PAINESVILLE, Ohio -- The Lake Erie football team competed in their 2024 home opener today when they hosted the Post University Eagles at Jack Britt Memorial Stadium. It was a close battle between the two sides all game but the Storm would come out on top 28-27 in exciting walk-off fashion. The Storm now improve to 1-1 on the year as they finish up non-conference play.

Game Recap
After a tough road loss to #9 Ferris State last week, the Storm returned home to look for a victory.

Post would open up the game with an 11-play, 74-yard drive that ended in a touchdown. The Storm's first offensive drive was less eventful. On the first play, quarterback Cade Rice threw an interception to give the Eagles possession in Lake Erie territory. Again, Post would finish off their drive with a touchdown and put the Storm down 14-0 early.

The Storm then rattled off a 13-play, 43-yard drive to set up senior kicker Jaffer Murphy for a long field goal. However, an illegal formation penalty on Lake Erie would push back Murphy's attempt to 53 yards. He would make it look easy though as he drilled the kick straight through the uprights with plenty of room to spare. The 53-yard kick became the longest field goal in program history, passing Sam Marcotte who converted a 50-yard attempt on October 27, 2012 against Walsh.

That seemed to ignite the Storm defense as they forced a three-and-out during Post's next offensive series. During Post's punt attempt though, punter Aden Cain muffed the snap and was forced to run with the ball, resulting in a 16-yard loss and setting up the Storm offense with the ball on the Post nine yard line with 1:28 remaining in the first quarter. Backup quarterback Alec Lewis then came into the game and helped finish off the three-play drive with a two-yard touchdown pass to Tae'Shaun Johnson to bring the Storm within striking distance, 14-10.

Both sides continued to exchange back-and-forth scoreless drives until the end of the second quarter when Post finally broke through on a 15-yard rush by quarterback Isaiah Emmanuel. This would put the score at 21-10 and neither side scored again in the half.

It was all defense in the third and the Storm managed to score the only points courtesy of another field goal by Murphy, this time a 28-yard attempt.

In the fourth, the Storm offense started to heat up. Murphy began the scoring with a 44-yard attempt to inch the Storm closer, 21-16. During their next offensive series, the Storm marched 64 yards down the field on seven plays to take the lead for the first time in the game when Lewis connected with Johnson once again, this time on a nine-yard play. With a 22-21 lead, the Storm decided to go for two but were unable to convert.

This set up Post with 3:17 left, only needing a field goal to take the lead. The Eagles offense began rolling down the field and threatened to score quickly. However, with just 1:01 left and the ball on the Lake Erie five yard-line, Post decided to take a questionable timeout to stop the clock. After one offensive play, the Storm called a timeout of their own but the Eagles scored on the very next play, taking back the lead 27-22 leaving the Storm with just 38 seconds to march down the field and try to win the game.

The final drive was magic. It began with a short five-yard completion to Krys Riley-Richardson and the Storm took their second timeout right after. Next play, Lewis found Rico Small down the middle of the field for a huge 29-yard completion, crossing midfield and placing the ball at the Post 41. This was followed by the Storm's third and final timeout. Next play, Lewis found Small again for a 8-yard gain which he took out of bounds with six seconds remaining and only time for one or two more quick plays. The Storm offense would need only one. On the next play, Lewis dropped back, stepped forward, and threw a dime right in the front corner of the end zone to Ali Lee Jr. who made an incredible catch and sealed a thrilling 28-27 victory for the Storm as time expired.

Lewis finished the day completing 17-of-31 (54.8%) for 208 yards and three passing touchdowns. On the ground, the Nick Mosley and Riley-Richardson duo combined for 107 yards on 24 attempts and Cade Rice added another 21 of his own. Johnson finished with six receptions for 68 yards while hauling in two scores. On defense, Emarion Perkins and Ronald Cutts each totaled 10 tackles with Perkins adding half a sack to his line. 

The win not only marks Lake Erie's first of the season, but gives first-year head coach David Price, his first career head coaching victory. Congratulations, Coach!

The Matchup
The two sides faced off today for the first time ever. Post, who are competing in just their third varsity season as a program, compete in the Northeast 10 conference. The matchup also marks the first time that the Eagles have faced off against any member of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC).

Looking Ahead
The Storm will begin conference play next week on the road against the University of Findlay Oilers. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. Lake Erie is searching for their first win against the Oilers since a 48-45 victory on October 10, 2010.