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On the night when Avon Lake celebrated the opening football game in the beautifully renovated Memorial Stadium, the Avon Eagles put a damper on the festivities with a 21-3 thumping of the Shoremen. Avon dominated the game on both sides of the ball, and whenever the Shoremen showed some ability to move the ball, they shot themselves in the foot with fumbles and interceptions. Avon Lake’s inexperienced secondary figured to have some trouble with Avon’s spread passing attack, but the Eagles ability to run the ball – and the Shoremen’s inability to do so – were especially disheartening.

The Shoremen kicked off and stopped the return at the Eagle’s 19. After a six yard completion on first down, Brian Mihalik threw the Avon ball carrier for a 3 yard loss. On 3^rd & 7, Justin Arkey came up the middle on a blitz and knocked the ball loose from the quarterback. The Shoremen recovered at the Avon 12. After gaining one yard on first down, Zach Johnson bobbled a pitch for the Shoremen’s first fumble. Zach was able to recover, but Trent Toy’s third down pass fell incomplete. Brad Brill knocked a 26 yard field goal through the uprights & the Shoremen lead 3-0. Again, the Shoremen kick coverage was superb, stopping the return at the 23. It looked like the Shoremen stopped the Eagles when they stuffed a run for no gain on 3^rd & 1. But a personal foul gave Avon a first down at their 46, and on the next play, Cody Schroeder hit Matt Eckhardt for a 54 yard TD bomb and a 7-3 Eagles lead.

Mike Britt Returned the kickoff to the 30, and after a false start made it first & 15, Toy hit Alex Grunick for 10 on a bubble screen, then threw to Ronnie Willoughby in the right flat for a first down. Another pass to Willoughby gave the Shoremen a first down at the Avon 34, and when Johnson picked up seven on first down it looked like things were starting to cook for the home team. But Arkey fumbled the handoff on the next play and the Eagles took over on their own 14. After a first down, a chop block penalty pushed Avon back to the 13, and a false start moved them back to the 9. But on 3^rd & 16 Schroeder threw for just enough to get the first down at the 36. The Shoremen sniffed out a bubble screen and had the receiver trapped behind the line for a loss, but the receiver broke free form two defenders and picked up nine yards. After a run for another first down, Schroeder found Ralph Smith running behind the secondary for an easy 53 yard score to stretch the lead to 14-3. A personal foul on Avon on the kickoff set up the Shoremen in great field position at their own 45. Johnson found a big hole over the left side for a 14 yard gain, then picked up five more to the Eagles 36. But a delay of game penalty moved the ball back five yards on third down, and the Shoremen ended up punting to the Avon 12. A completion for a first down, followed by a 15 yard late hit penalty moved the ball out to the 25, and a couple of runs netted Avon another first down. But this time it was the Eagles who self destructed as they fumbled the ball back at the Avon 47. Britt carried for a first down on a jet sweep, then Arkey gained five to the 31. But believe it or not, on third and short, the Shoremen fumbled the snap and lost the ball again. Avon Lake had one last good chance to score late in the half, moving to the Eagle 13 with 19 seconds to go. But Toy was hit as threw, the ball popped up in the air, and the Eagles intercepted to end the half.

The second half was tough to watch if you’re a Shoremen fan. Avon Lake never mounted a threat as the half was played pretty much in their end of the field. The pass protection never figured out Avon’ stunting defense, and Toy was constantly under pressure as at least one defender came in untouched on one pass play after another. Trent threw another interception when he was walloped as he threw, and an incomplete bubble screen that was a backwards pass was recovered by Avon. Patrick Furnas scored the Eagles final TD on a 26 yard run up the middle, and the game ended with Avon taking a knee twice on the Shoremen five yard line.

Notes:

· On a bright note, at least the new lights were really nice for us photographers. Plus my wife has season tickets in the new premium seats with the backs. I tried them out at halftime – they are real comfy.

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Avon Lake	3	0	0	0	3
Avon	7	7	0	7	21

	A	A.L.
First downs	16	11
Rush Yds	137	100
Pass Yds	195	58
Passes att-comp-int	23-12-0	17-6-2
Fumbles-lost	4-2	5-3
Penalties	10-96	4-40

AL – Brill FG 26
A – Eckhardt 54 pass from Schroeder (Young kick)
A – Smith 53 pass from Schroeder (Young kick)
A – Furnas 26 run (Young kick)