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It was a real heart-pounder and the outcome was still in doubt with less than a minute to play, but the Shoremen hung tough to earn a 14-10 come-from-behind win over the Canal Fulton Northwest Indians. There were heroes galore in every phase of the game for the guys in Maroon & Gold as they overcame a 10-0 halftime deficit. Both defenses displayed some ferocious hitting in a game that for the most part featured the Indians’ shotgun spread passing attack against the Shoremen’s power running game.

Northwest received the opening kickoff as the Shoremen won the toss and deferred. The Indians moved quickly down the field using a variety of short pass plays: Slants, hitches, quick outs, and shovel passes to their running back. Wideout Ted Robb capped off the drive when he took a short toss on from Jim Shiplett on a slip screen, started inside, and cut back outside for a 26 yard TD. The PAT made the score 7-0.

Avon Lake’s first two possessions led to punts, and the Shoremen didn’t gain a first down until the third time they had the ball. A couple first downs and a pass interference penalty moved the ball to the Northwest 33, but again the Shoremen stalled & had to punt. The rest of the half was all dominated by the defenses. After the Shoremen turned the ball over on downs at midfield, a Shiplett to Robb pass gave the Indians a first down at the A.L. 30. But a couple of nice pass breakups by Matt Mudry left Northwest with a fourth down at the Shoremen 12, and Coy’s field goal attempt fell short as the half ended.

The Shoremen offense came out with a vengeance to start the third quarter. The Line began ripping open some huge gaps in the Indians’ defensive front, and Harris added a couple of nice completions to Tom MacGeorge and Matt Rehker. Jeff Tell broke through a huge hole and raced 28 yards to the Northwest two yard line, then followed the left side of the line into the end zone on the next play. Drew Becker’s PAT made the score 10-7 just minutes into the second half.

Both offenses crossed midfield a couple more times in the second half, but both defenses came up with key stops. Becker’s consistent punting kept the Indians from getting the ball with a short field. Late in the fourth period, Northwest drove to the Shoremen 18. But again the defense held, and Harris hit Alex Berry for a 13 yard gain, then threw to MacGeorge for another five yards. Tell’s 19 yard run put the ball at the Indians’ 39 with about 3 minutes to go. But when two runs netted just five yards and Harris’s third down pass fell incomplete, Coach Dlugosz took a timeout and decided to go for the jugular. So on fourth down, Harris threw a strike to Tom MacGeorge streaking down the right sideline. Tom caught the ball in full stride and raced in for the go-ahead score. Becker converted again to make the score 14-10 with 2:25 left in the game.

Northwest, however, was not about to fold up its’ tent. On the first play after the kickoff, Shiplett found running back David Ayers over the middle for a 22 yard gain to midfield. Robb pulled down a jump ball at the Shoremen 36 over Mudry, and another completion put the Indians first and ten at the Shoremen 21. Then, after an incomplete pass on first down, Ryan Landmark tipped a pass high in the air and Scott Davey picked it off to secure the game for the Shoremen. Harris took a knee twice and the Avon Lake team and fans could finally catch their breath and enjoy the long ride home.

Notes:

· The Shoremen extended their regular season win streak to 38 games, stretching back to the fourth game of the 2002 season.

· Harris and MacGeorge hooked up on a fourth down TD bomb for the second straight game.

· Avon Lake was held scoreless at the half for the first time since 2003.

· With 165 rushing yards, Tell cracked the century mark for the second time in as many starts.

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Avon Lake	0	0	7	7	14
Canal Fulton NW	7	3	0	0	10

	NW	A.L.
First downs	14	13
Rush Yds	33	184
Pass Yds	301	89
Passes att-comp-int	32-21-1	17-8-0
Fumbles-lost	1-0	1-0
Penalties	2-10	5-37

NW – Robb 26 pass from Shiplett (Coy kick)
NW – Coy 37 FG
AL – Tell 2 run (Becker kick)
AL – MacGeorge 34 pass from Harris (Becker kick)