The second fireworks display of the evening, August 23, at Jerome T. Osborne Stadium, commemorating 100 years of football at Mentor High School, began at 9:48 p.m., filling the air with colorful green, red and white noisemakers like a belated Fourth of July Independence Day.
The first fireworks of the evening, ignited by the Mentor offense and the storming senior linebacker Spencer Barninger, began at the beginning of the third quarter.
The 2024 version of the Cardinals, a team with high expectations, turned a close game against the visiting Jackson Polar Bears into a 36-13 victory.
Austin Van Nuss caught touchdown passes of six and 15 yards and Jackson Farley galloped for a 33-yard touchdown run – all in the third quarter.
“We knew we were playing against a really good football team that plays very aggressively and hard,” Mentor coach Matt Gray said after the game. “We knew we had to perform in all three phases. We decided to be focused (in the second half) and do our job at a high level. That allowed us to make some plays and pull away.”
“We did a great job in the second half. We need to continue to improve.”
Mentor coach Matt Gray talks about how his Cardinals dominated the Jackson Polar Bears in the second half, turning a 14-13 halftime lead into a 36-13 triumph. @MentorRedline @NHPreps pic.twitter.com/xCi3wUOhqy
— Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) 24 August 2024
There are many years of tradition in this century of Mentor football, and this Cardinals team hopes to continue to build on that tradition. The Cardinals have now won 11 straight season openers. Gray said the pageantry that surrounded the evening was no distraction for his veteran team.
“It wasn’t a distraction,” Gray said. “It shows you how special this community and this program really is. When you looked up, the stands were packed. We went out for our pregame walk-around at about 4:30 p.m. On the other side, the amphitheater was packed.
“It shows what this game means to this community. A lot of people put a lot of time and effort into making it a special celebration. I hope our guys represented it very well tonight.”
Mentor’s defense makes a third down stop. Jackson converts a field goal on the next play and cuts the Cardinals’ lead to 14-13. 3:21 minutes remaining in the first half. @NHpreps pic.twitter.com/EpJz2uG7MG
— Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) 23 August 2024
The Cardinals quickly built a 14-0 lead, but Jackson was able to close the gap to 14-13 by halftime.
Mentor started the game with the kickoff. The Polar Bears attempted to run the ball on the first play. They were unable to get a second attempt because Barninger forced a fumble and recovered the ball.
Three plays later, senior quarterback Fox completed a seven-yard touchdown pass with wide receiver Justin Hodge.
The Cardinals got the ball back and took a two-touchdown lead on a 49-yard run by junior running back Farley. Farley broke through on the right side and sprinted toward the goal line.
It looked like it would be an easy night for the Cardinals, but the Polar Bears didn’t let that get them down. They cut the lead to 14-7 on a 22-yard touchdown pass from Jackson quarterback Lucas Ecrement to Nathan Kuntz and scored two more field goals before halftime.
In the second half, the Cardinals seemed like a different team.
Farley ran 18 times for 188 yards and two touchdowns in the game. Fox was 7 of 12 passing for 188 yards with three touchdowns. He threw one interception.
Barninger led the defense with three sacks, seven total tackles, the forced fumble and the fumble recovery. Fellow linebacker Caiden Clair made nine tackles.
The result
Mentor 36, Massillon Jackson 13
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