North Ridgeville shows mettle against Avon

Coach wants to finish strong, led by seniors Williams, Malone and Kerr

Records can be deceiving. Just ask Avon. When the Eagles battled with North Ridgeville in Week 8, it should have been a blowout — at least on paper.

Avon was 7-0, the No. 1 D-II team in the AP Poll and leading the Southwestern Conference race.

North Ridgeville was 1-6, at the bottom of the Southwestern Conference and virtually eliminated from the playoffs.

Yet, with minutes to go in the game, the Rangers led the Eagles by a point.

Ultimately, Avon would emerge victorious, 19-14, but the fact remained: Don’t sleep on North Ridgeville.

“There’s no quit with this team,” North Ridgeville coach Luke Durbin said. “They’re committed and give it their all. This team won’t give up and they play to the last play.”

At 1-7, the season has admittedly not gone the way Durbin would have liked, but that does not mean it is a season without impact.

“We’ve played in some really tough games,” Durbin said. “We lose by a field goal to North Royalton. We have Olmsted Falls on the ropes. We took Avon to the end. If those games swing in our favor, we’re 4-4 and probably right in the hunt for the playoffs.

“But that’s on us. We didn’t close those games out. But I wouldn’t be surprised if those teams are also sitting there knowing that it could have been a completely different story.”

Durbin also believes that the Rangers’ strong showing against some top teams has put some teams on notice for next year.

“We’ve battled some injuries this year,” Durbin said. “I’d say that early on we probably had too many guys playing both ways. We’ve been using a lot of younger guys recently.

“But that’s not a bad thing. Getting young players experience is beneficial for the future of North Ridgeville football.”

That’ not to say Durbin is looking past the final two games this season. It’s the opposite. “We want to finish 3-7,” Durbin said. “Yeah, that might not be the best record, but finishing 3-1 in the final four weeks and knowing that the one loss was in the final minutes against one of the top teams in the state, it’s something these guys can hang their hats on.

“We have a great group of seniors. Guys like Shomari Williams, Jamir Malone and Cannon Kerr and a bunch of others. They’re setting the groundwork for a great future. I want us to

finish strong so that those guys can reflect on the end of their senior year and know that they set the future for success.”

Bay.

NICHOLAS PFEIFER — THE MORNING JOURNAL North Ridgeville quarterback Matt Steinmetz drops back and delivers a completion downfield against Avon on Oct. 13.