Photo by Paul Thomas
(PAINESVILLE, Ohio) – When Lake Erie and Walsh take the field on Saturday at Jack Britt Memorial Stadium, there will be a little more on the line than just positioning in the G-MAC standings. That's because the winner of the seventh game between the two teams will receive the newly established Pride and Passion Trophy.
The new rivalry game titled the Pride and Passion Game was announced on Wednesday with the unveiling of the trophy.
The Storm lead the all-time series that begin in 2012 4-2, however it's the visitors in this weekend's games that have been on the winning end the last two years. Lake Erie hopes to change that as it has played in close games through the first four weeks.
The defense has been impressive thus far giving up an average of almost 20 fewer points per game than a season ago. The Storm hope to continue that trend with a unit led by defensive tackle Justin Growel. The redshirt-junior East Troy, Wisconsin, native was named G-MAC Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this year after 12 tackles and five tackles for loss totaling 20 yards in Saturday's win against the Panthers. He currently leads the nation with 13.0 tackles for loss, an average of 3.3 per game.
Offensively the Storm are led by senior quarterback Javarian Smith. Hailing from the Motor City, the Oakland Christian product tossed four touchdowns and ran in two more during last week's win. After Kentucky Wesleyan tied the game with just a few minutes left, he orchestrated a 10 play, 93 yard drive that ended with a 25 yard touchdown pass to Eric Zokouri.
The Cavaliers' offense is led by junior running back Koby Adu-Poku who has 242 yards rushing on the season. Defensively Dylan Garver has 27 tackles on the year.
On average, the Storm offense has averaged 334.3 yards per game and allowed 395.0 per game. On the opposite end, Walsh's offense has averaged 136.5 yards per game and allowed 441.0 yards per contest.
Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. on Saturday with coverage available on the Great Midwest Digital Network. Admission costs $10 with Lake Erie College students, staff and faculty allowed in free with their LEC Storm Card ID.
Click here for complete game notes.
