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Elyria, OH- The Elyria Catholic Panthers relied heavily on Senior running back, Levi Ellis to lead them to victory over the Elyria Pioneers 14-6. Levi Ellis racked up a total of 134 rushing yards on 29 rushes with one touchdown while also going 1/1 for 21 yards from the quarterback spot off a trick play in the 4th quarter with one minute and forty seconds left to go. Ellis was also putting in work on the defensive side by forcing a fumble against the Pioneers in the second quarter.
The Panthers and Pioneers had a very similar play style to the game, which was relying on the run game. The Pioneers scored first in the game with the help of their Senior running back Lance Glover who was just running all over the Panthers defense who could not seem to stop him.
When the Pioneers got down to the goal line thanks to the help of Glover, quarterback Ryan Klotz threw a seven yard pass to Lance Glover to score the touchdown and unfortunately they were unable to get the two point conversion, making the score 6-0 Pioneers.
The score stayed 6-0 throughout the first quarter as both teams played great 4th down defense and would make the stops to get the ball turned over. Once the second quarter started the Panthers were doing a great job at stopping the Pioneers by getting a fumble, running out the clock but also being productive and moving down field to set them up to score with a two yard running touchdown by Senior Tony Grasso, making the score 7-6 after the Panthers were able to convert the extra point.
At the half there were some notable stats from both teams, starting off with the Panthers.
Running Back Levi Ellis had 13 rushes for 85 yards and a forced fumble. Linebacker Tony Grasso had 4 receptions for 27 yards, a 2 yard rushing touchdown and a sack. Quarterback Brady Cook went 9/14 on completions with 47 passing yards.
The Pioneers notable stats at the half were, running back Lance Glover with 11 rushes for 48 yards and a 7 yard receiving touchdown. Quarterback Ryan Klotz went 6/12 on completions and 48 yards with a touchdown.
When the third quarter started it was similar to the other quarters with the defenses working hard and doing a great job at stopping 4th down conversions, keeping the game 7-6 Panthers throughout the whole third quarter with both of the quarterbacks struggling with the passing game for the most part and using the running game to keep themselves in the game.
There were also injuries left and right from both teams, all of them being able to make it to their feet and walking off the field under their own power. A lot of the injuries just looked like they were cramp related. The officials were very nice and called an officials timeout during the game to give both teams a water break to try and prevent them from cramping up.
As the 4th quarter begins, the Pioneers find themselves in some trouble with the Panthers doing their best to attempt to run out the clock. When the Pioneers do get the ball, they run into penalty problems. Penalties killed the momentum that the Pioneers had in the 4th quarter with their first possession.
The ball gets back to the Panthers and they do a great job at running the clock out, wasting almost seven minutes on the clock, making the Pioneers use all their timeouts.
This set up the Panthers perfectly for late game with Levi Ellis doing what he does best and running through the Pioneer defense. With 1:40 left on the clock in the 4th quarter, the Panthers did something that shocked everyone and did a trick play with running back Levi Ellis throwing a 21 yard pass to Tony Grasso to mark them down at the three yard line.
With time ticking down there were no timeouts left for the Pioneers, the Panthers could have just kneeled it and had time run out. Instead they had it to Levi Ellis as he rushed it in for a 3 yard touchdown making the score 14-6 after the extra point conversion.
The Pioneers still had a chance to come back, with about 1:25 left on the clock, they get the kickoff and Senior Jaden Gilbert returned the ball for 40 yards and it almost looked like he was going to go all the way until he was tripped up. Quarterback Ryan Klotz was determined to get his team down the field and try to tie up the score.
Ryan Koltz came out throwing amazing passes and one was a 15 yard throw to Lance Grover, then throwing a 17 yard pass to Jaden Gilbert bringing them on the inside of the Panther’s 20 yard line. Then penalties started again, which seemed to be their kryptonite during clutch moments and making them move back 15 yards.
Ryan Klotz had a couple throws in the endzone as time was running out but the Panthers played great defense and made sure that they did not score. Time ran out after one more Ryan Klotz throw to the right side of the endzone as the game ended with a score of 14-6 Elyria Catholic Panthers as the Panthers moved to 1-0 and the Pioneers moved to 0-1.
Players of the game:
Elyria Catholic Panther Running back Levi Ellis with 29 rushes with 134 yards with a touchdown and going 1/1 on pass completions for 21 yards.
Elyria Pioneer Running back Lance Glover with 16 rushes with 60 yards, 2 receiving catches for 22 yards and a receiving touchdown.
