View more pictures for SENIOR NIGHT BAND PORTRAITSÂ – photos by Garvas: https://photos.garvas.org/senior-night-band
View more pictures from the GAME – photos by Garvas: https://photos.garvas.org/hudson2022
After a night in which Nordonia slipped to 5-2 after a 28-14 loss to the Hudson Explorers, the defense had to of been having nightmares of seeing Hudson star RB Ian Ludewig running past, through, and over them. The Knights have to be thinking that this could be a game that could have come down in their favor. A game that saw Nordonia hold a lead of 14-0 and have possession inside the Explorers 20-yard-line and prepped to take a 21-0 lead turned towards Hudson after several untimely turnovers and a second half that had Hudson come out and establish dominance at the line of scrimmage and begin to run the ball much more effectively.
The Knights put together several impressive drives to start the game, including an opening drive of 11 plays that ended when QB Joey Palinkas was sacked at Hudson’s 29-yard-line for a turnover on downs. Their next drive saw the Knights go on an impressive 11-play, 66-yard drive punctuated by a QB run from the 1-yard-line. After forcing the Explores to go 3 and out, the Knights took off from their own 36 and marched the ball all the way down the field for their second score of the game, this time a 2 yard run by Zach Zender. Connell Rafferty would add his 2nd extra point of the night to give the Knights a 14-0 lead and an abundance of confidence.
Trying to catch the Explorers off-guard, Nordonia successfully executed an onside kick, recovered by none other than kicker Connell Rafferty at their 35-yard-line. After running the ball on 4 of the next 5 plays and covering 56 yards, the Knights fumbled at the Explorers 16-yard-line.  After trading unsuccessful drives, Nordonia turned the ball over again, as Palinkas had his pass tipped at the line of scrimmage and watched as the ball came down in the hands of a Hudson defender. This time the Explorers would not be denied, taking the ball the length of the field for a score and cutting the Knights lead in half 14-7 after a QB sneak from the 1.
The second half started with Hudson intent on establishing their running game with standout RB Ian Ludewig. After scoring less than 4 minutes into the 3rd quarter, Hudson’s offensive line began to establish dominance and open holes for Ludewig that would allow them to establish a theme for the rest of the game – a relentless ground attack. The defense tried to stay strong throughout the early part of the 2nd half. The unit ended the evening with 9 tackles for loss, led by Jeremy Olszko’s 7 solo tackles, but they just could not find a way to shut down a Hudson offense that was content to continue to run the ball.
Hudson’s penultimate drive of the evening would see Ludewig run the ball on 13 of the Explorer’s 14 play drive that lasted over seven minutes and went 65 yards for the score, ending the scoring for a final of 28-14.
