Titans Stun Avon Lake 23 to 17!

Story written by Mark Theis

A beautiful night for football with weather just off Lake Erie as the Berea Midpark Titans traveled to Avon Lake for a key Southwestern Conference matchup.

The Avon Lake Shoremen kicked off to the Titans to start the game. Like two boxers feeling each other out the two teams started out a little slow, each punting with their first possession.

Then on the Titans second possession they started to get their offense in gear. Senior QB Luke Devins found fellow Senior Jack Arnold for a 29-yard pass play that got the Berea-Midpark crowd excited.  Devins would find Arnold several times throughout the evening for big pass plays.

Then RB DeAngelo Borders ripped off a beautiful sweep right for 12 yards. Some Stout defense from the Shoremen resulted in a 4th and inches for the Titan squad. Once again they went to their Mr. reliable as Borders crashed into the end zone.  After a missed extra point kick which Berea has struggled with this season, the score was now 6-0, Titans leading the home Shoremen.

On the Shoremen’s second possession Junior quarterback Jeremy Dzik connected to Senior Wideout Nathan Schillinger for several possession passes. The first quarter ended, but on the first play of the second quarter Dzik connected with # 9 Jake DePaul for a 31 yard touchdown to the right back corner of the end zone.

The extra point was good and Avon Lake was up 7 to 6.  Surprisingly to almost everybody in the stadium, this would be the last lead the Shoremen would enjoy this night.

On the very next possession for the Titans, quarterback Devins went to work. He hit Jack Arnold for another 30-yard pass, and a new receiver emerged as Junior Josh Medina had four catches on the drive including a touchdown for 28 yds.  This time the Titans went for the two-point conversion and converted it, so they now led Avon Lake 14 to 7.

Avon Lake then inserted DePaul as the Quarterback and he seemed to be more of a running threat. Once again good defense from the Titans and some dropped passes, and mistakes plagued the Shoremen.  Another punt for Avon Lake, and the Titans had some confidence they could win.

After a beautiful 20 yard run by Borders, on the very next play Hudson Devins the Junior running back stunned the Shoremen crowd when he started left, saw nothing there, and switched to the right side of the field where he flat out out ran the Shoremen defense for a 48 yard TD with amazing quickness.

Late in the second quarter, Dzik connected with DePaul again on several passes and Avon Lake connected on a 38 yard Field Goal. The score was Titans 21 to 10 at halftime.

The Titans ability to win came into question when Dzik connected with DePaul and Schillinger again on some beautiful passes. Then number 39 Jeremy Brausch plunged into the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown and with 9:27 left in the third quarter Berea-Midpark 21 Avon Lake 17.

Unfortunately on the Titans next possession running back DeAngelo Borders fumbled, but a Shoremen field goal try from 26 yards was partially blocked by the Titans and once again they stopped the mighty Shoremen.

The game was 21 to 17 still at the end of the third quarter.  A big part of the reason the Titans were able to stay in this game was the great play of their defense. Ben Silva, Johnny Sellman, and Aquan Bell all had great contributions.

An example of this was when the Shoremen had their first possession of the fourth quarter, a huge play from Aquan Bell as he sacked the ball carrier and recovered the fumble thwarting their drive.

Then after a Titans punt pinning the Shoremen down back close to their goal line, a huge play as Titan standout Johnny Sellman sacked the Avon Lake quarterback in the end zone forcing the ball out of bounds for a safety.

The score was now 23 to 17 Berea Midpark lead. With the safety, the Titans now had a little breathing room, and they played the clock game in the 4th quarter and the possession game.

One got the feeling that Avon Lake knew that they could still win this game with just a touchdown and an extra point. The problem for them was the unrelenting defense and pressure on the QB Dzik.

Berea Midpark kept up their constant harassment of the quarterback and also swarming defense.  As the clock wound down, you kind of felt like Berea Mid Park had shocked the world beating the powerful Avon Lake squad.

Three wins in a row now for the Titans. One can only believe that a game like this will give them confidence going into the rest of the 2021 season.