by Elyria — Olmsted Falls quarterback Cameron Pesch completed all six of his passes for 140 yards, including two touchdowns, en route to a 35-13 win against the Elyria Pioneers to open Southwestern Conference play. The star quarterback also ran the ball three times for 53 yards and a rushing touchdown.
The Bulldogs struck early and often in the contest, as all 35 of their points came in the first 13 minutes of the game.
On the Bulldogs’ first possession, quarterback Cameron Pesch found wide receiver Keegan Smith for 34 yards before Pesch ran the ball 32 yards for a touchdown to make the score 7-0 in favor of the Bulldogs.
On the next possession, Pesch found Smith two more times for completions of 44 and 26 yards, with the 26-yard reception resulting in another Bulldog touchdown to extend the lead to 14-0.
Smith was not the only wide receiver that Pesch targeted on the night. On the next drive, he found Aiden O’Malley twice for 32 total yards, including a 16-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 21-0.
The Bulldogs found their next points via special teams. Elyria punter RJ Williams ran the ball on a fake punt and looked to have space before getting the ball poked away. The ball found the arms of Olmsted Falls’ Adam Smith, who ran it 25 yards to the end zone to extend the lead to 28-0.
Olmsted Falls got the ball back yet again with scoring on its mind. Following a 14-yard run by Pesch, Owen Radigan ran the ball four times for 41 yards, including a three-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 35-0, which is the lead Olmsted Falls took into halftime.
Following punts by each team to begin the second half, Elyria put together its longest drive of the game. Wide receiver Jairus Smith lined up as a running back and found success. He finished the game with 11 carries for 80 yards. On this drive, he had three carries for 31 yards. Quarterback Zach Fury also completed two passes on the drive for 22 yards, including a one-yard touchdown pass to Zaiden Fenderson to make the Olmsted Falls lead 35-7.
Elyria then stole a possession from Olmsted Falls. Elyria kicker Lex Brunner kicked the kickoff right off an Olmsted Falls Bulldog, and the ball found the arms of Elyria’s Elijah Groves at the Olmsted Falls 49-yard line. The Pioneers were able to take advantage and scored a touchdown when Fury found tight end Wyatt Meldrum to trim the Olmsted Falls lead to 35-13.
The effort, unfortunately, was not enough, as Olmsted Falls hung on to win by the final score of 35-13.
With the win, the Olmsted Falls Bulldogs improve to 3-1 (1-0 in Southwestern Conference play) on the season, including a three-game winning streak. They look to keep the momentum going when they host the defending Division II State Champion Avon Eagles next week.
As for the Elyria Pioneers, the loss puts them at 0-4 (0-1 in Southwestern Conference play). They will look to rebound when they travel to North Ridgeville to take on the North Ridgeville Rangers.
Player of the Game — Olmsted Falls’ Cameron Pesch
He showed why he is one of the Bulldogs’ captains. Pesch completed all six of his passes for 140 yards and two touchdowns through the air. He also ran the ball three times for 53 yards and a touchdown on the ground. His team will need another performance like this if they look to continue their momentum.
