From the drone flying overhead to the additional camera acting as an eye in the sky in the southeast end zone, it’s unlikely that footage of the Aug. 15 scrimmage between Chardon and host Mentor will be featured in the end-of-season highlight videos.
Given the nature of this event as a dress rehearsal, this should of course not be the case.
For the Cardinals and Hilltoppers, it’s all about fixing the last-minute problems so that the actual highlight videos can be full of content later.
Two of the leading programs in the News-Herald’s coverage area attended one half of the varsity game at Jerome T. Osborne Sr. Stadium and, after a break, simulated situational football for the reserve team.
In the varsity portion of the night, Mentor jumped out to a 14-3 lead, including solid work on its final drive that ended with a touchdown pass from Scotty Fox to Justen Hodge.
While the opening notes on offense didn’t sound quite so melodic for Cardinals coach Matt Gray, the crescendo will work as his team now turns its attention to hosting Massillon Jackson on Aug. 23 for the regular season opener.
“If you look at the first few offensive series, we were close on a few things,” Gray said. “Wrong route here. Missing footwork here. Close. But that’s why we play scrimmages. That’s why we practice. And that’s why we work to get better.”
“What I really like about these guys so far is that they’ve really responded in situations where we’ve challenged them and put pressure on them. They could have gotten really frustrated tonight and started to turn on themselves a little bit. But what did they do? They focused on it. The defense fought all night. I was really proud to be able to handle that offense because that’s something we don’t really see.”
Despite the initial stagnation to which Gray alluded, circumstances improved to his satisfaction and that of the home fans.
About halfway through the second quarter, Fox scored the first touchdown of Mentor’s practice game with a three-yard catch. The offense had been started earlier by two pass catches by Grant Cerny.
🏈 Mentor 3-yard touchdown run
7-3 6:11 2nd quarter pic.twitter.com/r1Bg2kg4dH— Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) 15 August 2024
The final drive before the end of the half brought rhythm. Fox fired a 21-yard pass to Hodge to cap it off.
🏈 Mentor 21-yard touchdown pass
14-3 :49 2Q pic.twitter.com/ISMbP3587L— Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) 15 August 2024
For Gray, the timing of this practice game against Chardon is welcome, offering him another tough test before the regular season.
“You look at that program in Chardon, they’re top-notch,” Gray said. “Mitch has been extremely great to me both personally and as a coach. I have incredible respect for what they do with their program. We know we’re going to have to buckle down and play tough, physical football against them.”
As for Chardon, Hilltoppers coach Mitch Hewitt had some of his student-athletes who participated in the first-team first half run sprints in the opposite end zone in the second half, but that wasn’t necessarily emblematic of how he felt about the scrimmage as a whole.
“Yeah, I’m not as disappointed as people probably think I should be,” Hewitt said. “We’re just young and experience is pretty much irreplaceable. We’re going to learn the hard way because our schedule doesn’t allow for growing pains. But I think once we figure that out, we can be a pretty good football team.”
“You can’t keep up with the adrenaline that is released during a training game like this.”
What really upset Hewitt, however, was a five-play stretch early in the practice game that included an illegal substitution, an offside on third down and a punt in which the ball inadvertently deflected off a returner’s leg. The latter was invalidated because the coaches had agreed beforehand that punts were void once the receiving team made contact with the ball.
Suffice it to say, however, that this period was not about that.
“It’s maddening,” Hewitt said. “It’s absolutely maddening. It’s like we’ve never played a football game before. Things like that frustrate me a little bit.”
🏈 Chardon FG
3-0 10:27 2nd quarter pic.twitter.com/0tWuNFiktj— Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) 15 August 2024
While Hewitt wouldn’t have been awakened overnight by the ghost of his Wing-T past, it was notable to see how much Chardon relied on his passing game in this practice game, culminating in a long pass down the left sideline to Caleb Hewitt just over midway through the second quarter.
“We believe in the guys we have,” Hewitt said. “We have guys who can be pretty explosive when they have the ball.”
There was a moment of shock right at the start of the practice game when Brandon Drotleff of the Hilltoppers was doubled over in pain on the field. He had apparently injured his arm, so an ambulance was called.
Hewitt said after the practice game that it looked like Drotleff had dislocated his elbow.
“That was a bad hit,” Hewitt said. “We’ll check on him right here. But it didn’t look good. Senior. Great kid.”
Chardon will open its 2024 campaign on August 22 in Timber Creek, Florida.
PHOTOS: Mentor vs. Chardon football practice game, August 15, 2024
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