High school football: Avon Lake blanks Elyria, but still needs to clean up some things

ELYRIA — Avon Lake didn't need any fourth-quarter heroics this week. After winning three straight nail-biters in Southwestern Conference play coming in, the Shoremen took care of business Friday with a 28-0 win over Elyria at Elyria Charities Stadium. Avon Lake (5-2, 4-0 SWC) closes the season against Olmsted Falls, North Ridgeville and Avon. "We played well, but we had two turnovers in the second half and a couple three-and-outs," Shoremen coach Matt Kostelnik said. "We stumbled in practice this week and it showed out there at times. We have to dial in over these last three weeks, but we have a tough road ahead of us." The Pioneers defense was up to the task early, stopping the Shoremen on fourth down at the Elyria 30 and then got back-to-back sacks from Kevin Jordan and Levi Springer to force a three-and-out late in the first quarter. After the Pioneers' third punt of the half, Avon Lake went to work through the air. Alex Affolter hit Michael Summerfield, who split four defenders on the sideline, for a 38-yard score with 10:33 left in the second quarter. Affolter then wasted little time following an Elyria punt, hitting Aidan Stewart on a 45-yard pass for a 14-0 lead at 8:34. The Pioneers (0-7, 0-4) were quickly in scoring position when Jacory Bradley returned the ensuing kickoff 73 yards to the Shoremen 10, but on third down Virginia Tech recruit Luke Stuewe picked off Antonio Pride to kill the threat. Two possessions later, Avon Lake pushed the lead to 21-0 when Affolter faked a hand-off to Alex Kowalski and raced 24 yards down the middle of the field for a commanding 21-0 lead. "It felt good having a fourth-quarter lead, but I think we left a lot of points off the scoreboard tonight," said Affolter, who finished 11-of-14 passing for 186 yards. "Every game left on our schedule is going to be a dogfight. We just have to find a way to stay consistent when we have the ball." Avon Lake put the last score on the board on the opening drive of the second half when Affolter found Stuewe again, this time on a 36-yard pass. Stewart, who recently received an offer from Kent State, set up the play with a 33-yard kickoff return. After the score, the Pioneers defense tightened up. Christian Rogers picked off Affolter in the end zone and Tre Allgood recovered a fumble following Affolter's final completion of the game late in the third. "I thought we played defense really well for the whole game," Elyria coach Matt Wilson said. "They hit a couple long shots, but for the most part it went well. We're losing guys to injury, but every guy who went in battled and got better for our next game." Contact James Brady at (440) 329-7135 or jbrady_ct@yahoo.com.