Avon Lake Topps Berea-Midpark 36-35 in Instant Classic

BEREA, OH – The Avon Lake Shoremen put together an amazing late rally to stun the Berea-Midpark Titans 36-35 in shocking fashion in Berea tonight.  They completed a last second touchdown drive, complete with go ahead two-point conversion to pull off the win.  The man who caught the two-point conversion was Aidan Stewart who also caught the touchdown, one play earlier.

Stewart was incredible tonight as he finished with 87 yards on 8 catches with 3 touchdowns and a two-point conversion.  He also had a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.  Without Luke Stuewe, the Shoremen needed a lift and Stewart did exactly that.  Stewart also had 3 carries for 21 yards on the night.

Also giving the Shoremen a boost was tailback Anthony Benedict who went for 106 yards on 25 carries with a score.  He also pulled in 2 catches for 9 yards to help the Shoremen.  The Shoremen had to rely on backup quarterback Owen Fach in place of the injured starter Alex Affolter.  Fach did great, throwing for 175 yards on 16 of 24 passing the ball with the 3 touchdowns and the late game poise.

For Berea-Midpark, their main yardage gainer was Justin McDonell who had 195 yards on 17 carries with two touchdowns.  Wideout Andre Alexander hauled in 3 catches for 98 yards, including a 83 yard touchdown.  Tyson Clay had 4 catches for 45 yards.  Quarterback Danny Bowser finished with 175 yards on 10 of 15 passing with a touchdown and a pick.  He also ran the ball 10 times for 70 yards and what appeared to be the game winning touchdown at one point.

The Titans wasted no time making things count by scoring on their opening drive.  It was fueled by Justin McDonnell who had 4 carries on the drive, for 48 yards, including the 11-yard touchdown run. Following a pick of Avon Lake, the Titans struck again with an 83-yard touchdown pass to Alexander to increase the lead to 14-0 with 4:00 to play in the first quarter.

Early into the second quarter, the Shoremen put together a nice little drive on the legs of Anthony Benedict.  A few quality carries helped them get inside the Berea-Midpark 30-yard line.  A key pass on third and long to Stewart kept it going as they approached the 15 with a fresh set of downs. A few plays later, it was the Shoremen cashing in on a 17-yard touchdown pass to Aidan Stewart.  This cut the Titan lead to 14-7 with 7:10 left to play in the first half.

Justin McDonell checked back in the game and made an immediate impact by taking the first snap 77 yards for another touchdown.  Just like that, in a blink of an eye, it was 21-7 Titans.  Well, the sudden scoring wasn’t done as Aidan Stewart took the following kickoff 97 yards to paydirt.  Two scores in 30 seconds made it 21-14 Berea-Midpark Titans with 6:38 left to play in the opening half. After that wild flash of scoring, the rest of the half went scoreless and we went to half at 21-14 Titans.

After a few drives ended in downs to start the second half, the Shoremen had a great one going when they put the ball on the ground at the Titan 42 as Michael Talani picked it up and went 58 yards to score one for the Titans defense. It was a huge momentum swing at the time as the Shoremen had been driving to tie it. Suddenly, it was now 28-14 Titans.

On their next drive, the Shoremen appeared to be stopped when a roughing the passer penalty was called to extend the drive deep into Berea-Midpark territory.  Shortly after that, they made it count with a 4-yard Anthony Benedict touchdown run. With 21 seconds left to play in the third quarter, it was now 28-21 Titans in front.

The chemistry of Owen Fach to Aidan Stewart continued on the next drive. Time after time Stewart found his way open until he found the endzone once more.  This time from 10 yards out to tie the game at 28 with 8:27 to play in regulation.

The Titans were not fazed and went to work the next time they had it.  They picked apart the Shoremen defense with a little at a time before setting themselves up in prime position to score.  They punched it in with a Bowser touchdown run from 9 yards to make it 35-28 Titans with 4:24 to go.

The Shoremen went on the attack for a chance to tie it one more time and moved it inside the Titans 20 with chunk runs and passes.  Then, it appeared the Titans forced a fourth down when they were hit with another roughing the passer penalty to keep the drive cooking and a fresh set of downs for Avon Lake. A few moments later it was second and goal to go from the four, for the Shoremen with 22 seconds left on the clock. It was then the Stewart show once more, with a catch in the corner of the endzone!

Down 35-34, coach Kostelnik decided to go for the win. They then ran the exact same play for the 2 point conversion and nailed it for the win on the Stewart catch.

Players of the game

Avon Lake WR /KR Aidan Stewart – 87 yards on 8 catches with 3 touchdowns and a two-point conversion.  He also had a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.  Stewart also had 3 carries for 21 yards.

Berea-Midpark RB Justin McDonell who had 195 yards on 17 carries with two touchdowns.