Over the weekend we saw freshman quarterback Scotty Fox put together a night to remember with 375 passing yards and five touchdowns. He is the backup to injured starter Jacob Snow. In true "Snow-like" fashion (who was a sophomore super sub in the state semifinal last year), Fox is raising some eyebrows with his play the last two weeks. Fox, starting just his second game, showed a lot for a 14 year-old thrust into a tough spot. Needless to say, the future looks bright for Mentor between Snow and Fox. Here is a list of some of the other "out of nowhere" performances from a young QB at Mentor.
Mitch Trubisky (Week 1 regular season vs St Edward, 2010)
It is well known that Mentor legend Mitch Trubisky went on to become a success in high school (Mr. Football in 2012), in college (record setting QB at UNC), and in the NFL (#2 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft). His high school career took off in the 2011 and 2012 seasons, but his first shot took place as a sophomore starting Week 1 at Cleveland Browns Stadium in 2010. The opponent would be none other than St Edward, a team that would eventually go on to finish as a 15-0 state champions. At the time, Trubisky was splitting QB duties with Colton Wallace. With Mentor down 21 points early in the first half, Trubisky's emergence from backup to on the field helped Mentor mount a comeback. In the second half, Trubisky connected with Wallace on a touchdown pass and engineered another touchdown drive that brought Mentor with a chance to tie in the final minute of the game. On second and goal from the five-yard line, St Edward forced a fumble and sealed a 35-28 win. The seven-point loss was the closest any team got to beating the Eagles all season. Considering the success we saw Trubisky achieve over the next ten years, it is no surprise that his first varsity moment was a memorable one.
Click HERE for the Cleveland.com article on the game
Matt Eiswerth (Week 1 regular season vs Erie McDowell, 2013)
The shoes to fill for replacing Trubisky in the 2013 season couldn't be bigger. While eventual starter Conner Krizancic was dealing with some challenges in adjusting to a position change, sophomore Matt Eiswerth ended up taking the majority of the snaps in August. That would include getting a lot of action in Week 1 against Erie McDowell. Mentor found themselves down 16-0 in the 1st quarter. Eiswerth had a memorable debut as he threw for a record-tying five touchdown passes - two of which were to Krizancic when he was playing wide receiver. Two other touchdown passes were to Mentor legend Brandon Fritts. All in all, Eiswerth was the engineer behind Mentor's 44-30 win over McDowell. As good as Eiswerth's debut was, Krizancic was the ultimate answer at the QB position that season. Mentor would finish 9-1 in the regular season and advanced to a state title game with Krizancic (Ohio's Offensive POY in DI in 2013) leading the way. Eiswerth ended up being more mystery than legend as we never saw his career develop on the football field. He hung up his football gear and concentrated on baseball following this 2013 football season. But it would have been interesting to see how Eiswerth could've developed as QB in Mentor's system in the 2014 and 2015 seasons.
Click HERE for the News-Herald article on the game
Tadas Tatarunas (Week 2 regular season vs St Ignatius, 2015)
Tatarunas won the battle for starting QB as a sophomore entering the 2015 season. After a solid debut in Week 1, Tatarunas caught the attention of the entire state with a stunning Week 2 performance against St Ignatius. Mentor and St Ignatius entered the game as the #1 and #2 teams on Cleveland.com/Plain Dealer. If you like offense, you got your money's worth and then some as the two teams combined for 17 touchdowns and over 1,400 total yards of offense. Tatarunas was the winning QB thanks to his unforgettable production: 25-35 passing for 523 yards and 4 TD's. His favorite target on the evening was record-setting receiver Jason Blizzard, who was highlighted in an earlier entry for top wide receiver performances. With the game tied at 56 late in the 4th quarter, Tatarunas scrambled and hit Malik Porter in the end zone with 8 seconds to play to win the unforgettable game. Tatarunas had a super sophomore season that saw him earn All-Ohio status. He finished his career as one of the all-time great players in program history, which included guiding the 2017 team to the state final. But anyone that followed Tatarunas for those three years will peg that record-breaking performance early in his sophomore season against St Ignatius as his most memorable game.
Click HERE for the Cleveland.com article on the game
Ian Kipp (Week 1 against St Edward, 2018)
Like his predecessor, Kipp earned the opportunity to start from the beginning of his sophomore season like Tatarunas. Right off the bat, Kipp was faced with a challenging task as Mentor began the season with games against St Edward and St Ignatius. In Week 1 against the Eagles (the eventual state champs of that season), Kipp shocked the area with a big time performance and victory. Kipp developed into quite a passer during his time at Mentor, but early in his career he was more known for his ability to run. Behind a talented and experienced offensive line featuring Ryan Jacoby (Ohio State commit) and Nick Samac (Michigan State commit), Kipp ran the ball 19 times for 175 yards and two TD's. He finished the game incredibly efficient with his arm as well, throwing for 114 yards and 14-18 passing. Over his career, Kipp would throw for over 2,000 yards in both his junior and senior seasons. As a junior, Kipp earned Ohio's Offensive Player of the Year award in Division I. In a shortened senior season, Kipp threw for 2,048 yards and 26 TD's. Kipp earned a scholarship at Kent State, won nine playoff games, and finished with a 5-2 record against St Ignatius/St Edward. Those accolades leave Kipp as one of the best players to ever put on a Mentor uniform, but it all started with a stunning debut performance and win against a championship St Edward squad.
Click HERE for the Cleveland.com article on the game
Jacob Snow (State Semifinal against Pickerington Central, 2020)
Out of all the debuts listed, the experience that Jacob Snow had was quite different. In 2020, he was a sophomore who spent the season being the starting QB on the JV team. During the week of the state semifinal game, there was concern with some of the players (including star QB Ian Kipp) regarding COVID contact tracing. Just a day or two before the game, Snow was given notice that he would be starting in the state semifinal against a very talented Pickerington Central team. These Tigers are the same program that knocked off Mentor in big games in the 2017 state championship and the 2019 state semifinal. Their roster was littered with college talent and plenty of experience from a state championship the season before. From the start of the game, Mentor appeared to be overmatched. Pickerington Central ran for a 92-yard touchdown on the first play of the second quarter to give them a 21-0 lead. Without Mentor's All-Ohio QB, the game looked like it would be a blowout. Jacob Snow had other ideas in mind. He would eventually settle in and help engineer a comeback. Snow threw two second half touchdowns that helped bring Mentor to within one score on both occasions. Mentor would ultimately lose the game (38-31), but Snow earned major respect and attention for his play. Snow finished the game with 193 passing yards, 45 rushing yards, and two touchdowns. While Snow is currently injured, his story is still not done being written.
Click HERE for the Cleveland.com article on the game
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