The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Senior’s big game propels Shoremen
Avon Lake’s Gage Duesler couldn’t be stopped.
The senior running back racked up 204 yards rushing and all three of the Shoremen’s touchdowns in their 21-7 win over previously undefeated Amherst on Sept. 18.
With the win, Avon Lake made a statement and solidified itself as one of the top teams in the Southwestern Conference.
“He played great,” Avon Lake coach Matt Kostelnik said after the game. “That’s what we need. That’s what he’s there to do. The offensive line did fantastic blocking up front, and he was making the right cuts and reads. Great performance.”
This was the second time in Duesler’s career that he rushed for 200-plus yards in a game. Two of the senior’s touchdowns came from 20-plus yards out.
“When we can keep running those same plays over and over and the boys up front are leading the way for me and creating holes like that to allow me to get that yardage and those touchdowns, it’s all credit to those boys up front,” Duesler said after the game.
“I give them more of the credit than I do myself tonight.”
Duesler said that he got into a rhythm as the game went along and could tell that the Amherst defense was wearing down.
“I just get hungrier and hungrier,” Duesler said. “As we get closer and closer to that end zone, I just want to keep pounding the rock until I can reach that end zone.”
This was a big win for Avon Lake as it leapfrogged Amherst in the conference standings. After falling to rival Avon in Week 1, the Shoremen have ripped off three straight wins over Berea-Midpark, Midview and the Comets.
Amherst has another tough game on tap in Week 5 as the Comets hit the road and travel to Olmsted Falls. The Bulldogs are 3-1 and came close to knocking off Avon in a Week 2, 35-32, loss to the Eagles.
LC8 showdown
Two undefeated Lorain County League teams are on a collision course.
Firelands and Keystone are set to collide in Week 5 on Sept. 25 at Keystone High School.
Firelands is coming off of a 55-0 rout of Clearview, while Keystone pulled away from Brookside to grab a 28-13 win in Week 4.
First place in the Lorain County League is on the line with the winner putting itself in the driver’s seat for the conference title.
“Even if we’re not 4-0, it’s always a fun game,” Keystone coach Don Griswold said. “We have a lot of friends over there and vice versa. This is an old rivalry game. The Keystone vs. Firelands game goes back decades.”
Firelands boasts a stout defense with head coach Ryan O’Rourke’s defensive unit posting three shutout wins over Columbia, Brookside and Clearview, while also surrendering three points in its game against Black River.
On offense, Falcons quarterback Kyle Ransom and running back Carter Janicek bring a potent onetwo punch to the team’s offensive attack.
Keystone brings a highpowered offense to the matchup. Quarterback Konner Rodick is surrounded by weapons in running back Gideon Lampron and receiver Ryne Shackelford. Lampron rushed for over 200 yards in the Wildcats’ first two games and ran for over 140 yards in each of the past two contests. On the other side of the ball, Lampron is also a standout linebacker on defense.
“We’re both 4-0 and it seems to be a classic game of strength against strength where they are playing great defense and we are playing good offense,” Griswold said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun. Two 4-0 teams in Lorain County who are very familiar with one another with friends on both sides. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
This matchup should be a good one between two quality teams with conference title hopes.
Raiders getting healthy
The Columbia Raiders have had to navigate through some early season adversity.
Starting quarterback Andrew Champagne left the Raiders’ Week 1 game with an injury and missed the team’s next two games, while starting running back Joe Governale wasn’t available to play in Week 3.
After receiving bad news for three straight weeks, Columbia finally received some good news in Week 4.
Both players were able to play and helped lead the Raiders to a 30-12 home win over the Wellington Dukes on Sept. 18. After starting the season 0-2, Columbia has bounced back and evened its record at 2-2. The Raiders have outscored their last two opponents, 73-18.
With Champagne and Governale out, the Raiders had a pair of players step up in their absence. Backup quarterback and sophomore Carter Kalamasz filled in for Champagne in
Weeks 1 through 3, and Lucas McKee converted from center to running back for the team’s Week 3 matchup with Oberlin.
The pair impressed with Kalamasz nearly setting a school passing record with 404 yards passing and three touchdowns in a Week 2 loss to Keystone and McKee rushing for 184 yards and three TDs in a Week 3 win over Oberlin.
Columbia coach Jason Ward is pleased with the depth that his team now has at both quarterback and running back.
“We’ve got multiple guys that can come in and make plays and help us move the football,” Ward said. “At quarterback, its definitely unprecedented for our program to have two varsity ready guys that we can count on no matter what. Their skill sets are very similar.”
With injuries occurring at any time, the depth that the Raiders have at those two positions will be key going forward.
“It’s nice because they are both still kind of beat up so we’re playing whoever is the healthier quarterback at this point,” Ward said. “We can use the other one in an emergency and that’s something that not a lot of teams have.
“At running back, getting Joe (Governale) back is huge but knowing that Joe’s carries aren’t going to get up into the 30s is really nice. Now we know Lucas (McKee) can help rest Joe.”