Mentor Cardinals Smash Former League Rivals Euclid Panthers in Season Opener

Mentor head football coach Steve Trivisonno took great amusement in the Euclid stadium announcer mispronouncing Cardinal senior linebacker Kurt Laseak’s name in the fourth quarter.

When you’re on your way to a 49-21 season-opening win over a former league rival like the Panthers, all mistakes are easily forgiven, not to mention a few minor ones by the team’s starting quarterback.

After all, it’s early, right?

Mentor junior signal-caller Mitch Trubisky threw three touchdowns and ran in a score against two interceptions to lead the Cardinals (1-0) over the Panthers (0-1) on Friday night at Euclid’s Sparky DiBiasio Stadium.

Sophomore Connor Krizancic caught a touchdown pass and ran in two scores of his own on option pitches, while senior defensive back Regis Coustillac returned a 53-yard interception for a score and registered a big fourth-down sack to end another Panthers’ drive.

Trubisky, who is listed at 6-foot-3, engineers Mentor’s high-powered spread offense that switched to a five-wide receiver set this season after prominently featuring backs Mike Korecz and Ricky Hanzlik last season.

The early results seem pretty good to Trivisonno as Trubisky probed the Panthers’ defense with pinpoint passing, going 15-for-20 for 213 yards.

“It’s what we are. We’re not a big running team. Let’s be honest,” Trivisonno said. “We ran the ball pretty well, but we are what we are. And we’re going to be what we’re going to be.”

It was battle between former Lake Erie League rivals. Mentor has joined the rugged Northeast Ohio Conference and landed in the Valley Division this season, while Euclid remains in the LEL.

Mentor finished 7-4 last season in the Lake Erie League capturing the Lake Division title on its way to a regional quarterfinal appearance in the Division I playoffs.

Although Euclid finished 4-6 last season playing in the Lake Erie League, the Panthers feature the two-way senior tandem of wide receiver and defensive back Houston Boone and linebacker and tailback De’Andre Rollins.

Rollins ran for 72 yards on 13 carries and had a 15-yard touchdown run, while Boone had seven catches for 54 yards.

The teams combined for two touchdowns each in the first quarter, but Mentor tightened up its defense and the Panthers couldn’t keep up with the Cardinals’ offense.

In the second quarter, Krizancic made a one-handed snag for a 6-yard score to give the Cardinals a 21-14 lead it would not relinquish at 11:25. Senior Warren Ashton gathered in a 39-yard pass from Trubisky in the flat and broke three tackles along the sidelines for a 28-14 lead at 8:16.

Coustillac’s pick came on a third-and-10 throw from quarterback Benny Walker that took the life out of the Panthers with 56 seconds left in the half.

“I got a little more depth than I had before. I saw the ball in the air and thought I had a chance to knock it down. I broke a little quicker than I thought on the grass, and I got the ball,” Coustillac said.

The Panthers botched the ensuing kickoff as it grazed off an unsuspecting Euclid blocker, and Ashton nimbly recovered the ball at the Euclid 25.

Krizancic eventually ran it in from 1 yard out, and the game was effectively finished. Trubisky hit Cameron Kavan for a 10-yard score on the opening drive of the third quarter and ended Mentor’s scoring at 10:44.

Trubisky’s night was over.

Mentor hosts Ursuline on Friday at 7 p.m. in Cardinals’ home opener.

Mentor  14  28 7  0   49

Euclid     14   0  0  7   21

1st Quarter

Mentor - Trubisky 1 run (Derezic kick)

Euclid - Green 14 run (Tortorici kick)

Mentor - Krizancic 9 run (Derezic kick)

Euclid - Rollins 15 run (Tortorici kick)

2nd Quarter

Mentor - Krizancic 6 pass from Trubisky (Derezic kick)

Mentor - Ashton 39 pass from Trubisky (Derezic kick)

Mentor - Coustillac 53 INT. (Derezic kick)

Mentor - Krizancic 1 run (Derezic kick)

3rd Quarter

Mentor - Kavan 10 pass from Trubisky (Derezic kick)

4th Quarter

Euclid - Johnson 49 pass from Stafford (Tortorici kick)