by Story by Jake Zappia
Avon Lake, OH – On a beautiful Friday night backed by a packed USA-themed student section, Avon Lake (2-0) picked up right where they left off in week 1. The Bees of Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School (0-2) had no answer for Shoremen Senior Quarterback Jeremy Dzik.
Dzik, his lead target Matthew Stuewe, and running back Wade Nelson could not be denied all night. On top of the stellar offense, the ALHS defense led by Derek McCrum and Carter Sergent showed out, holding the Bees to zero first half points
In the first quarter the Shoremen jumped out to a huge 21-0 lead, scoring on all three of their drives. Meanwhile, the Bees could not get anything going on offense, as the Shoremen defense held them to quick three and outs on two of their first 3 drives.
The Shoremen opened up the scoring on a Dzik 7-yard touchdown pass to Derek McCrum, on a huge fourth down conversion. The ensuing Bees drive opened up with a big kick return by senior Logan Doskocil, who seemed to do everything for the Bees tonight. Regardless of the nice return, any momentum was stopped as McCrum made another big play, getting a sack on third down.
Opening up drive number two, Dzik found Isaac Richardson for a 17-yard gain. Later in the drive, Avon Lake made the lead 14-0 on a 4-yard touchdown run by Jason Krukowski. After another Brecksville 3 and out, Dzik opened up the third drive with a big 36-yard completion to Steuwe. The Shoremen seemingly never looked back, as Wade Nelson ended the drive with a 6-yard touchdown run to break the game open at 21-0.
Opening the second quarter, the Shoremen defensive line forced a fumble on the opposing 15-yard line. The ensuing play, Wade Nelson banged in his second touchdown of the night with a 15-yard run.
Later in the quarter, the Bee’s defense was able to force and recover a fumble with 5:27 left in the half but were not able to cash in on offense. After a missed 41-yard field goal as time expired in the first half, Avon Lake went into the locker room up 28-0.
Opening the second half, Avon Lake’s big trio was back right where they left off. Dzik connected with Stuewe again, this time on a massive 56-yard third down conversion. After a 15-yard QB keeper, Wade Nelson capped off the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run.
Doskocil had another big return to open up the second half of offense for the Bees, which gave them field positioning at their own 41. Carter Sargent proceeded to lay the boom on Bee’s quarterback Cory Spirakus, which eventually led to another three and out.
At the start of the fourth quarter, the Bees’ lone big play of the game came from senior running back Evan Shaheen, which was an 11-yard run on third and long. Later in the drive, the Bee’s were able to cause havoc on a fourth down punt where the ball was fumbled into the Avon Lake endzone but were unable to recover for a touchdown.
Sophomore QB Alex Affolter took over for Junior Kevin Baker who was in prior, but was neither were able to generate anything on offense. The drive led by Affolter with 4 minutes left ended with a big 10-yard sack by Bee’s sophomore Evan Rizzo, who caused problems on the defensive line all night.
At the end of the night, Avon Lake’s tremendous defense held the Bee’s to just 1 completed pass. The final score was 35-0 as the Shoremen picked up their second win of the season, staying undefeated. Next week, they play St. John the Baptist (NY) at home, while winless BBHHS plays Strongsville at home.
The players of the game were the unstoppable trio of Jeremy Dzik, Matthew Stuewe, and Wade Nelson. Dzik’s night ended with 206 passing yards, 30 rushing yards, and 1 TD. Stuewe was the leading receiver with 4 catches for 112 yards, and Nelson led the ground game with 47 yards on 8 touches with 3 touchdowns.
