Colonel Crawford drops Northern 10 opener to newbie Hopewell-Loudon

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PHOTOS: Week 3 | Hopewell-Loudon at Colonel Crawford football

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Colonel Crawford drops Northern 10 opener to newbie Hopewell-Loudon

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Colonel Crawford drops Northern 10 opener to newbie Hopewell-Loudon

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PHOTOS: Week 3 | Hopewell-Loudon at Colonel Crawford football

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Colonel Crawford drops Northern 10 opener to newbie Hopewell-Loudon

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PHOTOS: Week 3 | Hopewell-Loudon at Colonel Crawford football

NORTH ROBINSON – Colonel Crawford coach Jake Bruner talked with his team ahead of the season to prepare them for the first few weeks.

“We’re playing a harder schedule, we’re in a harder league, it might not go well,” he said. “But our kids have fought and clawed and scratched to be where they’re at and we know there’s still a lot to go. Our schedule is very front-loaded … we weren’t going to get through those weeks easy trotting, we knew what we were getting into.”

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Those weeks included an opener against Division V Fairbanks followed by a trip to Division IV Fairfield Union, and then Friday night’s Northern 10 opener with Division VI state runner-up Hopewell-Loudon.

After the Week 3 loss to the Chieftains 38-22, the Eagles are below .500 for the first time since 2019 which is also the last time they lost back-to-back games — Fairfield Union won in Week 2.

“I thought walking in — besides Kirtland — they were the best team we’ve watched on film,” Bruner said of Hopewell-Loudon. “They get three yards every play, they’re disciplined, they’re tough, they’re physical … they have a thrower, they have a runner, they have their own Parker Weithman for them. They’re just deep. We knew we were in for a tough game and there’s a reason they’re picked to win a Division VII state championship.”

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And even with the odds stacked against, Colonel Crawford gave Hopwell-Loudon a battle to the very end. The Chieftains jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter before Roen Thew and Parker Weithman connected for the 26-yard strike with just 14 seconds to go in the quarter. What looked like the Eagles’ tying drive in the second quarter ended in a bad snap that led to a turnover on downs and then a 62-yard touchdown from Hopewell-Loudon to give the visitors a 15-point lead with 4:32 in the half.

The Eagles would turn the tides, though, as Avery Powers had a 43-yard pick six to spoil a Hopewell-Loudon drive with 2:23 on the clock, then a highlight reel worthy catch from Weithman put the Eagles deep in Chieftains territory late in the half which they capitalized on with a bit of trickery as Thew handed off to Powers who flipped it to Weithman, then he found a wide open Thew in the end zone for the tying score with 22 seconds remaining — coincidentally it was 22-22.

“That second quarter we were a disaster,” Hopewell-Loudon coach Brian Colatruglio said. “We did some really dumb, uncharacteristic stuff … turnovers, gave up big plays … we went into halftime and our guys were rattled.

“But then that experience kicks in and our three quarterbacks have played so much football and all three of them made big plays in the second half to help us win. And defensively we got stops, got turnovers, and shut them out in the second half.”

That experience of a team that played for a state title nine months ago showed in the second half. The Chieftains turned the ball over on their first possession of the third quarter, but then played near flawless football the remaining 18 minutes scoring twice and allowing just three Colonel Crawford possessions — two of which ended in interceptions.

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“I knew they would fight back and I knew we were going to be tested,” Colatruglio said. “The way our guys responded in that second half … that’s the way I hoped we would respond, but until it happens, you’re never sure. But we just physically took over the game in the second half. Our offensive line, running backs, tight ends physically took over the game and that last drive was what we hang our hat on. We needed a drive to end the game and we went to work, it was pretty awesome.”

And it’s exactly the type of game he was expecting in the program’s Northern 10 debut.

“We knew this was going to be an absolute war.,” Colatruglio said. “The blowouts the first two weeks, that’s no fun … this is fun, this is why these kids work so hard in the offseason.

“We’re gonna have some other battles coming up, the depth of our league is really good. When the opportunity came up as the AD and football coach, it was pretty exciting. This is what we want to do, we want to have games like this throughout the season. And we know we’re gonna have a few more.”

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It was another monster night from Weithman for the Eagles who caught a touchdown, threw for one, and went over 150 yards receiving making eye-popping catches.

“Parker’s a competitor,” Bruner said. “We were worried about his legs because we were motioning him so much and moving him around, we were telling him — hey, we can get you out here — and he’d always say no. It says a lot about him …and after we lost he was the one telling guys it was gonna be all right, we’re a good football team and we’re gonna be all right.”

And on a night where they were missing last season’s leading tackler Gabe Stratton, who is dealing with a knee injury, Bruner was very optimistic about what he saw on the field defensively against the most dynamic offense they’ll see all year.

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“There were a lot of sophomores on that field who were competing, and when you play a team like that … we’re going to be OK down the road,” he said. “I like this team, I like how they play … and if we can just stay focused on the next one, we’ll be OK.”

zholden@gannett.com | 419-617-6018 | Twitter/X: @Zachary_Holden

This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Colonel Crawford drops Northern 10 opener to newbie Hopewell-Loudon