Akron East dominates Ellet 50-8, awaits playoff fate

With Akron East's regular season over, the Dragons wait to see if their season continues

Photo by Jeff Harwell

AKRON, Ohio – East knew if they wanted any shot to play in the Ohio High School Athletic Association football playoffs this season, they needed to end their regular season with a win over Ellet Thursday night.

Mission accomplished, as the Dragons had no trouble dispatching their Akron City Series opponent, 50-8.

The Dragons used a balanced offense, as four different running backs got touches, with three of them scoring touchdowns, and quarterback Justin Cox tossed two touchdown passes.

It looked like sophomore running back Ziaire Stevens had scored on the first possession for East, but a holding call negated the score. The Dragons didn’t blink, as junior running back Derald Mitchell scored from 20 yards out on the next play.

Derald Mitchell with the 20-yard tD run for @alleastsports. East leads Ellet 6-0 with 1101 left 1Q pic.twitter.com/8aLlNmixpL

— Ryan (@Isley23) October 20, 2022

Then Cox hit Luther Darisaw with a swing pass that the junior wide receiver turned into a 39-yard touchdown as he shed a tackler at the point of the catch and sprinted down the sideline. He freed himself from one more possible tackle at about the 10 and was in the endzone.

.@coxjustn with a 39-yard TD pass to Lurher Darisaw for @alleastsports. East leads Ellet 14-0 with 738 left 1Q. pic.twitter.com/xwtQr4oWWv

— Ryan (@Isley23) October 20, 2022

After another stop by the East defense, senior Triston Thomas fielded a punt near the right hashmarks at about the East 23 and went to his left. Just as an Ellet defender seemed to have the angle on him, the elusive Thomas made him miss with a shake and then was gone up the sideline for a touchdown to make it 20-0 as his teammates made blocks downfield.

TO. THE. 🏠.

Tristan Thomas returns the punt 77 yards for a @alleastsports TD.

East leads Ellet 20-0 with 341 left 1Q. pic.twitter.com/5RAYl1NkBA

— Ryan (@Isley23) October 20, 2022

“I got the ball and I saw I could shake the one dude a little bit and got him off his feet,” Thomas said. “At the end, I want to thank my teammate because he got the block for me to get into the endzone.”

Ellet tried to fight back as quarterback Jake Flossie found Isaiah Brown for a touchdown pass to cut it to 28-8, but that was all the offense the Orangemen could muster on the night as East’s defense was all over the place. The Dragons held Ellet to less than 100 yards of total offense and had six sacks.

“I thought our guys flew around,” East head coach Marques Hayes said. “I thought up front we were able to disrupt that backfield of theirs and have the quarterback running around. Ultimately, I thought we played some really good defense.”

East didn’t allow the Ellet touchdown to deter them, as the Dragons scored two more times in the second quarter to take a 34-8 lead into halftime. Cox and Darisaw hooked up for a 29-yard touchdown pass and Mike Hall scored on a 9-yard touchdown run.

.@coxjustn finds Luther Darisaw, who busts away from the defender for a 29-yard @alleastsports TD.

East leads Ellet 28-8 with 810 left 2Q. pic.twitter.com/2B3qDbYCwJ

— Ryan (@Isley23) October 20, 2022

The Dragons defense made a stop on the first possession of the second half and Thomas took full advantage when the offense went back on the field. He took a handoff and followed a block on the right side of the offensive line before making a linebacker miss with a cut and then turned on the afterburners for a 67-yard touchdown that gave East a 42-8 lead and started a running clock under OHSAA rules.

Triston Thomas houses it again, this time with a 67-yard TD run for @alleastsports.

East leads Ellet 42-8 with 700 left 3Q. pic.twitter.com/oPHruCazIE

— Ryan (@Isley23) October 21, 2022

Mitchell added a 13-yard touchdown run in the final minutes to finish the scoring.

Stevens, East’s leading rusher on the season, was limited in the game after appearing to be shook up after his run in the first quarter that was called back, but said he was “just being cautious.” He ran for 60 yards on six carries.

Nonetheless, East had numerous players step up. Thomas led the Dragons with 124 yards rushing on five carries, Mitchell had nine carries for 92 yards and Hall ran for 72 yards on five carries.

“We call that Dragon football because we had a couple of guys who went down with a couple of nicks and injuries today. It was just the next man up mentality," Hayes said. “We have a few guys who can come in and run the ball, we have a few guys who can come in and catch the ball.”

With its regular season now complete, East (6-4, 4-1 City Series) can only sit around Friday night and see if their season is extended and if so, where they will play in the Division III, Region 9 playoffs.

“We are the first domino to fall,” Hayes said. “We get to watch and see what happens tomorrow and see where we will land.”

One of the games that could help determine East’s fate takes place in Dover, where the Tornadoes host New Philadelphia, who is also fighting for a playoff spot in Region 9 with East. One person who will be in attendance for that game is the East head coach.

“I want to be front and center,” Hayes said. 

Photo Gallery (Photos by Jeff Harwell)