Don’t bother reading the name across the shoulders or trying to catch a glimpse of the number on the jersey. If you’re looking in Avon Lake’s backfield, you’re looking at one of the best football players in Lorain County.
That’s the way it has been for years, as the Shoremen have easily been the class of the county when it comes to ground domination. Three Avon Lake tailbacks — Jeff Strauch in 2000, Jon Schroeder in ’03 and Mike Haddad last season — have run away with the Golden Helmet, the award given to Lorain County’s top senior athlete each season.
“When you’re a freshman and you see (Bobby) Doyle run for 2,000 yards and 40 touchdowns in a season, well, you know that’s what you have to do, too,” said Haddad, a red-shirt linebacker this season at Michigan State. “When you grow up in a system and you watch players like Strauch, Schroeder and Doyle … you just get the mentality right there.”
The latest in the program’s line of great running backs could very well be junior Mike Mansnerus, who has put up 1,240 yards and 15 touchdowns through eight weeks, despite missing nearly three games with a hamstring injury.
Mansnerus ran 41 times for 306 yards against Midpark in Week 7 — the third-best rushing performance in school history — then broke the Shoremen single-game record with 369 yards on 23 carries last week against Berea. It was the first time an Avon Lake running back had put together back-to-back 300-yard games.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Mansnerus said. “It was just amazing how good the blocking was. On the inside, on the outside … whoever was in the game was just blocking and making big holes for me. I felt truly blessed to have all those great blockers in front of me.”
The system Avon Lake coach Dave Dlugosz has put in place demands that strong blocking — from the offensive line of course, but also from the fullback and the tight end — helps open seams and holes for the running back to get through.
“If you run an I-formation, the tailback is going to be the focus of your offense,” Dlugosz said. “Our whole team buys into the fact that we’re going to establish the run, then throw play-action passes off the I-formation fakes.”
The system has worked … and worked and worked and worked. One athlete after another has stepped into the role and exploded for a great season. Just this year, when Mansnerus pulled his hamstring in the first quarter of Avon Lake’s Week 2 game, senior backup Steve Mares finished the game with 152 yards and a touchdown, then ran 29 times for 216 yards and five scores in Week 3.
“We still have one of our better offensive lines this year,” Dlugosz said. “And we have the fullback and tight end still in there. It’s one of those things where you can plug a guy in and all the other components are there so he just has to do his job.”
Haddad and Mansnerus agreed that young players look up to whomever is on the field putting up stellar numbers in the running back position, and use the previous player’s performance as a bench mark for when they get handed the ball.
“I was super excited when I got my chance,” Mansnerus said. “It’s an honor to play at running back at Avon Lake after all those guys, especially after Doyle and Haddad, because I’ve known them for years now and I consider them my friends. It’s truly an honor.”
Mansnerus was able to watch the pair in front of him, but he also received a little extra attention from Haddad last season and during the summer.
“I’ve been able to make it back to a few games and it’s fun to watch Mikey run,” Haddad said. “He worked out at the same place as me during the summer. I told him he had all the tools he needed to be the next great running back at Avon Lake.”
So the ingredients that make up Avon Lake’s recipe for success include the system, the team’s buy-in, solid athletes and a winning tradition. But the reason the Shoremen’s running back is always one of the best in the area may come down to one common factor — attitude.
“We feel we have to be above excellent,” Haddad said. “We feel that being excellent is almost sub-par at Avon Lake. We running backs feel we have to go above and beyond.”
It’s a mentality that spreads like wildfire through to the rest of the Shoremen. It’s not uncommon to see Avon Lake football players begin training for the next football season just weeks after their final game.
“I think it’s just that we work harder,” Mansnerus said. “Every year the kids here dedicate themselves to work hard and be the best, because we want it the most. It’s just a great tradition and that’s really helped us. We’ve also been lucky to have great players every year.”
Contact Shaun Bennett at 329-7137 or sbennett@chroniclet.com.

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