The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
SWC kicks off with rivals Avon-Avon Lake
Avon-Avon Lake highlights Week 4; Elyria off to best start since 2015
Week 4 of 2021 high school football opens Southwestern Conference play and its biggest rivalry.
Week 4 of the 2021 high school football season brings the beginning of Southwestern Conference play. And with the return of the SWC — a new-look conference this year with North Olmsted and Westlake being replaced by Elyria — comes the conference’s biggest rivalry.
The recent history of the Avon and Avon Lake rivalry is well-documented. The Eagles and Shoremen have played twice each of the last two years — both in the regular season and the Division II playoffs.
Avon has taken the last four matchups, including a pair of regional title game victories at the expense of its rival.
The 2021 iteration of the game brings opportunities for a new crop of talent to make their mark and leave a lasting legacy in the history of this rivalry.
A pair of junior quarterbacks will be at the forefront this time with Sam DeTillio and Jeremy Dzik taking center stage.
DeTiillio is coming off the best game of his young career as the Eagles’ starter. The junior threw for four touchdowns in Avon’s Week 3 dismantling of Glenville — all in the first half — and added another on the ground.
His counterpart, Dzik, has the Shoremen at 3-0 after their nonconference schedule. The firstyear starter has developed a rapport with his No. 1 receiver Matthew Stuewe that has blossomed into one of the best in the area.
Through the first two games of the season, Dzik and Stuewe connected 18 times for three of Dzik’s five touchdown passes.
That duo will be tested in Week 4 as they face an experienced and fast Avon defense that shut out Brunswick in Week 1 and played Medina quarterback Drew Allar tough in a Week 2 defeat.
The same goes for Avon’s offense, which has gone through some growing pains over the first three weeks of the season. The Eagles struggled on offense against Medina, falling short on key drives. But after last week’s win over Glenville, they’ve seemingly figured things out.
That’s going to be the storyline to watch for in this one.
Can the Avon offense keep up the momentum they gained from Week 3? Or will the Avon Lake defense be able to contain DeTillio, Tim Conwell and Jakorian Caffey — who torched the Tarblooders in Week 3.
Phoenix rises
For the first time since Sept. 13, 2019, the Oberlin Phoenix enjoyed a victory Saturday.
After a winless 2020 season that saw them play at Elyria’s Ely Stadium, Oberlin defeated Brooklyn, 2120, in Week 3 moving to 1-2 on the year.
“I thought the kids would be just ecstatic on the bus ride home. But they were whipped,” Oberlin head coach Mike Akers told The Morning Journal on Sept. 5. “They were laying in the seats smiling, but you could just tell they were just so happy.”
Quarterback Andre Yarber’s 6-yard score with six minutes left proved to be the difference for the Phoenix.
Yarber was a Division VI All-Ohio third team selection in 2020 as a linebacker. He is in his third season as the starting quarterback for Akers.
“Andre and Dayvion (Witherspoon), they carried us. They put the team on their backs and carried us,” Akers said.
Yarber finished the game with 152 yards on the ground and 80 through the air.
Minutes after Yarber’s score, Oberlin’s defense stepped up on fourth down to stop the Hurricanes with just over a minute and a half left to secure the win.
On fourth down, Brooklyn inserted its backup quarterback at running back and ran a throwback pass to the starting quarterback. Oberlin’s assistants saw it coming, however, and Isaiah Jones-Smith played tight coverage to force an incompletion.
“Our assistant coaches did a fabulous job,” Akers said. “They noticed it and started screaming that it was going to be a quarterback throwback. Our kids picked it up and Isaiah
picked him up coming out of the backfield and he wasn’t open.”
Witherspoon ran for a pair of scores in the win, including the first touchdown of the game from five yards out in the second quarter.
Oberlin opens its Lorain County League schedule in Week 4 as it travels to take on defending league champ Keystone.
Elyria unbeaten
It’s been a long time since the Elyria football team started a season 3-0 — six years to be exact.
Now in year three of head coach Devlin Culliver’s tenure, the Pioneers are riding high on a three-game winning streak to open the season after shutting out rival Lorain in Week 3.
In the six years since that 2015 team went 6-5 and lost in the opening round of the OHSAA playoffs to Olentangy, Elyria has won eight games. That includes two one-win seasons and a winless campaign in 2018
With Week 4 on deck, Elyria faces an entirely new challenge as it begins its first season in the Southwestern Conference.
“I’m happy about that,” Culliver said of heading into SWC play unbeaten. “I’m ready to get into some league play and see how we fare over in the SWC. We’re going to take a shot at trying to win.”
The Pioneers open with Berea-Midpark, a team they faced in 2020, taking a 5148 loss. After their opener, Elyria will be tested with back-to-back games against conference favorite Avon and the always tough Olmsted Falls.
Elyria will look to its defense, which has allowed 21 points through three games, to lead the way. Safety Jaylen Brown and linebacker Isaiah Johnson have been the difference-makers for the Pioneers through the
opening stretch of the season.
Brown has recorded an interception in all three Elyria wins, while Johnson is the Pioneers’ leading tackler from his linebacker spot.
Elyria’s offense has hit its stride as well finding explosive plays from receiver Andrew Palos in two of its three wins to open the season. Continued strong play from that unit will be key for the Pioneers as they enter their SWC schedule.
They have the speed to compete with the big dogs in the conference. They just need more consistency on offense.
Top performers
Columbia running back Marco Cirigliano continued his hot start to the 2021 season with another multitouchdown performance in Week 3.
After rushing for more than 300 yards and five scores in his first varsity start against Independence, Cirigliano torched Columbiana for 199 yards and three scores in Week 3.
Three games into his first season as the Raiders’ starting running back, Cirigliano has rushed for 564 yards and eight touchdowns. The sophomore has Columbia riding high at 3-0 as it heads into the Lorain County League schedule.
• Bay running back Pawie Ault helped move the Rockets to 2-1 with a win over University School in Week
3. Ault turned 20 carries into 128 yards and a pair of scores as Bay topped the Preppers, 21-13.
• Dom Farago and the North Ridgeville football team are 2-1 after a dominant win over Normandy in Week 3. Led by Farago’s 140 yards and two scores on 13 carries, the Rangers defeated the Invaders, 580, and have now won backto-back games for the first
time since they beat Westlake and Normandy in consecutive games last season.
• Avon’s young starting quarterback Sam DeTillio helped the Eagles bounce back from a Week 2 loss with five total touchdowns in the first half of a 55-18 win over Glenville. DeTillio threw three of his scores to Tim Conwell.
• Midview nearly upset Elyria Catholic in a non-conference meeting as quarterback Marc Reed — filling in for the injured Ethan Surdock — spread the ball around to his explosive receivers. Reed finished with 274 yards and three scores, with receivers Bryce Newton and Connor Awad both catching nine passes. Newton totaled 120 yards and a score while Awad also scored with 136 yards receiving.
• Also making an impact for the Middies was Mason Kucera, who scored twice including a 52-yard punt return touchdown. Kucera totaled over 200 all-purpose yards.
• Elyria Catholic received another strong performance from Levi Ellis in the win over Midview. A week after running for over 200-yards in a 68-point performance from the Panthers offense, Ellis added 137 yards to his season total, including a pair of scores.
• Elyria Catholic linebacker Tony Grasso had an interception return for a touchdown for the second week in a row, helping the Panthers stave off Midview.
• Elyria safety Jaylen Brown collected his third interception in as many games in a 37-0 win over Lorain. Brown took the pass 32-yards into the endzone.
• Amherst running back Torre Weatherspoon again ran for over 100-yards in a Comets loss. Weatherspoon ran for 172 yards against North Olmsted, including two for touchdowns.