The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
ROYALTY CROWNED
Lorain High School seniors Sly Worthy, 17, and Jem Garcia, 17, were named Homecoming king and queen prior to the Titans’ Lake Erie League Conference match-up against the Shaw Cardinals, Sept. 30.
Trailing at halftime, Lorain went back to basics. It worked to near-perfection.
Behind the one-two punch of Carlos Chavis and Aaron Huff, the host Titans erased a onepoint halftime deficit and scored 28 unanswered points in the second half en route to a 34-7 Lake Erie League win over Shaw on Sept. 30.
“I’m very proud of our kids,” Lorain coach Dave McFarland said. “I think we have tough kids, and they are resilient. We did not play a good first half … we got on them at halftime. We didn’t make any adjustments, but challenged them to play with more passion and pride.”
Trailing 7-6 at the half, Lorain (4-2, 2-0) came out with the emotion McFarland was looking for. He didn’t have to look too far to find Chavis and Huff to run with the passion he wanted.
Behind the offensive line of Sly Worthy, Solomon Villarreal, RaShaun Rogers, David Larson and Myron Wilson, Chavis and Huff found open holes. Huff capped a 10-play, 51-yard drive with a one-yard run in the middle of the third quarter. Zion Cross added the two-point conversion to give Lorain a 14-7 lead.
After letting a big play happen in the first half that led to Shaw’s only score, the Titans’ defense rallied and smothered the Cardinals’ offense. It allowed Lorain’s offense to get into high gear in the fourth quarter.
Huff, who had 101 yards on 14 carries, scored his second touchdown of the game with another one-yard run early in the fourth quarter. Chavis (25-169) capped off his big night, breaking through the line and into the clear to score from 27 yards out and give Lorain a 27-7 lead. Justin Sturgill hit Dawseaon Brooks from 52 yards out to close out the scoring.
“With them (O-line), I couldn’t have done it without them,” Chavis said. “Without the line, running backs can’t make holes, can’t make plays or be a playmaker.
“At halftime, we talked as a team and got a spark from it. It carried out onto the field. We came together as a team.”
Though Lorain suffered a pair of turnovers, the Titans’ defense created havoc for Shaw’s offense for the entire second half. For the game, they caused five fumbles — recovering one and recording three quarterback sacks. In addition, there were several big hits that jarred the ball loose from receivers.
“We didn’t change much, but we had to play harder and believe in the scheme (defensively),” Huff said. “We thrive (on big hits) and try to make big plays.”
Lorain set the tone for its running game early. Using almost all runs, the Titans drove down the field with Chavis breaking the scoreless deadlock late in the first quarter with a twoyard run for a 6-0 lead.
Shaw struck back with Alejandro Washington hitting Lemaro Smith for a 60-yard gain. Two plays later, London Patton scored from 10 yards out. The extra point by Washington gave Shaw a 7-6 lead early in the second quarter.
Lorain failed to convert on chances to take the lead in the first half. First, the Titans turned the ball over on downs when Chavis was tackled just short of the first down marker. Davion Dower threw his second interception of the half to end another drive.
Lorain travels to Sandusky, which is undefeated, next Friday in nonconference action.