PAINESVILLE, Ohio -- The Lake Erie football team hosted the Wheeling University Cardinals today for their final non-conference game of the season. It was a back-and-forth affair but the Storm fell just short, losing 35-31 in a strong offensive game where they put up 509 total yards and held Wheeling to 378.

Game Recap
Just like last week, Lake Erie got points on the board quickly. After a scoreless, seven play opening drive by the Cardinals, the Storm scored their first touchdown on a 75 yard rush by Nick Mosley.

About halfway through the first, the Cardinals had a chance to get on the board and lined up for a 38-yard field goal attempt. The attempt was unsuccessful as Jordan Smith got a hand on the ball for the block.

The Cardinals tied up the game on their first play of the second and later took a 14-7 lead in the quarter. With just over five minutes left, Lake Erie put together a 12-play, 97 yard drive and tied the game back up when quarterback Brady Clark found tight end Devin Morgan for a 27 yard touchdown.

The offense came out of the locker room in the second half with the same momentum that they ended the first with. Their first drive ended with a rushing touchdown by Jordan Smith to take a 21-14 advantage and they extended their lead during their next offensive drive with a program record 93 yard touchdown pass from Clark to Curtis Thomas.

The Cardinals managed to get one more touchdown before the end of the quarter to bring them closer, 28-21.

Wheeling found an offensive rhythm early on in the quarter and tied the game up at 28 before scoring with 10:36 left to take a 35-28 lead.

The Storm ate up a lot of clock on their follow-up offensive series and although they managed to get down to the Wheeling 10, they decided to take the easy three points and attempt to stop the Cardinals offense quickly.

They did a fantastic job and forced Wheeling into a quick three-and-out giving themselves the ball back with 2:11 to play. Unfortunately, Lake Erie would turn the ball over in their own territory. Despite time running out, the Storm defense came up big again and forced another three-and-out, including a clutch stop on fourth and inches. With just 38 seconds remaining though, the Lake Erie offense wasn't able to get the ball down the field quick enough and they finished out the game with a close loss.

Mosley had a very impressive day on the ground, totaling 171 rushing yards on 17 carries and one touchdown. Clark fell just short of a 300-yard passing game, throwing for 299 yards while completing 22 of his 33 pass attempts and throwing two touchdowns. Morgan led all receivers in the game with six receptions for 95 yards.

Defensively, Kemari Ward led the team with 10 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss.


Looking Ahead

The Storm will begin G-MAC competition next week when they play host to the University of Findlay Oilers on Saturday, September 20. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.