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Friday evening began on a reverent note, as Shoremen Country honored 2001 grad, Army Captain Mike Medders, who was killed last week in Iraq.  With the combined bands assembled on the field, and the Shoremen team standing at attention,  The Avon Lake Police honor guard presented the colors.  An army honor guard fired a 21 gun salute, and Old Glory was raised & then lowered to half mast. 

After that, oh well -- another week, another heart-pounding game for the boys in Maroon & Gold as they squeaked out a 34-30 win over the Midpark Meteors.  The Shoremen’s 403 rushing yards were just enough to overcome Midpark’s thunder and lightning combo of running back Jamaine Cook and wideout Anthony Meriwhether.  Mike Mansnerus piled up 306 yards on 41 carries and scored three times.  Fullbacks Cody Bennington and Nick Marinkov added close to 100 yards between them, with each accounting for a TD.

Gentry Rohn returned the opening kickoff to the Shoremen 32, and two Mansnerus runs quickly moved the ball to the Midpark 42.  Pete Hart attempted to pass on first down but the ball was batted straight up in the air by a defender.  Midpark DT Ethan O’Connor plucked the ball out of the air and the Meteor offense took over.  But three plays later, Nick Brill picked off a Tibbits pass over the middle.  A personal foul at the end of the return put the ball back in the Meteors end of the field at the 39.  Seven running plays gave the Shoremen the lead at 7-0, with Bennington crashing in from the two.  After a kick return to the Midpark 30, Cook swept right, broke a tackle in the backfield, and powered his way for 39 yards to the A.L. 31.  Then on 4th 1 at the 22, Tibbits couldn’t get the snap cleanly and was stood up at the line to give the ball back to the Shoremen.  After a first down, the Shoremen punted to the 29 to end the first quarter.

Midpark opened the second quarter with the first long fade of the night to Meriwhether just inside the Shoremen 20.  The defense held and on fourth down,  Bobby Grace boomed through a 31 yard field goal to make it 7-3.  The Shoremen ground attack then took control, needing just four plays to cover 65 yards with Mansnerus carrying 35 yards for the score.  A wide-right  PAT attempt left the score 13-3.  The Meteors went three and out, punting to the Shoremen 30.  This time it took eight plays, all on the ground, for the Shoremen to score.  Mansnerus took it in from 12 yards, the kick was good, and the lead was 20-3 with 1:27 left in the half.  But it only took the Meteors 2 plays and 22 seconds to cover 70 yards,  the killer being a 59 yard TD toss from Tibbits to Meriwhether on another long fade.  The halftime score stood 20-10.

Midpark returned the second half kickoff to the 22, and needed just seven plays to cut the lead to 20-17 as Cook powered over  a couple of Shoremen DB’s to score from eight yards out.  But again the relentless Shoremen ground assault took over, driving 72 yards on nine plays to stretch the lead back to 10.  Nick Marinkov carried the last 13 yards for the score, and Dan Ohlemacher added the extra point.  Midpark went three and out, so the Shoremen had the ball just across midfield as the quarter ended.  But on the first play of the final period, another Hart pass was tipped at the line and intercepted by Midpark at their own 45.  Just two plays later, Marinkov returned the favor as he snagged a Tibbits pass and brought it back to the Meteor 45.  Three plays went nowhere as the visitors were really stacking the box.  Gentry Rohn downed the punt at the Midpark five with about eight minutes left.  After a five yard run by the fullback, Tibbits went back up top with another fade route to Meriwhether, this one good for 67 yards to the Shoremen 23.  From there it took five more plays for the Meteors to reach pay dirt, with Cook scoring on 4th and 1 from the four to make it 27-24 with 5:40 to play.  Midpark’s defense forced a three and out, and the Shoremen had to punt.  Cook bobbled the ball on the kick and Brian Holleran crashed in to recover for Avon Lake at the Meteor 40.  Seven running plays later, Mansnerus scored his third TD of the game from 4 yards out, and the lead looked pretty safe at 34-24 with just 1:13 to go.  This time, Meriwhether caught the kick at 7 and raced straight up the middle of the field for a 93 yard touchdown.   The game wasn’t sealed until the Shoremen recovered the onside kick and Hart took a knee three times to run out the clock.

So, if you have a bad heart or high blood pressure, make sure you have a fresh battery in your pacemaker and lay off the caffeine for a rest of the season.  This year’s thrill-a-minute edition of the Shoremen are sure to keep us on the edge of our seats the rest of the way.

 

Notes: 

·       Mike Mansnerus’ 306 yard on the ground ranks as the third best single game total in school history.  The top two are Bobby Doyle’s 338 yards vs. Elyria in 2004 and Jeff Strauch’s 312 yard performance vs. North Olmsted in 2000.

·       Nick Marinkov scored his first varsity touchdown on a 13 yard run in the third quarter.

·       The Shoremen win, coupled with losses by Maumee, Greenville, and Cloverleaf, put Avon Lake in the seventh spot in the Region 6 playoff race.  If the Shoremen win out, they’ll be in the playoffs,  but it is not likely that we’ll have a home game this year.

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Avon Lake

7

13

7

7

34

Midpark

0

10

7

13

30

 

 

 

M

 

A.L.

First downs

 

12

 

24

Rush Yds

 

157

 

403

Pass Yds

 

203

 

8

Passes att-comp-int

 

13-7-2

 

6-2-2

Fumbles-lost

 

2-1

 

1-0

Penalties

 

8-70

 

6-40

AL – Bennington 2 run (Ohlemacher kick)
M – Grace FG 31
AL – Mansnerus 35 run (kick failed)
AL – Mansnerus 12 run (Ohlemacher kick)
M – Meriwhether 59 pass from Tibbits (Grace Kick)
AL – Marinkov 13 run (Ohlemacher kick)
M – Cook 4 run (Grace Kick)
AL – Mansnerus 4 run (Ohlemacher kick)
M – Meriwhether 93 kickoff return (kick failed)