Lake County Sentinel
Wickliffe's ground attack dominates Crestwood 31-14
BY TIM SHIRER
SPORTS EDITOR
(WICKLIFFE, OH) - Friday night the Wickliffe Blue Devils (8-2) hosted the Crestwood Red Devils (3-7) at Wickliffe Memorial Stadium on the Campus of Wickliffe hoping to secure a first-round home playoff game when the OHSAA football playoffs begin next week. The Blue Devils trailed early, and an 8-2 season may have been in doubt, but Wickliffe sophomore quarterback Dom Porcello took care of that leading his team to a 31-14 win.
The first quarter was uneventful as the Blue Devils lead 3-0 after 12 minutes. The only scoring was a 24-yard field goal by Wickliffe’s senior kicker Drew Rossman with 7:56 left in the period.
The first half was loaded with turnovers, both combined for four turnovers, including three fumbles and one interception.
The turning point of the game came on the kickoff after Crestwood took a 14-3 lead with 6:28 left in the second quarter when Wickliffe senior Markese Roberts took the kickoff 80 yards for a Blue Devils touchdown. The Crestwood lead was cut to 14-10 with 6:14 remaining in the half after Rossman converted the extra point.
Crestwood took possession at their own 39 with 6:05 left in the first half and four plays later Wickliffe had the ball back when Blue Devils senior Corbyn Haas tipped sophomore quarterback Michael Kalista’s pass, and Wickliffe sophomore Cole Vanatta intercepted it and returned it to the Crestwood 20 yard line. Three plays later Porcello took the ball into the endzone from three yards out, giving Wickliffe a 17-14 lead with 2:45 left in the second quarter. Porcello was just getting started.
The Red Devils received the second half kickoff as the Blue Devils stopped them on downs and took possession at the Crestwood 47 yard line with 9:33 left in the third quarter. The Blue Devils methodically moved the ball down the field 53 yards on nine plays capped off by another three yard run by Porcello to put Wickliffe on top 24-14 with 4:44 remaining in the quarter.
The Blue Devils stout defense once again shut down the Red Devils three and out on the next drive and gave the offense the ball back. Wickliffe put the game away with an 11 play 88 yard drive that took 6:48 off the clock. The drive was capped off by a six yard TD pass from Porcello to senior Frankie Bucar to give Wickliffe a 31-14 lead with 7:52 left on the clock.
The key to the game was the Wickliffe running game, the Red Devils simply could not stop it as the Blue Devils ran the ball 45 times for 307 yards. Six different Wickliffe players carried the ball for an average of 6.8 yards per carry.
Porcello also threw three passes completing all three for 25 yards and a touchdown.
Wickliffe coach Marce Porcello who was honored before the game for becoming the Blue Devils winningest coach in school history earlier in the season commented after the game about the offense, “we were in more of a spread set tonight and it kind of opened their defense up a little bit.” He went on to say, “We actually threw the ball well to a few times in some good crucial moments. So did some really good things on offense.” He finished with, “We’re down a lot of guys and guys stepped up and played tonight.”
The younger Porcello, son of Marce talked about his performance by saying, “First half we just had some fumbles, some mistakes. Second half we just played together and drove down the field.”
The Blue Devils will now wait to see who they will face in the first round of the playoffs.
tshirer@lakecountysentinel.com follow Tim on Twitter @TBBucsTim or follow us on Twitter @LCSentinelcom
POSTED 10/25/2025 00:20
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Wickliffe sophomore quarterback Dom Porcello rolls out to throw a touchdown pass to senior Frankie Bucar in the Blue Devils 31-14 win over Crestwood Friday night. Photo by Tim Shirer
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