by Frank Aceto

Associate Sports Editor

Bedford -- The latter part of the season is supposed to be extremely difficult.

The Blue Devils, however, are sure making it look easy.

The Tallmadge football team advanced to the Division II Region 5 championship game for the first time since 2005 with a convincing 27-7 victory over the seventh-seeded Madison Blue Streaks Nov. 7 at Bearcats Stadium in Bedford.

With the win, the sixth-seeded Blue Devils (9-3) earned a date with surprising Akron Archbishop Hoban in the Region 5 championship. The fifth-seeded Knights (8-4) pulled off the most stunning upset in this region with a 16-13 win over top-seeded Mayfield (10-2).

Tallmadge was scheduled to play Hoban Nov. 14. Results were not available at press time.

The Blue Devils won the Region 5 championship in 2004 and 2005.

Some may consider Tallmadge as the favorite against Hoban.

The Blue Devils went into that contest with six straight victories.

All of those wins have been by double digits.

Tallmadge had plenty of motivation against Madison (8-4).

In a 2007 regional semifinal contest, the Blue Devils lost a heartbreaking 41-38 decision to Parma Normandy in triple overtime.

That loss didn't sit well with the players.

"We lost this game on the same field last year," Tallmadge senior tailback Tyler Fortner said. "That was a terrible feeling. We wanted this one so badly."

Fortner, who left the game in the fourth quarter with a leg cramp, did his part.

The record-breaking back continued his magnificent season with a game-high 256 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries. He had TD runs of 55, one and three and had a school-record 2,565 yards after 12 games. He also had 25 touchdowns.

Fortner had plenty of holes, thanks to his offensive linemen. Some of those blocks came from non-starters, too.

"We've been rotating guys," Blue Devils head coach Joe Vassalotti said. "Our offensive line coach, Tony Gotto, does a great job. That's where the games are won."

The first two possessions provided an unusual twist.

Both teams scored their first points through the air.

On the game's opening drive, senior quarterback Paul Pakan connected with senior wideout Craig Siesel on a screen pass. Siesel did the rest as he used a variety of jukes and fakes before breaking free down the left sideline for a 61-yard TD. Senior kicker James Plunket added the first of his three extra points to give Tallmadge a 7-0 lead with 10 minutes, 30 seconds left in the first quarter.

Madison responded rather swiftly.

Blue Streaks' senior quarterback Mitch Krotz completed passes of 29 and 23 yards, respectively on the next possession and got Madison on the scoreboard with a 12-yard TD pass to senior wideout Stephen McGuire. Junior kicker Eric Gavorski tied the game at the 7:30 mark with the extra point.

The Blue Devils took over from there.

Despite seeing a promising drive go to waste in the second quarter, Tallmadge scored 20 unanswered points and saw its defense shut down the Blue Streaks' attack.

The Blue Devils reached Madison's 16-yard line, but Plunket's 33-yard field-goal attempt went wide right.

But Tallmadge got some redemption on its next possession.

After the Blue Devils forced the Blue Streaks to punt, Fortner exploded through a big hole for a 55-yard TD run with 3:20 left in the first half.

The defense played a huge role in the offense's next trip to the end zone.

Senior defensive tackle Ryan Cutlip recovered a fumble on the kickoff. Fortner followed the turnover with an 18-yard run before finishing the drive with a one-yard plunge.

Fourteen points in 50 seconds. In other words, in the blink of an eye, it seemed like the Madison players got ran over by a freight train.

But the Blue Streaks entered this game with plenty of momentum on their side.

They won their first postseason game in school history with a 35-0 shellacking of second-seeded East Cleveland Shaw. But butting heads with a hot team like Tallmadge, however, proved to be a much different story.

"They [the Blue Devils] are a much different team than Shaw," Madison head coach Tim Willis said. "Tallmadge is more of a punch-it-down-your-throat type team. We gave it everything we had. We just had some missed assignments that cost us."

The Blue Streaks had nothing left after a key third down early in the third quarter.

On a third-and-20 play from his own 24, Fortner demoralized Madison's defense with a 31-yard run. Fortner capped what turned out to be a 13-play, 66-yard scoring drive that lasted more than eight minutes with a three-yard TD run.

Because of Fortner's historical season, some of the other unsung heroes, like the offensive linemen, get lost in the shuffle.

One of those linemen, however, has no problem playing second fiddle to the Blue Devils' star tailback.

"It's an honor to block for Tyler," Roy said.

Defense

Offensive Player of the Week - Tyler Fortner

Defensive Player of the Week - Eddy Simmons

Special Teams POW - Ryan Peterson (caused fumble on kickoff)

Scout Team POW - Nolan Ritchie

E-mail: faceto@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-686-3914