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The Shoremen used three 4^th quarter touchdowns to defeat Amherst Friday night by a score of 19-7. Avon Lake totally dominated the second half after having a tough time getting the offense going in the first two quarters. The Shoremen lines took total control of the trenches after the intermission, springing Scott Shaffer and Mike Haddad time after time while limiting the Comets to nothing but punts until the final minute when the game was already in hand.

Amherst took the opening kickoff back to their own 21 and rang up a quick first down at the 34 on a quarterback sweep from the spread followed by a counter to their wingback. But the Shoremen defense stiffened and Amherst punted the ball to the A.L. 24. The Shoremen went three & out, giving the ball back to the Comets at their 42. On 2^nd & eight, Amherst QB John Salter found Joe LaVeck running wide open down the middle of the field and hit him in stride for a 56 yard TD bomb. LaVeck added the PAT to make it 7-0.

Alix Elamin’s kickoff return gave the Shoremen good field position at their own 37, but again the offense couldn’t get anything going. On 4^th down, Drew Becker boomed a beautiful punt that was only returned to the Amherst 14. Amherst punted right back to the Shoremen at the Comet 41, and when Jeff Tell ran for a first down to the 17, it looked the Shoremen were in business. But Nick Firment barely missed hooking up with Ton MacGeorge in the end zone, and a fourth down pass completion came up short at the 11. The two teams traded punts for the rest of the half and headed for the locker room with Amherst still leading 7-0.

The Shoremen came storming out in the second half as Steve Mares returned the kickoff to Avon Lake’s 37, and the Scott Shaffer ran down the left sideline on the next play for a 25 yard gain to the Amherst 38. But a fumble on the next play gave the ball back to the Comets at the 39. Amherst sandwiched a pair of three and out’s around one for the Shoremen, who took over at their own 14 after the second Comet punt. Scott Shaffer had a couple more really nice runs to move the ball into Amherst’s end of the field. Then on 4^th and five from the 26, Firment hit MacGeorge for a 25 yard pickup to the Comets’ one yard line. Nick took it in on a sneak on the first play of the 4^th quarter, and Becker somehow kicked the PAT out of a two inch deep pool of mud to knot the score at 7. The kickoff return was stopped at the 19 on a nice tackle by MacGeorge. Salter tried to pass on first down, but Josh Pack burst through the Comet line and sacked him for a six yard loss. Amherst couldn’t make up the lost ground and punted the ball to the Shoremen 49. Mike Haddad carried on first down and was stacked up at the line. But Mike broke out of the pile and crashed 16 yards to the Comet 35. Some good runs by Haddad and Elamin, plus a key pass from Firment to MacGeorge, move the ball to the five. Haddad took it in from there and when the conversion sailed wide, Avon Lake led 13-7. The Shoremen “D” came up big again, as Aaron Grunick batted away a third down pass behind the line. Again the Comets had to punt, and again the Shoremen got good field position at their 45 yard line. The Shoremen covered the 55 yards to paydirt on just four plays, all runs by Haddad. Mike rumbled up the middle for 39 yards and the final TD of the night. The two point try failed, leaving the score 19-7 with just over two minutes to play. Amherst finally managed their only first downs of the second half on a double-pass throwback and a hook & ladder. But they never really threatened, and turned the ball over on downs. Firment took a knee to end the game and the 2006 season, as the Shoremen missed the playoffs for the first time since 1997.

· Notes:

· Firment’s 1 yard TD run was his first varsity touchdown for the Shoremen.

· The 7-3 regular season record continues Coach Dlugosz’ incredible run at Avon Lake: in 15 years, his teams have never finished worse than 7-3!

· Senior QB Tim Harris had surgery this week to repair the torn rotator cuff he suffered in the Brecksville game. Keep him in your prayers for a complete recovery.

· Long time Avon Lake football and wrestling coach Paul Reynolds was honored at halftime with a football signed by all of the 2006 Shoremen and a plaque of appreciation from the city of Avon Lake. Paul, whose grandson Jake is one of our captains this year, is suffering from brain cancer. Let’s all keep him and his family in our prayers, too.

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Avon Lake	0	0	0	19	19
Amherst	7	0	0	0	7

	A	A.L.
First downs	8	11
Rush Yds	79	234
Pass Yds	88	40
Passes att-comp-int	14-4-0	6-3-0
Fumbles-lost	2-0	3-1
Penalties

A – LaVeck 56 pass from Salter (LaVeck kick)
AL – Firment 1run (Becker kick)
AL – Haddad 5 run (kick failed)
AL – Haddad 39 run (pass failed)