by Avon Lake’s senior night culminated in a fantastic finish that came down to the final play.
The first half of game action was a defensive struggle for the most part. Both offenses stalled on their first drives. On their second possession, North Ridgeville started to gain some momentum, as dual-threat receiver Charlie Steinmentz stiff armed his way deep into Avon Lake territory on a 21 yard catch and run. Running back and defensive back Ta’vion Swain capped off the drive with a 5 yard rushing score to take an early 7-0 lead.
The Shoremen of Avon Lake answered right back. Running back Anthony Benedict burst through for a 16 yard run, and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty tacked on an additional 15 yards to get Avon Lake near the red zone. Facing a 4th and 4, quarterback Alex Affolter stayed cool in the pocket, delivering a strike to receiver Derek McCrum for a 21 yard touchdown to even the score at 7.
The second quarter began with a bang, and not in a positive way for Avon Lake. Affolter threw a deep ball in the direction of Jaden Ohlrich, but the pass was deflected and then intercepted by North Ridgeville defender Cayden Reed. Reed then took the interception an additional 30 yards inside the Avon Lake 2 yard line. There was definitely some contact on that throw downfield and a pass interference call was missed. Oh well, play on.
After getting great field position, the Rangers finally cashed in on 4th and goal, thanks to Ta’vion Swain’s second touchdown of the day, extending the North Ridgeville lead to 14-7.
After finding receiver Sam Ferrone wide open for a big gain, Affolter and the Shoremen were in the red zone once again. Unfortunately, an incompletion on third down forced them to settle for a Reece Polomsky field goal to cut the deficit to 14-10.
Despite a turnover and numerous possessions, neither team was able to get on the board for the rest of the first half, as North Ridgeville headed into the locker room nursing a 14-10 lead.
Joey Wilson took the second half kickoff nearly 60 yards to get the Rangers on the edge of the red zone to start the third quarter. They settled for a field goal to extend the lead to 17-10.
The Avon Lake offense was far from pretty in the third frame, as the snap went way behind Affolter and he turned around and channeled his inner Jordan Love by throwing a pass directly to the linebacker for a hideous interception. Thankfully for the Shoremen, their defense really stepped things up in the second half, as seen through a fumble recovery two plays after the INT.
After getting the ball back following the fumble, Affolter threw a swing pass to Derek McCrum who absolutely embarrassed multiple defenders en route to a 38 yard touchdown. Just one problem…the play was called back for holding and the Shoremen were forced to punt.
Following that missed opportunity, Steinmentz took a reverse handoff 44 yards to the house to extend the Ranger lead to 23-10.
Affolter threw another interception to begin the fourth quarter, as his pass was tipped and caught by Austin DeShazo. Later in the fourth and facing a do-or-die fourth down, Affolter made a huge 37 yard conversion to keep the Shoremen’s hopes alive. Ryan Anderson followed that clutch conversion up with a 7 yard touchdown run to make it a one score game.
After Avon Lake’s defense stopped North Ridgeville once again, the Shoremen had a chance to win the game in the final minutes. Anthony Benedict churned out a massive 27 yard run to get inside the Ranger 10 yard line. On a 4th and goal with the game on the line, Tyler Birk was open, but they couldn’t connect and the Rangers held on for the 23-17 win
Player of the Game
Tonight’s player of the game goes to running back Charlie Steinmentz, as he rushed 16 times for 103 yards and a touchdown, while also adding three catches for 47 yards.
What’s Next
North Ridgeville returns home to face Amherst Steele, while Avon Lake turns around and takes on their bitter rival Avon on the road.
