give them chances to make plays. We did that starting with the second play. We set it up well over the last few weeks of doing that play over and over again [in practice] and then seeing that [in a game].

"It was a good opportunity for our kids to display what they have athletically. There is still a lot we gotta work on. It is hard to say that, but when we watch film we are going to be able to see a lot of things that we need work on.

"This was good because this is a rivalry. We have got one this year, so it is a big one. Our kids took it very, very seriously and stepped up."

Jones added a 12-yard TD run and a 6-yard TD run in the second quarter, and senior Deon Rodgers contributed a 15-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.

"We prepare in practice where we get our reps and then it shows in the game," Campbell said. "When you know what you're doing it comes fast."

Knights senior kicker Ryan Burns made six extra points and freshman Jeremy Hammel booted one.

"We came out with a strong mindset of not playing around," Cook said. "Just straight business. This is a big rivalry. It has been talked about all week, so we had to come out and show them Hoban football."

This year's Hoban team features five senior Division I college recruits: offensive lineman William Satterwhite (Tennessee), linebacker Rickey Williams (West Virginia), defensive linemen Jordan Pritchard-Sewell (Holy Cross) and Devin Bell (Miami of Ohio), and safety Tysen Campbell (Central Michigan).

Josh Cribbs, DeaMonte Trayanum check in on Hoban Knights

Hoban's players listened to former Browns return ace Josh Cribbs on Thursday at Dowed Field and then played like stars Friday in front of a large crowd that included Hoban graduates DeaMonte Trayanum, Marcus Saahir and Tyris Dickerson on the Knights sideline.

Trayanum scored Ohio State's final touchdown on Sept. 23 in a dramatic win at Notre Dame.

"It is awesome and we are blessed that those guys and others come back," Tyrrell said. "It is not the first time."

Said Cook: "It feels good having former players here and showing them that we are keeping the tradition going of having good teams here at Hoban with good players."

Ohio State defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Jim Knowles was also on the Knights sideline to get a close look at several Hoban players, including Cook, Lee, Hill and Williams.

"It is always nice when our guys get to see the D coordinator from Ohio State," Tyrrell said. "We always preach big-time players show up in big-time games, and the kids did. All of them. It was a good victory as a team."

Hill has an Ohio State scholarship offer and liked seeing Knowles and Trayanum on the sideline.

"This rivalry game meant a lot to me," Hill said. "I want to go out and execute. This was my first time at Hoban playing in one of the rivalry games. I wanted to ball out."

Hoban sophomore offensive tackle Sam Greer is also on Ohio State's radar, but he is sidelined with an injury.

In fact, Hoban scored eight touchdowns against Walsh with three of its projected starters on the offensive line — Greer, Nate Cross and Creighton Tyler — out with an injury.

"Joseph Burkeen started at center, Nate Townend at guard, Will Satterwhite at tackle, Josh Greer at guard and Jvon Lindsey at tackle," Tyrrell said. "They played very well up front. Jordan Pritchard-Sewell, Devin Bell, Elbert Hill and Eli Lee played great defensively. ... Great team win."

Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Hoban dominates Walsh in rivalry football game in Akron