PAINESVILLE, Ohio — The Lake Erie College Storm football team looked to get back in the win column on Saturday, September 30, when they took on the Walsh University Cavaliers. It was a nail-biter down to the last drive with the score tied 16-16 with less than a minute left in the contest. After some very unfortunate mistakes made at the end of regulation, the Storm would fall 30-16.
This game was the result of two final plays. In the first half, Lake Erie would shut down the Cavaliers offense only allowing six points on two made field goals. The Storm capped off a strong first half with an Xeavier Bullock 22 yard scramble for a touchdown. After a missed extra point, the Storm would go into the half with a 9-6 lead. After a defensive second half, the Storm found themselves with the ball on the Cavaliers 30 with less than 50 seconds to go. On a run-pass option, quarterback Xeavier Bullock muffled the handoff, turning into a 70 yards fumble recovery return for the Cavalier touchdown. Three plays later, with 24 seconds left, another costly fumble by Keed Kpoto would result in another Cavalier touchdown to seal their victory.
Walsh couldn't muster up much of an offensive attack due to the strong Lake Erie defense. The Cavaliers even made a quarterback switch to begin the second half, displaying how well the Storm defense was playing. Lake Erie would only give up 10 second half points to the Cavaliers after the change.
The Storm defense was all over the field tonight. Despite the score, the Lake Erie defense was only responsible for giving up 16 total points to the Cavalier's offense. The Storm gave up 15 first downs compared to their 16. Lake Erie only allowed 10 receptions for the Cavalier offense, allowing only 1 single reception in the entire first half. Lake Erie held Walsh to a staggering 27 minutes of offense compared to the Storm's 32 minutes with the ball. The Storm would cause six punts on the night and would allow 8/17 on third down efficiency, allowing zero first downs in the entire second quarter.
Leading the way for the Storm on the defensive end was Ronnell Lackey. Lackey recorded seven total tackles, five solo, one solo tackle for loss, one assisted tackle for loss, and a fumble recovery in the second quarter. Glenn Bullock was a force for the Storm with seven solo tackles on the night. Phillip Hawkins also added seven total tackles with three solo. Jorge Sanchez battled for Lake Erie, posting six total tackles with two solo tackles, and one assisted tackle for loss.
On the offensive end, Xeavier Bullock finished the day going 16/42 with 198 yards through the air, with one passing touchdown and one interception. Bullock ended with an 80.8 QBR and a 38 passing percentage. Bullock also added 80 yards on the ground off of 11 attempts for one touchdown and an average of 6.1 yards a carry. Xeavier left it all on the field despite having a costly fumble at the end. Corey Polk added 46 yards on the ground on eight attempts for the Storm offense. Jovohn Tucker ended the contest three yards shy of a 100 yard receiving game. Tucker finished with seven catches good for 97 yards and a touchdown, with his longest being a 28 yard grab. Tucker was also a spark plug on special teams with three returns for 85 yards, averaging just below 30 yards a return. Tony Edwards caught three passes for 23 yards, and Koraun Perdue finished with one 26 yard grab. Ian Scannell went 1-1 on a 31 yard field goal.
Lake Erie moves to 1-4 on the season and 0-3 in conference play. The Storm will look to bounce back after the tough loss when they travel to Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday, October 7, to take on the Ohio Dominican University Panthers. Kickoff is at 1 PM.
