The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Pioneers hampered by errors in defeat
Elyria rallies with two touchdowns in second quarter, but Raiders prevail
Ever hear of Sisyphus, who in Greek mythology was given a punishment that required him to push a boulder up a hill for all eternity? Well, Sean Arno can relate. “It feels like we’re climbing a hill and every time we get some footing the ground just falls away,” the Elyria football coach said Sept. 29 after watching his team drop its sixth consecutive game, 51-22 at the hands of host Shaker Heights. The Pioneers are now 0-6 overall and 0-3 in Greater Cleveland Conference play, and have been outscored, 268-65.
There were some bright moments for Elyria. Sophomore quarterback Daylan Sharlow entered the game late in the second quarter and promptly threw a 67-yard touchdown pass to fellow sophomore Jesse Stevens, a first for both 10th-graders.
Two plays later, junior linebacker Michael Knapp intercepted a Shaker Heights pass and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown, getting the Pioneers back into the game after seemingly being dead in the water.
“Too many errors. Unforced errors. We gave them three touchdowns off of silly stuff. We dropped two touchdown passes. There’s no reason for all the errors.”
— Elyria coach Sean Arno
Knapp’s pick-six made it 23-14 with 36 seconds remaining in the first half.
“That second quarter was so much fun,” Arno said. “We were actually coaching for a minute. Wow, that was fun. We were excited. It was fun to cheer the kids on and get excited for a minute.”
Because they won the opening coin toss and deferred the choice, the Pioneers would be receiving the second half kickoff and appeared to have momentum on their side. Perhaps they were poised to scare into the Red Raiders, make a game of it and put a who are now 5-1 overall, 3-0 in the GCC, tied for first atop the league standings.
But the momentum lasted only about 10 seconds into the second half, as on the first play from scrimmage Elyria botched an attempted halfback pass on a flea-flicker play, resulting in a fumble and an 11yard loss. The next play never got off the ground because of a false start penalty, and the Pioneers were right back where they had been for most of the season.
Against Shaker Heights they fumbled five times, losing four. They threw one interception and also lost 20 yards when the ball was snapped too low and went right between Sharlow’s legs. There were two punts that were partially blocked and also numerous penalties.
“Too many errors,” Arno said. “Unforced errors. We gave them three touchdowns off of silly stuff. We dropped two touchdown passes. There’s no reason for all the errors.”
Actually, there is. Elyria is a young team and much of what the Pioneers are now experiencing are typical growing pains for a young team.
“Yeah, we’re young,” Arno said. “We have seven sophomores on offense. Of course it’s because of the youth. But it is what it is. They’re young, but they’re our best option right now.”
Sharlow was the third quarterback that Elyria used. His numbers weren’t especially impressive (6 of 12 for 104 yards and one touchdown) but he had two possible scoring passes dropped and he had defenders in his face much of the second half.
“He was the one positive,” Arno said. “He showed he’s going to be fun in the future. He threw hard and he threw on-target.”
The final score for Elyria came on a 7-yard run by sophomore Core’Aun Washington with 27 seconds left.