With two consecutive blowout losses to Avon and Olmsted Falls, North Ridgeville looked to right the ship Sept. 30 as it hosted fellow SWC rival Elyria, which had lost its last three games.
One team had to win, with Elyria pulling away way before the end of the second quarter, blowing out North Ridgeville, 42-6.
Elyria came in with a purpose and sent a message on its opponent’s home turf.
“The last couple of weeks, even though we’ve lost, we sort of showed us we’re a pretty good football team to play against the teams we’ve played,” Elyria head coach Devlin Culliver said. “We wanted to come out here and do what Avon and Olmsted Falls did to North Ridgeville. We just tried to play a level above and we were able to do that.”
What could go wrong on the night went wrong for North Ridgeville.
“We knew they’d be a good football team,” Rangers coach Bryan Morgan said. “They’ve got some guys that are tough to tackle and their defense is tough. We didn’t do ourselves any favors with the turnovers we had and our kickoff return team didn’t look like they were ready to go either. That’s on us, we have to get the guys better.”
The first Pioneers score came courtesy of Lance Glover rumbling 45 yards into the end zone for the score with 6:42 left in the opening quarter.
VIDEO: Lance Glover 45 yd rush and rumble for score. PAT Good
6:42 Q1
Elyria 7
NR 0@MJournalSports @FOX8FNTD pic.twitter.com/aJ2zws7F1W— Sean Fitzgerald (@fitzonsportsbsr) September 30, 2022
Not long after on North Ridgeville’s ensuing possession, Anthony Hagler picked a Brendan Watchorn tipped pass and returned it to the Rangers’ 20-yard line.
Anthony Hagler INT 5:10 1Q for Elyria to NR 20 yd line. pic.twitter.com/UYWyqfGKs4
— Sean Fitzgerald (@fitzonsportsbsr) September 30, 2022
That eventually led to a Jaden Gilbert 8-yard rush for a drive that took 2:01 off the clock with Elyria holding a 14-0 edge with 3:09 left in the first quarter.
Touchdown Elyria
Jaden Gilbert 8 yd rush. PAT Good
Elyria 14
NR 0 @MJournalSports @FOX8FNTD pic.twitter.com/9kCWXCGAf8— Sean Fitzgerald (@fitzonsportsbsr) September 30, 2022
Gilbert says the team came in with a purpose after three consecutive losses.
“We’re just trying to get back on track,” Gilbert said. “We have a big game next week. We’re not really satisfied right now. We’re just trying to win the game next week. We’ve been working hard all week, we just wanted to get the win and keep it going from there.”
About five minutes passed as the second quarter started before Elyria quarterback Ryan Klotz found Jaden Gilbert downfield for a 38-yard strike to quickly move it to 21-0. That lead would grow larger as North Ridgeville fumbled the kickoff, leading to a one-play drive — a 32-yard rush by Jasir Lucky with 10:05 left in the half and Elyria up 28.
Seven minutes went by, and that’s when the Pioneers hit a backbreaker. Safety Cameron Edwards returned a pick-six 78 yards to the house with just over three minutes left to play.
“I’ve been searching for (a pick-six) all season and I finally got it,” Edwards said with a smile. “Coach (Brad) Demmerle told me to go poach on No. 6. It was a good call, I got the pick and put me in the right position.”
Edwards said that he was tracking Watchorn’s eyes and jumped the route from there on advice from Demmerle.
“I went in there, poached it, and ran it all the way back. And I wasn’t used to running like that. We were losing, and were 2-4, we had to bounce back and I think this was the game.”
Watchorn threw another pick following a sack and a timeout, this one to Laron Anderson-Oliver that set the Pioneers up with first-and-goal, and Glover punched in his second touchdown a few plays later to end the half up 42-0. The Rangers turned the ball over four times in the first half, with three leading to scores.
North Ridgeville finally got on the board in the fourth quarter. Watchorn hit a pass down the seam and ran in 42 yards by Charlie Steinmetz, but the point after was no good, making it 42-6 with 8:22 remaining in regulation.
Elyria improves to 3-4 (1-3) and will host Avon Lake Oct. 7. North Ridgeville dropped to 4-3 (1-3) and will play host to Midview.
PHOTOS: Elyria vs. North Ridgeville football, Sept. 30, 2022
