Lake Erie blitzed in season opener

Lake Erie College coach Jerry Hazzard estimates true freshmen constitute 70 percent of the Storm’s football roster.

When the Storm opened the 2018 season against Edinboro on Sept. 1, its youth showed.

The Fighting Scots outgained Lake Erie, 559104, forced six turnovers and shut out the Storm, 69-0.

Hazzard’s postgame message to his team centered on how seemingly insignificant miscues accumulate into a blowout loss.

“The game got away from us at the end,” Hazzard said. “But when the game was in contest, we fumbled the ball. We turned inside when we’re supposed to turn outside. We dropped the ball when we were wide open. We blew a couple coverages.”

Edinboro quarterback Andrew Tomko completed 14 of 32 passes for 311 yards and three touchdowns. He added a touchdown and 40 yards on the ground. Walter Fletcher carried 23 times for 110 yards and two scores.

Lake Erie’s Javarian Smith went 15-for-32 passing for 93 yards. Nate Dantley caught four passes for 53 yards.

Edinboro received the opening kick and drove into the red zone, where Thomas Covington intercepted Tomko at the 3 to halt the Fighting Scots’ drive. The Storm was forced into a three-andout and Edinboro used six plays to score first on Fletcher’s 13-yard carry.

Tomko found Ta’Nauz Gregory for a 60-yard touchdown on the Fighting Scots’ next drive to give Edinboro a 14-0 lead after a quarter.

The Fighting Scots drove to the two at the end of the quarter. Lake Erie opened the second with an interception that was called back by a penalty. Fletcher scored from the 2 on the next play.

Tomko connected with Gregory for another long touchdown, a 57-yard score with 11:17 left to play in the first half. Kyle Galyk put Edinboro ahead, 35-0, with a 13yard carry.

The Storm drove to Edinboro’s 3-yard line before half. Two untimed downs gave Lake Erie three chances to score headed into half. The Storm ended the half with a lost fumble on a rush up the middle.

Tomko scrambled for a 32-yard touchdown with 2:32 left in the third before the Fighting Scots turned two Lake Erie turnovers into a 56-0 lead headed to the fourth.

Jarrod Kellar replaced Tomko at quarterback to begin the fourth. His eight-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Carrington stretched Edinboro’s lead to 63-0 early in the final period. Cardinal alumnus Kyle Simms tacked on the game’s final score in the waning minutes of the quarter with a two-yard score.