Senior Pat Oliverio scoops up fumble on punt return, races 80 yards for game-winning score.
St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron, Ohio) is known for its most famous alum — LeBron
James. But for at least one night,
Pat Oliverio was the King of
Akron.
Trailing Hubbard 23-19 with less than a minute to go Friday night, Fighting Irish punt returner
Markus Hurd was hit by several defenders, then fumbled the ball. A Hubbard recovery would end the season for the Irish.
But Oliverio, a senior linebacker, had other ideas.
"We knew we had a little bit of fight in us,"
he told Cleveland.com. "I just had a feeling the ball was coming out. It was intuition. I just picked it up and ran."
And run he did, picking up a few key blocks as he chugged 80 yards down the field into the end zone. The score put the Irish up 26-23 with 24 seconds left, and proved to be the game-winner.
St. Vincent-St. Mary will play
Athens (The Plains) on Friday in the Division III state semifinals. The Cleveland Cavaliers don't have a game that night, so LeBron himself will be able to follow his alma mater on the quest to a state title.
