Mentor Blows Out Shaker, 56-14, in Homecoming Victory

The Mentor Cardinals didn't want to simply honor the football legends on the Wall of Fame at Jerome T. Osborne Stadium Friday night—they sought to emulate them.

"I said, 'your goal is to be on that board,'" coach Steve Trivisonno recalled telling his team during the practice week. "That's what your goal is, to be one of them."

The Cardinals certainly resembled "them" in a 56-14 blowout, homecoming victory over Shaker Heights. In front of honorees of the 1955, 1968, 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2012 teams, Mentor played a dominant game that got out of hand by the four-minute mark of the first quarter.

The Cardinals reached the end zone early and often, leading 28-0 after about eight minutes of play. Quarterback Conner Krizancic scored four total touchdowns. He ran for 118 yards on just 13 carries.

Junior running back Eddie Daugherty racked up 238 total yards and two touchdowns between his rushes, receptions, kick and punt returns.

"He's special, he can do a lot of things," Trivisonno said of Daugherty. "He puts his foot in the ground as well as anyone I've ever seen ... He's a special player."

Senior defensive back Austin Hankins made one of the more special plays of the night on special teams. Up 21-0 in the first quarter, Mentor had Shaker backed up in its own territory when Hankins blocked a punt and took it back for a touchdown. It was his third blocked punt of the season and first touchdown return of the year—he got tackled at the 1-yard line on a similar play against Euclid.

"We needed to get the energy up, so it was big," Hankins said.

Mentor is 5-1 on the year. The team is at home again next Friday, taking on Brunswick.