ELYRIA — If anyone had any doubts about how Elyria would respond to last week’s loss at Midview, they were answered quickly.
The Pioneers took the opening kick Friday and marched 84 yards in 11 methodical plays on their way to destroying Strongsville 41-14. Elyria improved to 3-1, while the Mustangs fell to 1-3. Both are members of the Northeast Ohio Conference but from different divisions.
“Last week was just horrible,” said tailback Jordan Connell, who finished with 179 yards on the ground and four touchdowns, including a backbreaking 82-yard kick return. “We had to let that go. In practice, we were just more intense.”
Connell was “held” to 58 yards at Midview, but was determined to set that aside with the Mustangs in town. Elyria hadn’t scored a point in the first quarter through three games, and that had to change.
“It was great to score off the first drive,” senior center Cody Schneider said. “We had it pretty deep in our own territory, but we had great blocking upfront and our running backs were running great. Jordan and Jumarr (Lewis) picked it up and Hunter (Parsh) had a great day.”
For sure the pressure had to be on Parsh, just a sophomore with three varsity games under his belt. Against Midview, the quarterback had a terrible finish, with one short completion and three interceptions in his final seven attempts. Coach Kevin Fell wanted to get him in a good rhythm from the start.
Parsh completed his first 11 passes, the longest a 34-yard touchdown catch and run by Da’Jaun Glover.
He finished with 132 yards on 12-of-15 passing.
“We went back to the way we play offense,” Fell said. “We kind of nickel and dimed it. We would run it by you or throw it over your head. I was real happy with the way we executed in the first half.
“We can make big plays with the receivers getting the YAC yards (yards after catch). We went back to the stuff we’ve always done. I think it made our running game more effective. We ran the ball pretty well.”
Elyria threw for 148 yards and ran for 255. Connell’s kick return answered Strongsville’s only score of the first half and seemed to take the stuffing out of the Mustangs, who had moved the ball pretty well to that point. Strongsville had 180 yards through the air by halftime.
Elyria’s defense borrowed the old bend-but-don’t-break philosophy of a generation ago, stiffening as the Mustangs approached the end zone. The Pioneers intercepted four passes — three by senior linebacker Shawn Masterson, who spent the evening playing center field. The Pioneers finished with a few late sacks, but the game was well in hand by that time.
“When it got close to the goal, we had to stick to our man,” Masterson said. “I was basically roaming. I just had to read the quarterback.”
And read him he did, picking off three passes in the red zone.
Tracy Sprinkle, despite getting a ton of attention, finished with a couple of huge tackles. Connor Kamczyk had an interception and Darrius Noble recovered a fumble. Paul Males also played well.
The Pioneers will face another tough test for Homecoming on Friday when unbeaten North Royalton visits Ely Stadium.
VETERAN’S DAY: Longtime area coaches Jon Altonen and Phil Sheffield have been among the crowd watching the Pioneers at Ely Stadium this year. Altonen made several stops along the way — most notably at Firelands — while Sheffield coached at Clearview and Midview for a long time.
Contact Tim Gebhardt at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.
H.S. Football: Elyria bounces back from loss with impressive win
