The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Elyra runs over North Ridgeville
Pioneers establish run game early, finish through the air
Elyria, before the game, was on a 3-game losing streak and 0-3 in the Southwestern Conference.
Both of those were laid to rest after they shut out North Ridgeville 30-0 enroute for their first win since joining the SWC.
“It feels great ” Pioneers’ coach Devlin Culliver said after the win.
“I’m glad we are in this league. It’s a good league; competitive. But I think we can compete in it.”
Elyria (4-3, 1-3 in SWC) controlled the first half. Their defense shut out the Rangers’ offense to lead 22-0.
The Pioneers scored on their first drive after a failed onside kick from North Ridgeville (34, 1-4 in with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Desmond Whitfield to Jaden Gilbert, giving them the 6-0 lead with 5:58 left to go in the first quarter.
The play was Gilbert’s first touchdown reception of the season.
The Pioneers offense established their running game, rushing for 174 yards.
This opened up their passing for other players to shine.
Witfield finished with 112 passing yards and two touchdowns. The second was a 57-yard connection to wide receiver Andrew Palos with 47 second left in the half.
“It’s always great to be able to run the ball and pass,” Pioneers’ wide receiver Andew Palos said.
“If the run game gets their stuff up, it’s nice to have that throwing option available. So, I think that’s great to do both and it’s a good job out of the quarterback to get the ball out there.”
Palos caught 4 passes for 116 yards and one touchdown
Elyria’s defense forced a Rangers’ punt early in the second quarter, which would be blocked by lineman Anthony Tipton deep in North Ridgeville’s red zone. Pioneers’ running back Lance Glover scored on a 7-yard touchdown on their first play from scrimmage to lead 14-0.
“That gave our kids a boost of confidence,” Pioneers’ coach Devlin Culliver said.
“I tell our kids all the time. If you get a punt blocked in the game, that’s usually bad news. I don’t care if it’s in the NFL… I knew that once we got that punt block and we score here, that’s going to put more pressure on (North) Ridgeville to respond to it.”
The Rangers right after, moved the ball down the field, they had a chance to cut the Pioneers lead on a fourth and goal, but the Elyria defense tackled running back Dom Farago in the backfield to turn the ball over on downs.
In the third quarter, Jasir Lucky broke off an 81yard rushing touchdown to make the score 30-0 and start the running clock.
“I think we moved the ball pretty well, but we made too many mistakes in the red zone,” Rangers coach Bryan Morgan said.
“I think our defense was able to get some stops, especially early, but the blocked punt in the first half, the score right before halftime sort of killed us. But, if we put the ball into the endzone on our first red zone trip, it’s a different game.”
Next week, North Ridgeville will take on their rivals Midview on the road, which can potentially have a major effect on one of the teams securing a spot in the Division II, Region 6 playoff bracket.
Elyria will host Avon Lake next week.