Game Story: Avon 42, Lakewood 7

[Michael Deneen]

The Lakewood football team traveled to Avon to play the Eagles on a cold, blustery night in Northeast Ohio. The combination of strong wins and an even stronger Avon team blew away any chance for a Ranger upset, as Avon won 42-7. The Ranger offense had trouble sustaining drives, and unlike many recent games the defense was unable to get turnovers.

Avon took command of this game early. The Rangers played the first quarter facing a strong wind, and could not get their offense going. Lakewood had a "three and out" on its first two offensive series, with Avon scoring touchdowns after each. On its third series, Michael Goolsby replaced Jack Witri at quarterback. Goolsby got the team's first 1st down of the game on a 12 yard carry, but the drive ended three plays later when he threw an interception. Avon cashed in that turnover for another touchdown, and carried a 21-0 lead into the second quarter.

Witri returned at quarterback on the next series, and the Rangers had the wind at their back for the second period. They moved the ball down to the Avon 15 yard line, due largely to a 36 yard Witri to Goolsby pass play. However, Avon intercepted Witri on the next play, extinguishing the drive. The Ranger defense stepped up to force an Eagle punt, which was short due to the strong winds. Lakewood started its next drive at the Avon 46 yard line, and put together a seven play touchdown drive to get on the board. Key plays included a 15 yard run by Quentin Palmer and a 15 yard scramble by Witri. Goolsby scored the TD on a seven yard run, and James Marshall hit the extra point to make the score 21-7 midway through the second quarter.

Avon immediately answered that touchdown drive with one of its own, then added another in the final seven seconds of the first half. They took a 35-7 lead into halftime to the locker room, then added another TD on the first possession of the second half. That TD made the score 42-7, and put the "running clock" rule into effect. The teams exchanged possessions the rest of the evening, with no further scoring.

The loss drops Lakewood to 0-6 on the season, and moves Avon to 5-1. Lakewood travels to Westlake next Friday for a game against the Demons. Westlake is also 0-6, which means that one of these teams will get its first win of the season.

[Stan Austin]

Mike-- great "last sentence" Stan

[Alex Belisle]

Here are the photos. I took more B&W's than I normally do but the weather affected my artistic mood - dark foreboding clouds under a very cold, windy sky.


http://lakewoodobserver.com/photoblogs/ ... n-football