The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Euclid wins after second half stall dooms Titans
Euclid ran off the last 21 points of the game to break a 21-21 third-quarter tie and prevail, 42-21.
After a mistake and penalty-plagued first half that still found Euclid tied with visiting Lorain, 14-14, the Panthers got it together and dominated the second half on their way to a 4221 victory in a key early-season non-conference showdown.
The Panthers committed 10 penalties in the first half, which helped blunt momentum and keep the hosts from creating any separation on the scoreboard. Euclid couldn’t capitalize on an early turnover when the Titans turned the ball over at their 36. Penalties pushed the Panthers backward and Lorain forced a punt.
Another golden opportu-
was missed when Euclid was unable to punch in a score from the Lorain 1 with 11 seconds left in the first half.
Nevertheless, Euclid junior quarterback Dion Valentine was outstanding, finding senior receiver Damien Brown twice for first-half touchdowns. Valentine accounted for two touchdowns in the second half, first connecting on a short scoring pass to Dre’Von Lindsay, then running one in himself from the Lorain 2.
Euclid piled up 495 yards of offense, 263 through the air and 232 on the ground. Junior running Jaabir Mujihad filled in admirably for a banged-up Brandon Wright, pounding out 143 yards on 16 carries with a 17-yard touchdown run in the second half.
The Euclid offense was only half of the story, though. The Panther defense pinned its ears back and attacked Lorain and its young offensive line all night. The Panthers sacked Lorain quarterback Jordan Jackson nine times and dropped Titan receivers for losses on bubble screens five times. Euclid held Lorain to -16 yards on the ground and 238 yards.
“(Our pass rush) was a big difference, and we
threw the ball well,” said Euclid coach Jeff Rotsky. “I think we did a lot of positive things. We got after the quarterback, who is a great athlete just like Glenville’s quarterback was. We started to run the ball in the second half and wear them down. I told the kids for 48 minutes, it’s got to be a cumulative effect.”
The Panthers got on the board first when Valentine capped off the Panthers’ 62-yard opening drive with a 12-yard scoring pass to Brown. Lorain matched Euclid later in the first quarter with a big scoring pass of its own, as Jackson connected with Tyshawn Lighty along the sideline and Lighty took it the rest of the way to complete a 69-yard scoring play.
The Valentine-to-Brown connection clicked again, this time for a 50-yard score to start the second quarter, but Lorain tied it, 14-14, when Jackson finished a 60-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown run.
Mujihad’s third-quarter touchdown came two plays after an interception by Jaylen Jacobs gave Euclid the ball at the Lorain 30. Daylin Dower responded with an 11-yard scoring run for Lorain with 8:37 left in the third quarter, but it was all Euclid after that. Lorain crossed midfield only once more and was halted at the Euclid 43.