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The Shoremen completed their three game sweep of the teams that defeated them in 2006 with a resounding road win over Olmsted Falls Friday night, bouncing the Bulldogs by a score of 35-7. Avon Lake’s defense continues to improve, especially against the pass. The once-suspect secondary yielded a paltry seven yards on just four completions. The Shoremen’s passing game continued to shine, as Nick Firment threw for two scores and even caught a TD pass on a throwback from Scott Shaffer. The inside running attack wore down the Dogs’ defense and controlled the clock while producing a couple more Mike Haddad touchdown runs.

Falls began the night with the ball on their 35 courtesy of an out-of-bounds kickoff. QB John Atkinson completed a pass for 12 yards on first down. That was the only positive yardage pass play on the night for the Bulldogs. After two runs netted just 3 yards, Zach Murray dumped Atkinson for a 10 yard sack to force a punt. A 22 yard pickup by Haddad on a toss sweep was called back on a holding penalty. A nice 18 yard run by Jeff Tell on third down wasn’t enough and the Shoremen punted the ball back. Andy Howell’s 39 yard kick rolled dead at the 20. A quick three and out led to another Falls punt, which Ryan Scherer brought all the way back to the Bulldogs’ one yard line. But a holding penalty sent the ball back to A.L. 44. Four runs moved the ball to the 22, where Firment hit Sean Oxley for a six yard gain to the 16. Haddad’s second down run gained a yard, and then on 3^rd and three Firment found Scherer over the middle in the end zone for a 15 yard score. Joe Prendergast booted the PAT giving the Shoremen a 7-0 lead. On the next series, Murray sacked Atkinson for a loss of 14 on first down, and two completed passes netted minus 1 and minus four yards. Scherer returned the ensuing punt 11 yards to the Falls 35 as the quarter ended.

The second quarter started with a bang for Avon Lake as Tell ran the ball down to the 31 and then Firment teamed up with Scherer again, this time for a 31 yard TD and a 14-0 lead. But the Bulldogs suddenly woke up and moved the ball 70 yards, all on the ground, to make the score 14-7. That was it for the first half scoring, although the Shoremen had a couple of more opportunities that came up short when receivers couldn’t hold on to the ball. One perfect throw in particular was dropped in the end zone, leaving the lead at seven points going into halftime.

Avon Lake got the ball at their 35 to start the second half as their kicker put one out of bounds too. Haddad ran 15 yards for one first down, then Firment found Eric Cail for 20 yards on 3^rd and 13 to keep the drive alive. The drive ended with four running plays covering the remaining 31 yards. Haddad carried the last four yards into the end zone for a 21-7 margin. Falls then mounted a penalty-aided drive that reached as deep as the Shoremen 38, but Scott Shaffer threw the pitch man for a loss of five on a fourth down option play. Taking over on downs at their 43, The Shoremen ran the ball seven straight times to end the third quarter on the Bulldog 16.

On the very first play of the final period, Scott Shaffer took a pitch to his right and pulled up for a halfback pass. He floated the ball all the way back across the field to a wide open Firment, who beat a defender into the end zone for his first touchdown. Prendergast remained perfect on the night and the game was under control, 28-7. Falls managed one first down but then had to punt, and the Shoremen were back in business at their 40. After A couple of runs, a 34 yard Firment toss to Peyton Armbrecht pass moved the ball to the 12. Tell picked up eight on a counter and Haddad scored from the four as the Bulldog defense was looking pretty tired. Both coaches emptied their benches and the reserves finished out the game with no further scoring.

Notes:

· Haddad’s 2 TD’s give him a season total of 12. With 95 tough yards tonight, he has gained 781 yards this year.

· Scherer’s 2 touchdown catches give him four in five games so far this year.

· Nick Firment’s passing stats continue to impress: For the game, 6-14 for 131 yards and 2 TD’s; for the year, 30-56 for 10 TD’s and no INT’s.

· The Shoremen recorded their first shutout of the year, holding Falls to zero penalties.

· In case you haven’t noticed, Andy Howell is punting really well this year.

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Avon Lake	7	7	7	14	35
Olmsted Falls	0	7	0	0	7

	O.F.	A.L.
First downs	8	16
Rush Yds	96	189
Pass Yds	7	147
Passes att-comp-int	7-4-0	15-7-0
Fumbles-lost	0-0	0-0
Penalties	0-0	6-67

AL – Scherer 16 pass from Firment (Prendergast kick)
AL – Scherer 31 pass from Firment (Prendergast kick)
OF – Russo 5 run (Burns kick)
AL – Haddad 4 run (Prendergast kick)
AL—Firment 16 pass from Shaffer (Prendergast kick)
AL – Haddad 4 run (Prendergast kick)