Tigers Ready for Another Battle on the Road

The Twinsburg football team rolled back into town at about 2 a.m. Saturday morning as the Tigers were still basking in the glow of a huge 35-27 win over a strong Lancaster team.

"The bus ride is always better when you come home with a win," said head coach Joe Schiavone. "It was a long trip and a tough game but our kids handled it great."

As usual, there is no rest for the Tigers. Friday night's game at Stow is another big test as the Bulldogs have won games against Akron Firestone and North Canton Hoover along with a loss to a strong Kent Roosevelt squad.

Twinsburg is hoping to continue to produce the big plays that helped to spark the win over Lancaster, a Division I team that has been piling up the points all season.

"It was a great game to watch if you were a fan," said Schiavone. "We traded touchdowns with them in the first half before things settled down."

The Tigers' John Barton had a huge game against the Golden Gales, running for 110 yards and touchdowns of 14, nine and one yard. Barton also broke free for a 90-yard kickoff return that gave Twinsburg momentum going into halftime.

"John Barton got our running game going," said Schiavone. "Jalen (Washington) is improving throwing the ball and our offensive line is clicking."

The Tigers gave up three first-half touchdowns against Lancaster's deceptive Wing-T offense, but allowed just six points in the second half.

"I'm really proud of how our kids played in the second half," said Schiavone. "We challenged our kids at halftime and made some alignment changes. It's hard to play against an offense like that when you're not used to seeing it."

Washington threw just 13 times but completed six passes for 118 yards, including a 26-yard TD toss to London Carter. His quarterback rating improved to an impressive 138 for the season. More solid play will be needed at Stow Friday night.

"You can tell on film they are much improved," said Schiavone of the Bulldogs. "They are well-coached and play hard. They run a lot of power running plays."

Stow will have somewhat of a size advantage, but that is nothing new to the Tigers. "Virtually everybody we play is bigger than us," said Schiavone. "We just have to make sure we stay disciplined. Our guys are staying the course on defense."

Michael Baker continues to lead the team in tackles with 28 through the first three games. Ben Bisesi is right behind with 25 tackles.

A third consecutive win would keep Twinsburg in good position for a post-season playoff berth. Last week's win over Lancaster should produce plenty of computer points by the end of the regular season.