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STERLING – A few costly mistakes and a tough Metamora defense were too much for the Sterling High School football team Friday night at Roscoe Eades Stadium.
The Golden Warriors were shut out in the second half of a 28-9 loss, while Metamora quarterback Stephen Petri went 7 for 9 with three passing touchdowns and 227 yards.
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Metamora standout running back Jaiduan Cranford played sparingly but still led the backfield with 69 yards rushing, including a 41-yard run on his first carry.
Drew Nettleton finished with 13-of-26 passing with 208 yards and one interception for Sterling. Leading 21-9 at halftime, the Metamora defense was able to play aggressively and get to Nettleton.
Sterling also was unable to find running room in-between the tackles, as receiver Kaedon Phillips led the team with 20 yards rushing on four carries.
“They’re good,” Sterling coach Jon Schlemmer said of Metamora. “Their skill athletes are really talented and they caught us on a couple big ones early. You tip your hat to the offense sometimes. They made a great call on a tunnel screen and slipped a tackle and went for a big one, and then our corner lost the ball in the lights.”
Avery Grebner had just four catches but went for 123 yards and two touchdowns, including a 79-yard reception in the second quarter. Mark Frederick Jr.’s 74-yard score came with just 2:05 until halftime.
“We’ve got to learn from it and get better,” Schlemmer said. “But I thought our kids competed.”
Sterling also had a long touchdown by Phillips called back due to holding. The Golden Warriors also got down to the 1-yard line on a long Quincy Maas catch and run, but could not punch it in and settled for a field goal. Sterling also struggled mightily in the punt game.
“If you don’t get the hold, and down here, if you can just punch it in; he thought he got it in, but it didn’t matter,” Schlemmer said. “If you can punch that one in, that kind of changes the game just a little bit.”
Metamora struck first late in the first quarter on an Evan Keil rushing touchdown that made it 6-0 before the extra point was botched. Sterling answered in the second quarter, getting a fourth-down stop and a Phillips rushing touchdown to tie the game.
The Golden Warriors would score only three points after that.
“They played well defensively, and we’ve got to be better running the ball. Our run game has got to get better,” Schlemmer said. “We’ve got to dedicate a lot more time just to continue to get better.”
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Maas was a bright spot for Sterling, offensively, as he provided a deep threat downfield, finishing with 113 yards receiving on four catches, including a 48-yarder for Sterling’s longest play of the game. Phillips had five catches for 45 yards with a long of 19.
“We’ve got to shore some things up, and we’ll do that,” Schlemmer said. “These first games, they can expose you, and you can be humbled real quick.”
Sterling plays Niles Notre Dame next week at home with a chance to get better.
“In all my years, I don’t know that there’s going to be a bigger jump, I hope,” Schlemmer said. “Just the number of green kids that we have playing for us. There’s got to be that jump and that’s got to come from our coaching staff to get those guys some direction on where they’re going to be.”