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Schools

Shoremen Miss Playoffs, Season Ends With SWC Crown

News comes day after team blows out Amherst, 52-0

When you have your back against the wall, you can do one of two things. Go out in a blaze of glory, or give in and let your opposition walk all over you.

It's kind of the scenario the faced the last few weeks of the 2011 season.

Last week the team downed rival Olmsted Falls, a team laden with seniors and expected to be the front runners for the SWC. Then on Friday night they crushed yet another archrival, the Amherst Comets, 52-0.

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That clinched the SWC outright for the Shoremen.

While the SWC is what Avon Lake guns for every year, the real prize they strive for is a berth in the OHSAA football playoffs. Twelve of the past 13 years they have done exactly that, including the dream season of 2003 when they went 15-0 and took home the state title.

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This is where having their backs against the wall comes in. This year unlike the past, Avon Lake was boosted up to Division I, as its smallest program.

After the game, they sat in the No. 8 slot but had to wait a day to hear their fate. Despite being 8-2, the dream was dashed by just .02 of a point, as Anthony Wayne eked into the playoffs on Saturday ending yet another successful year for the Shoremen.

The sad part about it is if not for a forfeit by Shaker Heights, a team they played earlier in the year, because their coach didn't like field conditions at Warrensville Heights a few weeks back when he got off the team bus, the Shoremen would be in because it would have given the team another half point.

"The kids are not ready for the season to be over," Shoremen coach Dave Dlugosz said." If you have been watching us play, we've gotten better and better every week and were ready to go another couple of weeks. It would have been an uphill battle being the eighth seed and facing the first seed, but it would have been another opportunity to play another week."

While missing out by the little is rough but Dlugosz is proud of what his kids accomplished.

"A lot of teams when you are sitting at 1-2 halfway through the season, in a community witt a lot of expectations, think its going to be a down year and that they are not going to be any good or just don’t have the athletes," Dlugosz said. "I told the kids I was proud of them for listening to the coaches, for sticking to it, and worrying about us as a family and not all they outside things that come in, and they bought into it and that is the thing that is most rewarding seeing them grow in the space of 10 weeks."

Dlugosz said that it was fun to watch.

"We had just a great bunch of kids," he said. "The parents were supportive of the kids, the mother and father Shoremen football clubs, and I think all of us are a little dissapointed we don't get to see us grow a little more."

As for the game against Amherst, it was as if it was a playoff for the Shoremen as they fired on all cylinders. Forget the fact too. that Amherst was 1-8.

They came ready to play and took away the Shoremen's bread and butter, the run game, at least for a half.

But Avon Lake's other staple, its defense was more than up for the task. Brett Bass put the Shoremen on the board first, with his 28-yard interception return, and in the process did something no other Shoremen player has ever done, scoring on an interception, a punt return, and kickoff return. He also had scored rushing and receiving.

The next two Amherst possesions also resulted in turnovers due to pressure one a fumble recovery and the next a nice interception by Jimmy Hessel. On the night, the Shoremen recorded three picks, with Hessel grabbing two.

One play later, Colin Lucas, who had three scores on the night, took the ball in from three yards out and the rout was on.

Avon Lake's Chris Jedlicka had his best game of the year, passing for 158 yards. He also scored on a 47 yard reception when running back Mickey Steiner hit him. Also having a nice night for Avon Lake was Dontez Smith, who put on a show himself with a 56 yard touchdown run in the second half.

While the Shoremen lose some good players from this championship team, like most years, things look bright for another run next year.

"We have a good nucleus coming back," Dlugosz said." Our JV team finished 7-3 and our freshman team went 10-0, so there are a lot of reasons to be optimistic for next year."

AVON LAKE 52-0 AMHERST

                                          AM              AL

First downs

14

11

Rush Yds

133

173

Pass Yds

61

205

Passes att-comp-int

23-12-3

16-8-0

Fumbles-lost

6-1

1-1

Penalties

4-25

2-2


AL – Bass 28 interception return (Brill kick)
AL – Lucas 3 run (Brill kick)
AL – Jedlicka 47 pass from Steiner (Brill kick)
AL – Brill FG 27
AL – Smith 56 run (Brill kick)
AL – Hessel 50 pass from Jedlicka (Brill kick)
AL – Lucas 46 run (Brill kick)
AL – Steiner 16 run (Brill kick)

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