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In a big-play blitzkrieg reminiscent of the days when Stross, Means, Schroeder, and Doyle blazed up and down the field for the Maroon & Gold, the Elyria Pioneers notched their first ever victory over the Shoremen with a resounding 28-0 thumping at Ely Field. Avon Lake’s defense simply had no answer for Elyria’s speed, and the offense, which actually had decent success running the ball, stalled each time it penetrated Elyria’s end of the field.

The game began on a high note as Steve Mares returned the opening kickoff for the Shoremen to the Pioneers’ 24 yard line. But on the Shoremen’s first offensive play, Jordan Thomas picked off a pass intended for Tom MacGeorge in the end zone and returned it to the Avon Lake 46. After a loss of a yard on first down and a delay penalty moved Elyria back to their own 48, Thomas took the ball around right end on an end around for 32 yards to the Shoremen 21. Five plays later, Chase Mason scored from the one and the PAT made it 7-0 Elyria just four minutes into the game.

Starting at their 26 after the kickoff, the Shoremen got a quick first down on two inside carries by Jeff Tell. But two more runs by Tell netted nothing, and an incomplete pass on third down forced a punt. Taking over at their own 43, the Pioneers moved into Shoremen territory and faced a third & seven from the 29. QB John Yeaples threw to Thomas on a one-man wide receiver screen. Thomas cut back to the inside and raced into the end zone to make the score 14-0 Elyria late in the first quarter. After the Shoremen went three and out, Chase Mason took a pitch around left end from his own 19, broke a tackle at the corner, cut back to the middle, and sprinted 81 yards to extend the Pioneer lead to 21-0.

The Shoremen then put together a nice drive as Scott Shaffer took over at tailback for an injured Jeff Tell. Shaffer carried for 47 yards on the drive which also included a nice 13 yard catch & run by fullback Mike Haddad. But a third down pass slipped through the receiver’s hands, and a fourth down completion to Shaffer at the 15 came up just short of the first down marker. Elyria led 21-0 at the half.

In the second half, a couple more Shoremen drives came up short in Elyria territory as false start penalties left too much ground to make up. Alix Elamin played most of the half at tailback and had a few nice runs. But the passing game sputtered all night and an Elyria sack ended the last Avon Lake scoring threat. The defense held the Pioneers at bay for most of the second half, with the exception of one play when Thomas took a handoff from Jaa’Rome Williams on a reverse and zigzagged 70 yards for the only scoring of the second half.

Notes:

· The Shoremen regular season win streak ended at 38 games, stretching back to the fourth game of the 2002 season – truly a remarkable accomplishment.

· The Shoremen had not been shut out in a game since week 8 of the 1999 season.

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Avon Lake	0	0	0	0	0
Elyria	14	7	7	0	28

	Elyria	A.L.
First downs	12	8
Rush Yds	321	126
Pass Yds	37	24
Passes att-comp-int	5-3-0	11-4-1
Fumbles-lost	0-0	1-0
Penalties	5-25	6-40

E – Mason 1 run (Almeida kick)
E – Thomas 29 pass from Yeaples (Almeida kick)
E – Mason 81 run (Almeida kick)
E – Thomas 70 run (Almeida kick)