Girls flag football: Medina beats Black River, Elyria Catholic to get back on track

SANDUSKY — The Medina girls flag football team got back on track with a pair of wins.The Bees won a Medina County battle with Black River 32-14 and then defeated Elyria Catholic 30-12 Sunday, giving them a chance to play their way back into the Northern Ohio Girls Flag Football League Orange Division race with a strong second half."It feels great," said Gabi LaVolpa, who finished with five combined touchdowns. "The game today went phenomenal. I'm just happy that we got some redemption and we got to play hard. We had a good game."Medina (3-2) will play four of its final five games against the top of the division, Midview, Sandusky, Strongsville and Avon Lake. Getting wins Sunday was not as easy as the final scores indicated, as Black River and Elyria Catholic tied the score to open the second half.The Pirates trailed 14-6 at halftime, but Medina opened the second half with a safety off a bad snap. Black River added a touchdown when Laura Szojka connected with Morgan Kubitz for a 1-yard touchdown to tie the game at 14.Kubitz set up the score with a huge run on the previous play and threw for the Pirates' touchdown in the first half."I'm the running back, so when I throw it, I think that throws the defense off," she said. "It opened up our receivers for me to be able to throw it. Everyone was moving and seeing the field good today. A lot of improvement in that area for us."Black River got the ball back with an interception on Medina's second offensive play, but two plays later Norah Shumar returned an interception for a touchdown to give Medina a 20-14 lead.That set off a string of 18 unanswered points, as Haylie Perdue returned another interception for a touchdown and Courtney Snow capped the game with a long touchdown run in the final seconds.Elyria Catholic also pushed the Bees, tying at 12 out of halftime. Once again Medina settled in, as LaVolpa scored a touchdown to make it 18-12 and the Bees added some buffer with two more unanswered scores."It's all about your mentality," LaVolpa said. "Really staying focused and locked in through your games is really important. I'm really big on positivity and having no negative energy. That really helps push the plays and push the energy around the team.""We have to keep up the intensity throughout the second half and make sure we're still seeing the field," Kubitz said. "We just have to keep our intensity up throughout the full game."Black River and Cloverleaf are still looking for their first wins. The Colts fell to undefeated Strongsville 25-15 but and jumped to an early 7-0 lead before the Mustangs scored 19 unanswered.Cloverleaf (0-4) cut the deficit to 19-13, but Strongsville added a score and held on. The Colts got a big effort from Madison Steele, who caught two touchdowns, rushed for 77 yards and had 10 flag pulls. Leah Monhemius caught a conversion.Contact Chris Sweeney at 329-7135 or sports@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X.STANDINGSOrange Division W LMidview 5 0Sandusky 4 0Strongsville 3 0Avon Lake 4 1Amherst 3 1Medina 3 2Elyria 2 3Black River 0 4Elyria Catholic 0 4Cloverleaf 0 4Oberlin 0 5 Sunday's resultsMedina 32, Black River 14Strongsville 25, Cloverleaf 15Avon Lake 40, Oberlin 27Midview 21, Elyria 7Sandusky 15, Amherst 7Avon Lake 12, Elyria 6 (OT)Medina 30, Elyria Catholic 12Midview 41, Oberlin 6April 12 at SanduskyAvon Lake vs. Strongsville, 11 a.m.Cloverleaf vs. Oberlin, 11 a.m.Black River vs. Elyria Catholic, 11 a.m.Sandusky vs. Elyria, 11 a.m.Midview vs. Amherst, noonElyria Catholic vs. Avon Lake, noonMedina vs. Cloverleaf, noonStrongsville vs. Black River, noon