The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
ON THE PROWL
Panthers score 41 points in second half after trailing 35-27 at halftime
Elyria Catholic takes the field for its Week 2 game against Sandusky Perkins on Aug. 27 The Panthers won a wild one, 68-42. High school football coverage begins on
The Elyria Catholic Panthers exploded for 41 secondhalf point after giving up 35 in the second quarter and outlasted Perkins 68-42 on a hot and muggy Aug. 27th night at the newly renamed Dan Reaser Stadium.
Elyria Catholic trailed 35-27 at the half.
But on the first play of the third quarter senior linebacker returned a pick-six 25 yards for a score and Levi Ellis ran in the two-point conversion to tie the game and jump-start the comeback.
The Panthers’ defense would cause a total of five turnovers in the second half. One of those was another interception return for a touchdown by Thomas Niederest. They scored two other touchdowns off turnovers, too.
Senior fullback/linebacker Levi Ellis was all over the field for the Panthers. He rushed for 199 yards and three touchdowns, scoring on runs of 5, 71 and 30 yards.
Tavion Thomas, a junior running back/linebacker, rushed for 76 yards and a score as well.
“Levi Ellis and Tavion Thomas, you can’t say enough about them,” said Elyria Catholic coach Bryan Fox, who watched his team improve to 1-1 on the season.
Grasso’s pick six to start the second half was clearly the play of the game. Fox called it “unbelievable.”
“I liked to think we were going to come out and play better defense in the second half. The momentum swing and the avalanche that came through and that hit everybody…it really grabbed the momentum,” Fox said.
Junior quarterback Brady Cook was impressive. He finished the night with 216 yards passing and threw for three scores. His favorite target was Colin Ginley who caught seven balls for 100 yards and scored catches of 30 and 21 yards.
Perkins had its share of playmakers on the night.
Colin Nemitz, a 5-foot-8, 165-pound speedster caught five passes for 140 yards including a 55-yard touchdown. He also added an 87yard kick-off return.
Jayden Rowe, a 6-4 receiver, finished with 124 yards receiving on eight catchers including a fiveyard touchdown catch.
The victory was a sweet bounce-back for Elyria Catholic, which blew a 15-0 lead in a 28-15 loss to Elyria in week one of the season.
The game was the first played on the new turf field, which was built with a $400,000 donation by the Reaser family.
Danny Reaser, a 2011 graduate of Elyria Catholic, who was an all-state quarterback his senior year, was part of the ceremony.
“It’s amazing. It’s such a great thing for the school. The students are so excited about it. The players will benefit and it will bring so much more attention to the school,” said Reaser.
Performances like the win over Perkins will bring a lot of attention to the Panthers, too.
What’s next: Elyria Catholic travels to Midview on Sept. 4.