Nightmares drop conference opener

Seven didn’t prove to be so lucky for Lorain County.

The Nightmares’ defense forced seven turnovers, but their offense struggled — especially in the red zone. Lorain County turned the ball over on downs twice inside Southern Michigan’s 10-yard line as they dropped a Premier Amateur Football League opener, 13-9, on June 3 at Oberlin College.

“I can’t necessarily say it’s frustrating just because this is the ultimate team sport,” Lorain County Head Coach Andy Rice said. “Just because you have one phase executing doesn’t mean that you start pointing fingers immediately.

“We needed to do a better job … saying you made a mistake let’s fix it. We needed to perform as a team.”

Trailing, 10-0, to start

the second half, Lorain County (2-2, 0-1) picked off Southern Michigan quarterback Steve Kulikowski twice. On the second interception, Ricky Earl fumbled, and the Timberwolves recovered.

The second chance allowed Southern Michigan to extend its lead to 13-9 on Kyle Galbraith’s 31-yard field goal.

Needing a touchdown to take the lead, Lorain County’s offense was stymied. Four chances from the Timberwovlves’ 10-yard line were missed and forced a turnover on downs.

Even when Lorain County had a final chance to pull the game out, the misfires along with Southern Michigan’s constant pressure on James Mees (North Ridgeville) thwarted the final opportunity. “They applied a decent amount of pressure,” Rice said. “They had a couple of athletes. They focused on their technique and that’s going to happen in this game.

“Eventually you are going to have an athlete competing against an athlete. Some people are going to win and some are going to lose. I think that is what was happening up front today.”

Mees, who was under pressure throughout the game by southern Michigan’s defensive line, was 13-for-39 176 yards. Using his scrambling ability to escape the pressure, Mees recorded 52 yards rushing on 12 carries.

Southern Michigan struck on the game’s opening drive with Will Lyons catching a slant from Steve Kulikowski. Lyons made a Nightmares defender miss and went 65 yards untouched for a 7-0 Timberwolves lead.

Though Lorain County couldn’t capitalize after forcing its first turnover of the game, they managed to slice the deficit late in the first quarter.

Mees threw a long pass that James Washington snagged and scored from 56 yards out. The extra point was missed, and Lorain County trailed 7-6.

Lorain County’s defense continued to force turnovers, but didn’t could only convert on one of them.

A fumble recovery by Eric Jordan, Jr. set the Nightmares up deep in Southern Michigan 11. But they were stifled which led to a Joshua Manning 26yard field goal.

Kulikowski, who threw three interceptions in the first half, mounted a drive in the final minute. Hitting a 14-yard completion to Will Lyons allowed the Timberwolves to take a 10-9 lead at the half after a Kyle Galbraith field goal.