Akee Henderson’s kick was wide right by a narrow margin. The game was played with NFL goal posts, which are narrower than high school posts. “I had confidence in Henderson so I put him out there,” Glenville coach Ted Ginn said.

By JAMES W. WADE III

Staff Reporter

One of the 2011 Charity Games was the competition between the Glenville Tarblooders and St. Edward Eagles at the Cleveland Browns Stadium.

St. Edward beat Glenville, 17-14, in overtime in front of about 15,000 fans.

The Eagles persevered against an invigorated opponent that held its own in the trenches and the open field. It was the second game of the Charity Game doubleheader, which gave you the flavor of a championship game.

Last year, St. Edward scored 28 unanswered, second-half points to win a regional semifinal against the Tarblooders. Saturday night, the Eagles need to catch a break in the form of Glenville not having a viable placekicker, or at least not knowing when to use him, and the Eagles leaned on a big-play defense and a raw young quarterback to save the day.

With St. Edward leading, 17-14, in overtime, Eagles defensive end Darryl Render forced Glenville sophomore quarterback Quan Robinson to fumble and linebacker Lavonte Robinson recovered, ending the game.

“I was trying to force him to make a bad throw and he stepped up in the pocket and I reached to get the ball out,” Render said. “We came together tonight. We’re all real tight. We all believe in each other.”

Glenville led 8-7 into the fourth quarter.

“We gave a way better effort and fought more to the end this year,” Glenville senior safety/wide receiver Justin Hardee said, recalling last year’s game.

The winning margin was the result of St. Edward senior kicker Jake Wilhelm’s 22-yard field goal in the first overtime possession. Plenty of drama preceded the kick.

St. Edward junior tailback Dwayne Aaron scored on a one-yard, fourth-down dive behind guard Tyler Orlosky and Wilhelm kicked the extra point for a 14-8 lead with 7:49 left to play, capping a 13-play, 62-yard drive.

St. Edward stopped the Tarblooders on fourth-and-4 at the St. Edward 44, but the Eagles offense suffered a quick three-and-out and punted back to the Tarblooders, who answered when junior tailback Herbert Walker broke loose for 59 yards before being dragged down by safety Solomon Warfield at the 16.

Glenville scored six plays later, like St. Edward, converting on fourth down. Quan Robinson faked a handoff and ran it in from the 4. The Tarblooders went for the two-point conversion and St. Edward linebacker, Sam Martello, deflected Robinson’s pass.

When St. Edward fumbled a handoff on the following series and Hardee recovered at the St. Edward 21, the Tarblooders had a chance to win.

On fourth down, Glenville attempted a 30-yard field goal with 14 seconds left. It was a surprising decision, considering Glenville did not attempt the extra point moments before with the score tied.

Akee Henderson’s kick was wide right by a narrow margin. The game was played with NFL goal posts, which are narrower than high school posts.

“I had confidence in Henderson so I put him out there,” Glenville coach Ted Ginn said.

St. Edward’s victory capped an emotional week in which 5-10 junior Ryan Fallon was named starting quarterback and 6-5 senior Henry Hilow, the preseason favorite, quit the team. Fallon struggled early but rallied late. He finished 5-of-14 for 68 yards with one touchdown, a 29-yard strike to Chris Connors in the second quarter.

He also ran 18 times for 22 yards.

Glenville’s Robinson, who shared QB duties with Christopher Overton, completed seven of 19 passes for 92 yards and one TD, a 20-yarder to Hardee early in the second quarter. Glenville threatened to expand its 8-7 lead late in the first half, reaching the St. Edward 7 with 17 seconds left. Robinson dropped back to pass, on third and goal, and Lavonte Robinson leveled the quarterback, and the half ended.

Lavonte Robinson was named player of the game.

“Glenville is a really good team and it was really tough, but we had young guys coming in and stepping up,” he said.