(Home)             (Photos)

The Shoremen, despite losing starting tailback Mike Mansnerus in the first quarter had their running game in high gear Friday night.  But some shoddy special teams play coupled with an the inability to stop Dover’s high-powered passing attack resulted in a 38-35 loss to the Tornadoes.  Dover drove 60 yards with just a minute left on the clock and won with a 22 yard field goal with one second left on the clock. 

Shoremen kicked off to start the game, stopping the return at the 25.  Dover made one first down and then on 3rd and three, QB Corey Lisowski recovered a bad snap and found Carson Gessner in the right flat.  Gessner advanced to midfield on a nice run, but Jordan Market jarred the ball loose and James Lekan recovered for Avon Lake at their own 48.  7 plays later Mike Mansnerus broke free on a counter over the left side for a 19 yard TD.  Ohlemacher’s PAT made it 7-0 Shoremen just five minutes into the game.  Some good defense and another bad snap from center forced a Dover punt.  But some confusion between the Shoremen punt returners caused a muff and Dover recovered at the AL 44.  It took the Tornadoes 10 plays to cover that distance, as Lisowski sneaked in from the one to tie the score at 7.  Mike Mansnerus broke through on the kickoff return and carried to the Dover 37.  Mike pulled a hamstring as he was tackled and was out for the rest of the game, taking away A.L.’s fastest player and two-way starter.  The quarter ended with the score 7-7.

Senior Steve Mares took over at tailback and carried on all four plays of the drive, scoring from the one on the first play of the second quarter.  The lead only lasted a few seconds, through, as Cory Decharia returned the kickoff 93 yards untouched for the tying score.   A squib kickoff gave the Shoremen good field position at their own 33.  The Shoremen drove the 67 yards in 10 plays, featuring a 17 yard gain by Mares on a toss weep, and a 13 yard run to the one by Cody Bennington.  On the latter play, Bennington was met in the hole by a Dover defender, but Cody flattened him and raced to the one.  He scored on the next play for a 21-14 lead.  But Dover came back just before the half as Cory Matlick somehow reached over a perfectly positioned defender for a great catch and a 40 yard touchdown.  It was 21-21 at halftime. 

The Shoremen went three and out on the first series of the second half, punting to the Dover 38.  Lightning struck in the form of a 62 yard scoring play on a slip screen to Matlick, who raced to the middle of the field and then cut straight upfield for six.  Dover took their first lead of the game at 28-21.  The teams traded punts, and  Avon Lake started their third drive of the half at the 18.  Mares broke away on a toss sweep right for 39 yards to the 43 of Dover.  Gentry Rohn ran for 11 yards to the 32.  After an incompletion and a short gain, Bennington ran another counter to his left, covering 29 yards to the end zone.  The score was tied at 28 as the final period began.

Dover moved across midfield but another errant shotgun snap forced a punt.  Lisowski floated a beauty to the Avon Lake 15 where Kevin Morrisette was swarmed under by Tornado coverage team.  Three runs by Mares netted 10 yards and a first down at the 25.  Kevin Hart faked play action and found Dan Schneider all alone behind the Dover secondary.  The big junior tight end sprinted untouched into the end zone to give the home team the lead one again.  The kickoff coverage broke down again and Decharia made another nice return to the 50.  An incompletion and a 1o yard sack made it 3rd and 20.  But Lisowski dodged a furious pass rush, rolled to hi left, and completed a 45 yard pass to the Shoremen 15.  Another sack left the Tornadoes with 4th and 15 from the 20.  Again, Lisowski found Matlick in the end zone, this time on a fade, and the score was tied again.  The Shoremen moved the ball to the Dover 40, but on fourth down Hart scrambled for his life, couldn’t get the pass away, and Dover took over.   A missed tackle let Dover turn a short pass into a gain to the Shoremen 25.  On third down, Lisowski ran to his left through a big hole to the 10.  After a couple timeouts, kicker Danny Widder hit what was possibly the ugliest game winning field goal of all time, barely clearing the crossbar with a knuckleball line drive. 

Notes: 

·       Dan Schneider’s 75 yard reception was his first varsity TD.

·       Dover had half a dozen snaps that either rolled back to the QB or sailed over his head – all as a result of Sean McCann’s physical play against Dover’s center. 

·       Mares finished with 152 yards on 23 carries.

 

(Home)             (Photos)

 

Avon Lake

7

14

7

7

35

Dover

7

14

7

10

38

 

 

 

D

 

A.L.

First downs

 

17

 

18

Rush Yds

 

-30

 

295

Pass Yds

 

349

 

84

Passes att-comp-int

 

23-35-0

 

4-8-0

Fumbles-lost

 

4-1

 

3-2

Penalties

 

2-10

 

5-30

AL – Mansnerus 19 run (Ohlemacher kick)
D – Lisowski 1 run (Widder kick)
AL – Mares 1 run (Ohlemacher kick)
D – Decharia 93 kickoff return (Widder kick)
AL – Bennington 1 run (Ohlemacher kick)
D – Matlick 40 pass from Lisowski (Widder kick)
D – Matlick 62 pass from Lisowski (Widder kick)
AL – Bennington 29 run (Ohlemacher kick)
AL – Schneider 75 pass from Hart (Ohlemacher kick)
D – Matlick 20 pass from Lisowski (Widder kick)
D – Widder 27 FG