Cougar-Led Defense Powers White Team to Senior Bowl Victory

A few Lake Catholic all-stars turned in dominating performances Friday to help their team win the third annual News-Herald Senior Bowl at Jerome T. Osborne Stadium.

The JTO played host for nearly 3,000 fans supporting players from several high schools in Northeast Ohio. The white team's defense, led by recent Lake Catholic graduates John Stepec and Justin Kravchuck, chased quarterbacks all night, leading the team to a 13-0 victory over the blue team.

Stepec was credited with two sacks, while Kravchuck forced a key fumble late in the fourth quarter, according to stats from The News-Herald. The white team's offense was paced by Euclid running back Juwan Ford, who turned in 134 yards on 24 carries. Lake Catholic's Mark Baniewicz split time at quarterback and running back.

Mentor's Jaylen Dowdy and Reece Armstrong provided strong defensive back play for the blue team, but the offense failed to capitalize, turning the ball over three teams in white territory.

The game was called off with about three minutes left after a severe ankle injury to Euclid's McKenny Mitchell, the blocking back who led the path for Ford's two touchdowns.

Here are the Mentor and Lake Catholic graduates who played Friday (Lake Catholic players were on the white team, Mentor on the blue):

• Mark Baniewicz, Lake Catholic, QB/RB
• John Stepec, Lake Catholic, DL/FB
• Malcolm Reho, Lake Catholic, TE/DL
• Justin Kravchuck, Lake Catholic, OL/DL
• Dominic Ditirro, Lake Catholic, OL/DL
• Evan Grossel, Lake Catholic, OL
• Nick DeLisa, Mentor, RB
• Jaylen Dowdy, Mentor, DB
• Reece Armstrong, Mentor, DB