NORTH RIDGEVILLE, Ohio — What started as a close game became a laugher quite quickly.
North Ridgeville lambasted Normandy 51-10 Friday night in the WKYC High School Football Game of the Week. The Rangers moved to 3-0 behind a strong effort on all sides of the ball from senior Connor Costin.
Costin caught a 48-yard touchdown pass on the opening drive to put North Ridgeville on the board first, and in the second half returned an interception to make it 35-10. Later, he returned a kickoff to the 2-yard line that set up another score that likely put the game out of reach.
Charlie Steinmetz also scored twice for the Rangers and Brenden Watchorn threw for a pair of TDs. A 34-yard field goal by Nino Illic did make it 7-3 after one quarter, but the Invaders (2-1) struggled from there.
North Ridgeville will head to Amherst next week, while Normandy will host Fairview.
More Week 1 scores
Glenville (3-0) 27, Avon (2-1) 21: The Tarblooders earned one of their biggest wins in years as J'Vaughn Goodson ran for a touchdown with five minutes left to break a 21-21 tie. The Eagles drove deep late, but Jermaine Agee picked off Sam DeTillio in the final seconds.
Mentor (2-1) 7, Painesville Riverside (2-1) 6: In a contest that was much closer that most probably expected, the Cardinals survived as Mitchell Waite scored from 10 yards out with just 1:25 to go. The Beavers still had a chance to win it, but Sean Kerwood's 20-yard field goal sailed wide as time expired.
Nordonia (3-0) 48, Mayfield (2-1) 27: The Knights continued their impressive start with a dominating performance. Quarterback Joey Palinkas accounted for five total touchdowns.
Medina (2-1) 45, Wadsworth (2-1) 35: The Battling Bees overcame a tough loss to Avon a week ago with a solid showing against their in-county rival, albeit with little defense. QB Danny Stoddard continued to turn heads with three TD passes and two more on the ground.