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It felt like old times on this crisp October Friday night, as the Shoremen posted their second shutout of the year by a 36-0 count over North Olmsted.  Avon Lake dominated every phase of the game, holding the Eagles to 76 total yards while rolling up over 300 yards on offense.  The Shoremen recovered 4 Eagle fumbles and completely smothered what had been a potent North Olmsted ground attack.

The game started slowly as both teams went three & out on their first possessions.  North Olmsted started their second series from the Shoremen 45.  They appeared to have a first down as Scooter MacDonald ran Olmsted’s version of the jet sweep, but a good hit jarred the ball loose & the Shoremen recovered at their own 25.   The Shoremen failed again to move the ball as the Eagles swarmed all over tailback Kevin Mansnerus on every play.  But Drew Becker bailed them out with his best punt of the year, booming a high spiral that sailed over the returner’s head and came to rest at the N.O. 24. The 50 yard kick put the Eagles in poor field position. In spite of a 15 yard pass interference call on A.L., the next North Olmsted punt gave the Shoremen the ball at their 47.  With the defense still keying on Mansnerus on every play, Mike Haddad started ripping off some good chunks of yardage on fullback counters.  Nick Firment hit Jordan Frank on a slant the five, and the quarter ended with the Shoremen threatening.  After moving to the one, a false start put the Shoremen in 4th & goal from the six.  Firments’s pass was batted away and the ball went back over to the Eagles.  Two running plays netted four yards, and when QB Keith Troyer dropped to pass on 3rd down, Drew Oxley chased him out of the pocket.  As Aaron Grunick closed in, Troyer threw the ball to an empty patch of grass and was called for intentional grounding.  Since the penalty was called while Troyer was in the end zone, the result of the play was a safety. 

Leading 2-0, Avon Lake started from their own 48 after the free kick.  On second down, Mansnerus dragged a defender 10 yards downfield for a first down at the 41.  Five straight Haddad rushes put the ball 1st & goal on the Olmsted 8 yard line.  On 3rd down from the three, Alix Elamin took the pitch from Firment and followed Haddad around left end for the touchdown.  Becker’s PAT made the halftime score 9-0.

Tom MacGeorge returned the second half kickoff  to the Shoremen 38.  On second down Firment found Frank again, this time for 16 yards and a first down at the Eagles’ 44.  Haddad ran for a couple of key first downs, and then Firment hit Scott Davey with a swing pass in the right flat.  Scott ran through a couple of would-be tacklers and was finally driven out of bounds just short of the goal line.  Haddad scored on the next play to complete a 12-play, 62-yard drive that put Avon Lake up 16-0.   Minutes later, a bungled fake punt attempt  turned the ball over to the Shoremen on the North Olmsted 39.  Capitalizing again on the Eagles’ obsession with the tailback, Scott Shaffer took a pitch around right end.  As the entire defense converged on Scott, he threw a strike to MacGeorge who was wide open at the 10.  Tom strolled in for six and Becker’s conversion upped the lead to 23-0.  On the first play after the kickoff, disaster struck again for the Eagles as they missed connections on a handoff  and Sean Linder recovered the fumble at North Olmsted’s 28.  On 3rd & 7 from the 25, Haddad ran through a nice hole on the left side of the line, broke three tackles, and left a trail of defenders on the ground in various states of pain.  Mike steamrolled his way into the end zone for a 30-0 Shoremen lead. 

Starting the fourth quarter, Coach Dlugosz emptied the bench.  After recovering yet another fumble, the Maroon & Gold reserves used a steady stream of inside running plays to a variety of backs to score one more touchdown.  Fullback Jeremy Berner blasted into the end zone from the one and the Shoremen led 36-0.  The backup defense was stellar as well, keeping the Eagles pinned in their own end of the field.  Sophomores Joe Coyne and Zach Murray combined for a quarterback sack to help  secure the shutout.

 

Notes: 

·       Haddad carried for 116 yards on 16 attempts, breaking the century mark for the first time in his varsity career.

·       Shaffer & MacGeorge hooked up on a halfback pass for the second week in a row.  Scott is now two for two passing with one TD and a quarterback rating of like a bazillion or so.

·       Jeremy Berner scored his first varsity touchdown.

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Avon Lake

0

9

21

6

36

North Olmsted

0

0

0

0

0

 

 

 

NO

 

A.L.

First downs

 

5

 

17

Rush Yds

 

98

 

222

Pass Yds

 

14

 

92

Passes att-comp-int

 

10-3-0

 

14-4-0

Fumbles-lost

 

6-4

 

2-0

Penalties

 

4-30

 

4-26

AL –  Safety,  N.O. called for intentional grounding in end zone
AL – Elamin 3 run (Becker kick)
AL – Haddad 1 run (Becker kick)
AL – MacGeorge 39 pass from Shaffer (Becker kick)
AL – Haddad 25 run (Becker kick)
AL – Berner 1 run (kick failed)