The Twinsburg Tigers knew Mentor had a star in Mitch Trubisky, but they didn't realize the star of Friday's game would be the Cardinals' defense.
That defense guaranteed Mentor (9-1) would be the NEO Conference Valley Division champions by shutting out a talented Twinsburg Tigers team (6-4) Friday night at Jerome T. Osborne Stadium.
The Tigers, who do have playmakers including quarterback Jalen Washington and running back Tyrone McGuinea, could not generate any momentum against the Cardinals staunch defense.
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Mentor sacked the Tigers five times, costing Twinsburg a total of 52 yards, and intercepted them twice.
"They played really hard on defense," Mentor Head Coach Steve Trivisonno said. "They played hard and they played fast."
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Meanwhile, the Cardinal's offense was headlined by running back Nick Delisa who ran for 4 touchdowns and 177 yards.
Delisa was explosive, breaking runs for 62, 30 and 57 yards. The first two of those runs were touchdowns; the third set up a 2-yard touchdown pass from Trubisky to Brandon Fritts on the next play.
Trubisky had a solid outing -- running for one touchdown and throwing for 171 yards and another touchdown. However, the persistent rain and wind caused the Cardinals to depend more upon their ground game.
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