Elyria Catholic at Normandy

What: Great Lakes Conference game When: 7 p.m., Oct. 18 Where: Byers Field, 7600 Day Drive, Parma Records: Elyria Catholic 6-2 (3-1 GLC), Normandy 3-5 (1-4 GLC) Last meeting: 2017 — 418, Elyria Catholic The way we see it: Elyria Catholic — Paul Barney, Jon Behm, Chris Coon, Robert Fenbers, Dan Gilles, Gridiron Guru, Matt Lofgren, Marissa McNees, Fuad Shalhout; Normandy — None; Consensus — Elyria Catholic, 9-0 For the record: No one around Elyria Catholic will want to hear it, but this is a classic trap game. The Panthers are coming off a signature victory over Bay that not only put Elyria Catholic back in contention for a share of the Great Lakes Conference title, but also propelled the Panthers right back into the thick of the playoff race in Division V, Region 18. In other words, Elyria Catholic is flying pretty high right now, and is getting ready to take on a team that it has not lost to since the formation of the GLC in 2015. But is it really that simple? Of course not. The Invaders are a better team than their 3-5 record indicates, as evidenced by Normandy’s most recent game, a 16-14 loss to playoff-contending Rocky River. They are a team that will beat you if you let them hang around. Does that mean that the Panthers can’t run away with a victory? Of course not. What it means is that Elyria Catholic can’t let Normandy linger, otherwise a loss can happen. Now that the doom and gloom has been established, how about some positives? The Panthers may have the best offense in the Great Lakes Conference this year. If it isn’t the best outright offense, Elyria Catholic has a strong argument to make that it is the most well-rounded. Consider early in the season when the Panthers were winning games based on the arm of quarterback Cameron Engrish (108-for-173, 1,662 yards, 20 touchdowns), then consider that the Panthers topped Bay largely on the legs of running back Leighton Banjoff’s 244yard, three-touchdown performance. The Panthers offense is going to be a hard one to out-gun, that’s for sure. However, the offensive success may conceal just how good the defense has been, too. Elyria Catholic is allowing an average of 18.9 points per game, a number that plummets to 11.8 in victories. The defense has been just as stellar as the offense this season, and don’t expect that to change simply because the Panthers are playing on a Thursday.