HUDSON, Ohio — Hudson quarterback Hayden Lipinski accounted for six touchdowns Friday night, Oct. 30, as the No. 5 seed Explorers routed No. 12 Euclid 52-12 in a Division I, Region 1 first-round playoff game, according to the Akron Beacon Journal’s game recap.
Lipinski went 9-of-11 passing for 144 yards and four touchdowns and added 79 rushing yards and two more scores on just five carries, the Beacon Journal reported. His touchdown runs covered 21 and 37 yards, and Hudson (8-3) built leads of 21-6 after one quarter and 49-12 by halftime against the Panthers (4-7).
Anthony Paolucci was Lipinski’s favorite target, catching four passes for 90 yards and three touchdowns — scoring grabs of 43, 27 and 11 yards — and he also recorded an interception on defense, according to the Beacon Journal. Running back Reno Ferri ran 10 yards for a touchdown and caught an 11-yard scoring pass from Lipinski, finishing with 47 yards on eight carries.
“Our defense was stout and created a number of short fields for the offense and created a couple of turnovers,” Hudson coach Jeff Gough told the Akron Beacon Journal. “Hayden took advantage of their man coverage finding Paolucci for three TDs and a fourth to Reno. They were trying to limit Reno and the run game and Hayden was able to also run for two touchdowns. Overall a very complimentary game.”
The final margin was striking given how even the yardage was: Hudson finished with only a slight 294-276 edge in total yards, the Beacon Journal reported, but the Explorers played on a short field most of the night because their defense kept handing the ball back in Euclid territory. Kicker Xavier Pallo made all seven of his extra points in the first half and added a 33-yard field goal in the third quarter for the only points scored after halftime.
Euclid quarterback Rasheed Tutt went 11-of-17 passing for 133 yards and two touchdowns with one interception, according to the Beacon Journal, with Kei’Shjuan Telfair and Colby Orr catching the Panthers’ scoring passes. It was not nearly enough to keep Euclid in the game once Hudson’s offense got rolling in the first quarter.
How the Explorers got here. Hudson’s win was part of a strong opening night for Summit County-area programs: eight Akron-area teams played first-round games Friday and five advanced, the Beacon Journal reported, with Wadsworth, Hoban and Revere also winning. Hudson’s defense-first formula — short fields, takeaways and an efficient quarterback — has been the Explorers’ identity all season, and Friday was its most complete showing.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on. What we know: Hudson is 8-3, Lipinski produced one of the biggest individual nights of the Ohio playoffs’ opening round, and the Explorers’ reward is a rematch with a familiar opponent. What we’re still waiting on: the official OHSAA box score and any injury updates coming out of a game that was decided by halftime, neither of which had been posted as of early Saturday.
The rematch angle is real. Hudson advances to face fourth-seeded Jackson in the regional quarterfinals on Friday, Nov. 6 — and the Explorers beat Jackson 55-35 back in Week 2, according to the Beacon Journal. Jackson will have home field and two months of film this time, and Hudson will have to prove the September result was no fluke.
Friday’s result also continued a wild opening round across Northeast Ohio, where NewsForce247 has been following the bracket game by game — including Poland Seminary’s 41-38 upset of Woodridge in the battle of the Bulldogs and the ongoing Glenville playoff dispute, in which a judge restored the Tarblooders to the bracket while University School said it would not play.
What happens next is straightforward: Hudson travels to Jackson on Friday, Nov. 6, for a 7 p.m. regional quarterfinal, with the winner moving on to the Region 1 semifinals. For Euclid, the season ends at 4-7 with a young quarterback who gave the Panthers their only real offensive spark on a difficult night.
Elsewhere in Region 1 on Friday, Canton McKinley beat Brunswick 62-28, according to The Canton Repository’s statewide scoreboard — a reminder that the road through the region runs through several offenses capable of scoring in bunches, and that Hudson’s defensive performance Friday, not just Lipinski’s six touchdowns, may be the Explorers’ most important asset heading into the quarterfinals.