PAINESVILLE, Ohio -- The Lake Erie football team wrapped up their 2024 campaign on Saturday against the Saints from Thomas More, losing a nail-biter 28-25. The Storm held the lead, lost it, fought back, but ultimately couldn't convert on enough key opportunities down the stretch. The loss caps off a 2-9 season for Lake Erie. 

Game Recap

The Storm gained possession first and had an incredibly promising opening drive that spanned 11 plays and ate up over five minutes of the clock, resulting in a 42-yard Jaffer Murphy field goal. The Saints then took over and went the length of the field in under three minutes, capping it off with a 31-yard touchdown pass to snatch the lead. Not to be out-done, on Lake Erie's next drive, they too would span the length of the field and find the pylon, as Alec Lewis found Keyshawn Johnson for his fifth touchdown of the season. After the first three possessions of the game all resulted in scores, Lake Erie found itself on top 10-7 with four minutes remaining in the first quarter. 

After a pair of punts from both sides, DeJuan Harris rushed on a blitz, sacking the Saints quarterback and subsequently knocked the ball out which would be recovered by teammate Jordan Baker, setting the Storm offense up just 15 yards from the endzone. Lake Erie was able to capitalize on the opportunity, as Alec Lewis found Ali Lee Jr. for his first touchdown of the day, bumping their lead up to 17-7 just two minutes into the second quarter. Once again, however, Thomas More had a quick response, as they moved 56 yards in just three plays, scoring a touchdown and cutting the Storm lead back down to just three.

The Storm nearly upped their lead to six on their next possession but failed to hit on a 40-yard field goal. After punts from both sides, Thomas More was next to reach the scoring column, finding the endzone once again just minutes prior to halftime, claiming a 21-17 lead. After a quick three-and-out from the Storm offense, the Saints retrieved the ball in the winding seconds of the half, heaved a prayer as time expired, but was intercepted by Anthony Anderson for his second pick of the year.

Opening the 3rd quarter with the ball, Thomas More wasted no time marching 75 yards down the field and took a 28-17 lead in the ballgame. Following a punt from the Storm offense, their defense forced a turnover on downs when both Conner Hopson and Dae'Yuan Thompson-Green met the Saints quarterback in the backfield for a sack on fourth down. The offense then had another long five minute drive but ended up empty-handed after a 30-yard field goal was no good just seconds after the fourth quarter began. 

The game was almost ripped apart as Thomas More began threatening to up their lead to a three-possession game on their next drive, however, DeAndre Goodson had an outstanding interception in the Lake Erie endzone, giving  the Storm a fighting chance. The offense would stall on their next drive and turned the ball over on downs, yet the defense held strong and got them the ball right back after forcing a quick three-and-out. The next Storm drive would perhaps be their most impressive of the season, as they methodically drove down 97 yards in 12 plays and cut their deficit to just three, as Ali Lee Jr. scored his second TD of the day off of another Alec Lewis pass. Down by five after the touchdown, Lake Erie went for a two-point conversion and beautifully executed a devious backwards pass to their left tackle Logan Bernesser to make it just a field-goal deficit. After another excellent defensive stand, the offense found themselves with just over two minutes left to go and 54 yards from a touchdown to take the lead and rip the hearts out of the visiting Saints. However, as tough as they fought, they failed to muster up a scoring possession and turned the ball over on downs. After three kneels from Thomas More, the game ended with a score of 28-25. 

In this game, Tae'Shaun Johnson broke the school record for receptions, recording a final stat-line of 15 catches for 119 yards. The record was previously held by Brandon James when he set the record in both 2008 and 2011 with 14 receptions each. 

The Storm created a ton of pressure in this game, as they recorded three sacks: DeJuan Harris (1), Cameron Webb (1), Conner Hopson (.5), and Dae'Yuan Thompson-Green (.5). In addition, they also had four more tackles for loss by Jordan Baker (2.5), Cameron Webb (1), and Dae'Yuan Thompson-Green (.5).

Storm Season Leaders

Passing - Alec Lewis (2,467 yards, 20 TD's)

Rushing - Krys Riley-Richardson (105 carries, 347 yards, 2 TD's), Nick Mosley (75 carries, 258 yards), Joshua Jean-Baptiste (27 carries, 106 yards, 1 TD), and Julian Means-Flewellen (30 carries, 75 yards). 

Receiving - Tae'Shaun Johnson (65 receptions, 756 yards, 10 TD's), Keyshawn Johnson (33 receptions, 542 yards, 5 TD's), Ali Lee Jr. (49 receptions, 507 yards, 4 TD's), Devin Morgan (11 receptions, 159 yards), Emmanuel Sims (16 receptions, 129 yards), Nick Mosley (15 receptions, 119 yards, 1 TD), Krys Riley-Richardson (16 receptions, 97 yards), and Gideon Tafari-Thompson (7 receptions, 58 yards). 

Tackling - Emarion Perkins (75), Ronald Cutts Jr. (67), DeAndre Goodson (59), Cameron Webb (53), Debonair Brown (43), Dae'Yuan Thompson-Green (42), Cameron Prater (41), Chris Payne (35), Jeremiah Penick (34), Anthony Anderson (33), and Jordan Baker (24). 

Sacks - Jeremiah Penick (3), Conner Hopson (2.5), Emarion Perkins (2), Cameron Webb (2), Jordan Baker (2), Cameron Prater (1), DeJuan Harris (1), and Dae'Yuan Thompson-Green (.5).

Tackles for Loss - Jeremiah Penick (9), Jordan Baker (7), Emarion Perkins (5.5), Cameron Webb (5.5), Cameron Prater (5.5), Dae'Yuan Thompson-Green (5), Conner Hopson (3.5), DeAndre Goodson (1.5), and Michael Miles (1.5). 

Interceptions - DeAndre Goodson (2), Anthony Anderson (2), Jordan Baker (1), and Ronald Cutts Jr. (1).

Pass Break-Ups - Anthony Anderson (5), Dae'Yuan Thompson-Green (2), Ronald Cutts Jr. (2), Debonair Brown (2), Jordan Baker (1), Willie Stringfield (1), Chris Payne (1), Jeremiah Penick (1), DeAndre Goodson (1), and Theodore Parrish (1). 

Forced Fumbles - Cameron Webb (2), Cameron Prater (1), Jordan Baker (1), Dae'Yuan Thompson-Green (1), DeJuan Harris (1).

Fumble Recoveries - Cameron Prater (3), Ronald Cutts Jr. (2), Jack Bunn (2), Jordan Baker (1), Emarion Perkins (1), Willie Stringfield (1). 

Punt Returning - Keyshawn Johnson (3-57 yards), Nick Mosley (2-6 yards).  

Kick Returning - Ali Lee Jr. (35-697 yards), Nick Mosley (12-201 yards), Joshua Jean-Baptiste (3-47 yards), Krys Riley-Richardson (3-45 yards), Keyshawn Johnson (1-15 yards), Gideon Tafari-Thompson (1-15 yards), Emarion Perkins (1-8 yards).

Punting - Daniel Jamieson (53 punts, 37.53 average, 11 inside 20-yard-line). 

Kicking - Jaffer Murphy (17/17 on PAT's, 13/21 on field goals, 4 from 50+, long of 60).