The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
STORMING ON
Avon Lake’s Mason Wheeler carries Oct. 23 during the Shoremen’s 51-7 rout of visiting North Royalton in a Division II playoff game. High school football coverage from a stormy night that affected games across The Morning Journal coverage area begins on
On a night marred by severe weather and postponements across Northeast Ohio, Avon Lake found time between the raindrops to continue its dominance.
The Shoremen jumped ahead by 14 before an hour-long delay due to lightning. The delay didn’t phase them as they defeated visiting North Royalton, 54-7, ending the Bears’ two
AVON LAKE 54, NORTH ROYALTON 7
game postseason win streak in a Division II, Region 6 quarterfinal.
“After they beat Amherst and Olmsted Falls, we heard a lot of talk about how they can beat anyone in the SWC,” Shoremen quarterback Michael Corbo said. “But we know that we’re different from everyone else, and we are for real this year.”
The win gives Avon Lake a
spot in the Division II Region 6 regional semifinal against second-seeded Toledo Central Catholic. The Shoremen will travel to Toledo on Oct. 30 for a showdown with the Fighting Irish.
The Shoremen displayed their typical dominating defense early on, forcing three straight three and outs. It took North Royalton nearly the entire half to cross midfield.
The interior of Avon Lake’s defensive line made North Royalton quarterback Michael Piazza’s first half a nightmare. The
quarterback was sacked several times, twice by Jacob Sintic.
Sintic also played a role in containing Zadan Abuhamdeh, who ran for more than 100 yards in the Bears’ win over Olmsted Falls. A week before that win, Abuhamdeh tallied 255 yards against Amherst.
The Shoremen held him to under 50 yards.
“It starts up front, those guys and their speed and get off and their ability to get into the backfield,” Avon Lake coach Matt
Kostelnik said.
“That tailback is a hell of a tailback, and our goal was to hit him in the backfield and stop him from getting rolling. And we were able to do that up front.”
Not to be outdone Avon Lake’s offense pulled off big play after big play in the first half.
On its first play from scrimmage, the Shoremen offense put points on the board when senior quarterback Michael Corbo hit Jared Krukowski in stride for a 46-yard touchdown.
Corbo added his second touchdown pass minutes later, after a second straight North Royalton three and out, hitting Nathan Cikalo. Seconds later, the game entered a delay.
“I knew we were going to take a shot, I just didn’t know which play we were going to call,” Corbo said of Avon Lake’s first play touchdown. “Once I heard that play call, I knew (Moore) was going to be open and I knew we were going to connect.”
Nearly an hour after Corbo’s toss to Cikalo putting Avon Lake up, 14-0, Gage Duesler ran for a 50 yard score. It put the Shoremen up by three scores, and was followed by a Bears three and out.
Avon Lake added a field goal from Owen Wiley before Duesler found a cutback lane and sprinted 50 yards for his second score on the night.
Duesler’s backfield mate Mason Wheeler put the Shoremen up 40 in the third quarter with a 36-yard run. Jason Krukowski added a 43-yard scamper for a score in the fourth, as did backup quarterback Jeremy Dzik, who scored from 33 yards out.
North Royalton’s lone points came in the fourth against Avon Lake’s backups. Piazza connected with receiver Brandon LoBianco for 20 yards late in the fourth.
The Shoremen now are a win away from a potential rematch with rival Avon in a regional final. The Eagles game against Highland was postponed to Oct. 24.