by BEREA, OH – An incredible two-minute drive at the end of the game by the returning Dawson TenBrink helped propel the Avon Lake Shoremen to a thrilling 31-27 victory over Berea-Midpark on Titan senior night. The Shoremen have been banged up all year but showed tonight how dangerous they can be when healthy!
Three straight productive runs by Dawson TenBrink got the Shoremen moving on their opening drive. He mixed in some nice passes to move the chains as well and they moved the ball inside the Titan 20 in no time. Eventually they attempted a 34-yard field goal from Kyle Anderson that was long and true for a 3-0 Shoremen lead to start the game.
A rough kickoff return by Andre Alexander forced the Titans to start their opening drive on their own 8-yard line. Moments later Andre Alexander made everyone forget about the kickoff return quickly with one of the greatest plays I have ever seen in High School football history.
After a 30-yard pass to Alexander was underthrown and picked off, within seconds Andre Alexander ripped the ball away from the Shoremen defender and stormed down the field to score in one of the craziest things you will ever see. Someone needs to send that play to ESPN because it is a TOP TEN if I’ve ever seen one. The senior made a memory on senior night!
The next Shoremen drive led to a punt that ended up forcing the Titans to start on their own one-yard line. Papushak threw across his body while being rushed in the endzone and was picked off by Mitchell Streeter. This handed the ball back to Avon Lake on the Titan 37-yard line. The Shoremen eventually turned it over on downs.
A 50-yard punt return by Nick Reece a few possessions later, handed the Titans the ball on the Shoremen 24-yard line to start their drive. It took exactly one play for Papushak to find a streaking Alexander for a 24-yard touchdown catch and pass. This extended the Titan lead to 14-3 with 5:12 to play in the opening half.
The tough luck for the Shoremen continued as they fumbled the ball on the first play of their next drive and it was recovered by Dominick Swancer. The Titans then fumbled the ball all at the goal line however and were unable to capitalize.
Two huge catches by Mason Ambrose of 26 and 25 yards set up the Shoremen on the Titan 8-yard line as they poured on the fast pass attack during their two minute drill. It paid off with an 8 yard touchdown pass to Chris Gaulding to bring the score to 14-10 Berea-Midpark at halftime.
Late third quarter, Dylan Papushak connected with Xaviere “The Bruiser” Harden for a Titan touchdown, to extend their lead to 21-10. The score stayed that way to close out the third quarter and send the Titans to the fourth quarter up 11.
Avon Lake refused to go away quietly and a pass to Luke Gliha moved them into scoring position a short while later. A few plays following, it was Drake Rudnicki scoring while breaking several tacklers on his way to the endzone. The Shoremen weren’t done yet however as they went for two points and it was Gliha again making things happen, catching a two-point conversion and bringing the score to 21-18 with 10:38 left to play in the ballgame. The Shoremen have been missing the vaunted TenBrink to Gliha connection this year because of injury, but they reminded everyone tonight just how dangerous that duo can be.
With a short field to work with and all the momentum, the Shoremen got the ball back and went back to work. After a few nice plays pulled them within the 15-yard line quickly, they capped it off with a Rodkey touchdown run on a play that was supposed to be a dive to pick up a short first down attempt, instead he just kept pushing and pushing and eventually mauled his way into the endzone. Just like that, Avon Lake took their first lead since the opening drive of the game and now led 25-21 with 6:08 to play in the game.
The Titans needed a big play quickly and got one on a 50 yard launch to Andre Alexander. This placed the ball all the way down to the Shoremen 5 yard line as the Titans were unfazed by suddenly trailing. A possible touchdown pass to Reece was broken up by Chris Gaulding, making it desperation time for the Titans and that is when “The Bruiser” Harden stepped up again as he took a short pass into the endzone for the Titans. The kick was no good however and the score remained Berea-Midpark up 27-25 with 4:18 to play in the game.
As noted in the opening paragraph however, it wasn’t enough to stop Avon Lake and TenBrink on completing a last minute scoring drive to win and even their record at 5-5 while the Titans fall to 6-4 to close the regular season.
Players of the Game
Avon Lake WR Luke Gliha– The returning Luke Gliha made several big plays in key moments when the Shoremen needed it the most.
Berea-Midpark QB Dylan Papushak – Overcame three picks and a ankle injury to throw 3 touchdown passes.
