by ELYRIA, Ohio – It was the Amherst Comets defeating the Elyria Pioneers 47-16 Friday night at Ely Stadium.
First Half:
On the first Amherst drive, quarterback Cy Christensen found wide receiver David Duziak twice through the air, first for 26 yards, then 12 yards. After the second reception, however, Duziak fumbled the ball. The ball found the arms of Elyria’s Christian Rodgers, who ran the fumble back 80 yards for a touchdown to give the Pioneers an early 6-0 lead.
On the next Amherst possession, Christensen showed his capabilities as a dual-threat quarterback, running the ball twice for a combined 14 yards before he found wide receiver Peyton Liebacher for a 46-yard pitch and catch. On the next play, Christensen ran the ball from two yards out, and with a good extra point attempt, Amherst led 7-6.
On the first play of the next possession for Elyria, quarterback Antonio Pride found wide receiver A’sa Brown for 15 yards. A 10-yard Amherst penalty netted the Pioneers 25 total yards on the play. A few plays later, Pride found wide receiver Jacory Bradley for a 25-yard reception, which assisted in setting up a touchdown pass from Pride to wide receiver Christian Rodgers from 13 yards out for the score. Elyria was back in the lead at 13-7.
A few drives later, Christensen once again showed off both his running and throwing capabilities, finding wide receiver Nick Wilkinson for a 26-yard pass. Christensen then ran the ball 3 times, including a 13-yard touchdown for Amherst, taking the lead 14-13.
On the first play of the next Elyria drive, defensive end Patrick Fellenstein intercepted Elyria’s quarterback Antonio Pride, setting up Amherst with great field position. A few plays later, Christenson found wide receiver Peyton Leibacher again for a 17-yard touchdown pass to extend the Amherst led to 21-13.
In the second quarter, following an injury to Elyria’s quarterback, backup Omari Ford was forced into the game. His first and only pass, unfortunately, found Amherst linebacker Tyler Denn, who returned the pass 33 yards for a defensive score, extending the Amherst lead to 28-13.
On the next Elyria drive, starting quarterback Antonio Pride re-entered the game. On his second pass back in the game, he found an Amherst Comet in linebacker Maeson Morales, who returned the interception 43 yards for another Amherst defensive score, extending the Amherst lead even further to 35-13.
Elyria regained possession following their latest turnover and set up kicker Lex Brunner for a 40-yard field goal, which hit the crossbar and then went through, cutting into Amherst’s lead to 35-16, the score at halftime.
Second Half:
Following an Elyria punt to open the second half, Christensen found a rhythm in the passing game. He went 5 for 5 with 75 yards, including a 38-yard pass to wide receiver David Duziak and a 13-yard touchdown pass to running back Peyton Gilles to extend the Amherst lead to 41-16.
Following another interception by Amhert’s Maeson Morales, Christensen ran in for a 3-yard touchdown, his third on the ground and fifth touchdown total on the day. This score gave Amherst a 47-16 lead, which ultimately determined the game’s final score.
With the win, Amherst improves to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the Southwestern Conference. The Comets head home to prepare for a huge Southwestern Conference game next week versus Avon.
With the loss, Elyria falls to 0-7 overall and 0-4 in the Southwestern Conference. They will look to secure their first win of the season next week when they travel to play their rival Midview on the road.
Player of the Game – Amherst Comets: Quarterback Cy Christensen, who was 11 for 18 for 237 yards with 2 passing touchdowns. He also ran the ball 13 times for 40 yards and 3 rushing touchdowns.
