H.S. Football: Comets start fast, run away from Lorain

AMHERST — Once the Amherst avalanche began, there was no way for Lorain to stop the natural disaster. The Comets scored four touchdowns within the first nine minutes Friday night and rolled by the Titans 56-16 to remain unbeaten through the first three weeks of the season. A running clock was employed midway through the second quarter of a game that was expected to be closer. "That was the goal for sure, just play our game, start out hot and just do what we do," said Amherst's jack of all trades, junior Jack Coleman. "It snowballed on us really quick. Obviously, 28-0 right off the rip, that's a tough hill to climb," Lorain coach Jeremy Leyva said. "We've just got to take care of the football. We just weren't able to overcome." Amherst's first two touchdowns came on passes down the middle (48 and 24 yards) from sophomore quarterback Anthony Passerrello, who completed four of five attempts, with three of them going for touchdowns. On the ground it was Coleman (94 yards on 11 attempts) and sophomore running back Ethan Layne (168 yards on 17 carries) leading the way. In the first half alone, they scored two TDs apiece and combined for 211 yards. "I think we executed well, both offensively and defensively," Amherst coach Tom Thome said. "Defensively, we were a little shorthanded today, but I was really pleased with the offense, how we executed. To be honest, I didn't think we were going to throw three touchdowns today. That really wasn't in the game plan, but what I always say to people is 'what defenses show us, we're just going to try to attack that.'" Amherst had multiple offensive stars, including Parker Bohannon, Bryce Colvin and Anthony Litz, who each had TD receptions, but the defense deserved flowers, too. The Comets forced three first-half turnovers on two interceptions and a fumble recovery, and turned each into TDs to aid the early onslaught, while containing Lorain star Tyler Chapman, who scored three long TDs on three touches in a win over Elyria in Week 2. "We knew that they were obviously going to key in on Tyler, and we had some opportunities," Leyva said. "A couple of throws just a little off the mark. We got down there in the red zone. We had one sail and we got picked off. And we had the bad snap (and lost fumble). That crushed us early. "I think if it's a closer game, we might get into the wildcat with Tyler, but once you're down 28-0, we're going to go to the air more. There was a plan to run the ball a little bit more, but hats off to Amherst. They got us out of that game plan early." Chapman got loose on a big kickoff return in the second quarter before getting tripped up at the Amherst 20. But the Titans came up empty when they were intercepted by Colvin while trying to find Chapman in the end zone. "Jack Coleman's really good. That was his assignment today," Thome said. "It's just working hard every single day at practice," Coleman explained. "We get a great look from the scout team, so it's all about putting in the work and coming into the game in the right mindset." Lorain avoided the shutout shortly into the second half on a 40-yard sprint down the sideline from senior running back Ja'Von Jackson. The Titans had a TD in the first half on a 47-yard screen pass to Lovell Morris Jr. called back on a holding penalty. Amherst's high-powered offense has scored 136 points over the first three games, but a rugged Southwestern Conference schedule awaits. "We're a young team. We're still learning," Thome said. "It feels great. Starting off 3-0 is always amazing," Coleman said. "We're just looking to keep it going next week in conference play." Contact Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him @CAwesomeheimer on X. Amherst 56, Lorain 16 Lorain&emsp;0&emsp;0&emsp;16&emsp;0&emsp;—&emsp;16 Amherst&emsp;28&emsp;21&emsp;7&emsp;0&emsp;—&emsp;56 Scoring First AMH — Parker Bohannon 48-yard reception from Anthony Passerrello (Jack Coleman kick), 7-0, 10:02AMH — Bryce Colvin 24-yard reception from Passerrello (Coleman kick), 14-7, 8:51AMH — Ethan Layne 6-yard run (Coleman kick), 21-0, 5:59AMH — Coleman 30-yard run (Coleman kick), 28-0, 3:50 Second AMH — Anthony Litz 24-yard reception from Passerrello (Coleman kick), 35-0, 11:55AMH — Coleman 5-yard run (Coleman kick), 42-0, 4:09AMH — Layne 31-yard run (Coleman kick), 49-0, 0:36 Third LOR — Ja'Von Jackson 40-yard run (Tyree Morales reception from Leonard McCall), 49-8, 8:19AMH — Layne 20-yard run (Grayson Brenot kick), 56-8, 2:37LOR — Jazion Moore 5-yard run (Morales reception from McCall), 56-16, 8:47