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For the second week in a row, the Shoremen dropped a heartbreaker as Olmsted Falls rallied in the fourth quarter to take a 21-14 decision at Memorial Stadium. Avon Lake’s defense did a good job containing the Bulldog offense and all-everything QB Tyler Sparks. But two costly Shoremen fumbles deep in their own territory handed Falls 14 relatively easy points and the Shoremen fell to 3-3 on the season.

Avon Lake received the kickoff and started from their own 23. Alix Elamin ran through a nice hole for a 12 yard gain and a first down. The drive stalled at the A.L. 41 and the Shoremen had to punt. Falls went three and out, and the Shoremen followed suit. After the Bulldogs finally registered a first down on their next possession they kicked the ball back to the Shoremen, who started at their own 25. With the offensive line dominating the front allowing Elamin and Kevin Mansnerus to rip off a series of nice gains, Avon Lake soon had a first down at the Bulldog 37. From there, Scott Shaffer took a pitch for Nick Firment, pulled up, and threw to a wide open Tom MacGeorge to set up 1^st & goal at the two. Two plays later, Elamin powered his way across the goal line. Drew Becker’s PAT made the score 7-0.

After the kickoff, the defenses took over and the teams exchanged punts. A second Bulldog punt was downed at the Shoremen seven yard line. Then disaster struck as the Falls recovered a fumble on the next play at the A.L. 13. On third and 6 from the nine, Sparks rolled left and hit Shane Smith for the score and a 7-7 tie. The Shoremen defense held off a late Bulldog threat and the game remained tied at the half.

Midway through the third period, the defense forced yet another Bulldog punt. Again, the Shoremen coughed up a fumble and set up Falls with a first down at the 31. On the first play, with Scott Seipel right in his face, Sparks threw a rainbow toward the goal line. The Shoremen DB lost track of the ball while the Bulldogs’ Dave Pellerite made a nice adjustment to pull it in at the goal line to give Falls a 14-7 lead. But the Bulldogs showed some generosity of their own, as Scott Davey recovered a fumbled punt to give the home team the ball at Falls’ 34 yard line. After Drew Becker picked up four yards on a counter on first down, Kevin Mansnerus carried five straight times, tying the game on a one yard run.

After returning the kickoff to the 27, Olmsted Falls embarked on their only sustained drive of the game. The key play of the series came on 3^rd and ten from the Shoremen 42. With a couple of Shoremen hanging onto him, it looked like Sparks would be sacked for a loss. But somehow he managed to throw over the middle to Smith for a first down at the Shoremen thirty. A few plays later Sparks wrapped up the 13 play drive with a 17 yard sweep to the left for the go-ahead score. The Shoremen had a couple more possessions but couldn’t get anything going. A screen pass to Scott Shaffer on fourth down came up inches short on 4^th and 17, and the Bulldogs took over and ran out the clock.

Notes:

· Nick Firment made his first varsity start as the Shoremen quarterback in place of Tim Harris, who was sidelined with a shoulder injury.

· Alix Elamin topped the 100 yard mark for the first time, gaining 101 yards on 19 carries.

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Avon Lake	0	7	0	7	14
Olmsted Falls	0	7	7	7	21

	OF	A.L.
First downs	10	11
Rush Yds	98	169
Pass Yds	89	52
Passes att-comp-int	22-8-0	11-2-1
Fumbles-lost	4-1	5-2
Penalties	2-10	2-15

AL – Elamin 1 run (Becker kick)
OF – Smith 9 pass from Sparks (Mirtich kick)
OF – Pellerite 31 pass from Sparks (Mirtich kick)
AL – Mansnerus1 run (Becker kick)
OF – Sparks 17 run (Mirtich kick)