by By Dennis Reilly on via Eastlake North
EASTLAKE—North used its stout defense and road-grading offense to grind out a 19-7 win over visiting North Olmsted on Friday.
The Rangers led just 7-6 at halftime but outscored the Eagles, 10-0, in the second half.
“That was huge,” North coach Shawn Dodd said of the second-half dominance. “That’s what we hope to do to teams in the second half, to wear them down. With our size and our numbers–we don’t have anyone going both ways and that’s a big benefit for us, especially early on in the season.
Guys aren’t yet in game shape and the weather is still a little bit warm, so we think that goes to our advantage. If we can keep it tight in the first half, I think we have a shot in the second half.”
The Eagles possessed the football just three times in the second half. Their first two drives resulted in back-to-back three-and-outs with a total of just two yards gained.
North Olmsted did put together a 14-play, 59-yard drive in the fourth quarter but North’s defense held on fourth down at their own six-yard line with 7:02 left in the game to seal the win.
“That was tremendous,” Dodd said of the goal-line stand. “You talk about sweating bullets; you get a little nervous in that situation.
They converted on fourth in the first half but our defense stepped up this time. Credit to our defensive coordinator and the guys on the defensive side of the ball. That was huge.”
The Rangers broke a scoreless tie when Chris Molica ran for a five-yard touchdown and Ryan Volk added the extra point with 3:55 left in the half.
Molica stepped in at quarterback due to an injury to starter Dylan Froelich. He ran for 66 yards on 14 carries.
“He was outstanding,” Dodd said. “He did everything we asked him to do. We told him we’d love for him to throw the ball a little bit and take some shots. In the second half, it felt like we were wearing them down a little bit and we wanted to choke the clock.
There were some things in the passing game we probably could have taken advantage of but I just felt it was better to put it on those big guys up front and put it in the hands of our backs. I thought Molica did a tremendous job not just managing the game but making some plays.”
The Eagles returned the ensuing kickoff to the 35 but a facemask penalty advanced the football to midfield. Seven players later, North Olmsted quarterback Anthony Guercio scrambled on fourth down and found Samuel Roach in the end zone for a 12-yard score to cut North’s lead to 7-6.
“I thought defensively they played lights out,” Dodd said of the Rangers. “A miscue on that kickoff put us in bad position with the penalty on top of it.
That put our defense in a bind and we still got them to fourth down. Credit to North Olmsted, they were able to convert it and get the touchdown before the half. That concerned me a little bit.”
North’s defense opened the second half with a quick three-and-out and the Rangers offense then went to work.
Thomas Walker ran for 28 of his 101 yards on North’s first drive of the second half. That led to a Volk 27-yard field goal that extended North’s lead to 10-6.
Another defensive three-and-out set up the Ranger offense at its own 31.
Walker again carried the load on the next drive that ended with his two-yard touchdown run with 10:41 left to play.
North Olmsted drove into North territory but came up empty on fourth down and after a North punt, the Eagles were picked off by Mo Morgan to end the game.
“In the second half, I thought we responded really well,” Dodd said. “I don’t think we had a penalty. I was glad to see the kids settle in. We’ve got a lot of new full-time starters in a new school, a new weight room. They haven’t even started school yet so they were jumping out of their pants. I should have probably calmed them down a little bit more but they did a great job in the second half.”
James Walker added 93 yards on 15 carries for the Rangers and Brandon Dolan carried eight times for 58 yards.
Nathan Stuck led the Ranger defense with five tackles. Donyea Ward recorded a sack.
North travels to Revere in Week 2.
