NORTH CANTON, OH: The Walsh Cavalier Football team earned their third win of the season as well as kept the Pride and Passion trophy on East Maple Street for the 4th season in a row on Saturday evening.
In front of a packed crowd, celebrating Maroon and Gold Weekend, the Cavs were in a barn burner until the final quarter. It was a slow start for both teams as neither team could get into a rhythm. The Walsh offense only had the ball for three minutes and 23 seconds in the first quarter. The Storm struck first with a quick three play drive to take the lead but Walsh responded with a 60 yard drive to knot things up at 7 each, midway through the 2nd quarter.
From there, the game was in a stale mate until the final seven minutes of the game. Cavalier Football came to life after a
Jake Gill rushing touchdown gave the Maroon and Gold the lead. Lake Erie was able to earn one first down but then the Storm had to punt, giving the Cavs an opportunity to seal the win. A Lake Erie face mask penalty gave Walsh key field position. Managing the clock, Walsh saw a fourth and one with 2:17 left and elected to go for it. The risk paid off as
Hayden Wickard found
Shawn Lodge for a 42 yard touchdown pass, giving the Cavaliers a 21-7 lead.
The next play,
Chris Jones intercepted the Lake Erie Quarterback, giving the Walsh offense the ball back with 2:07 left. The final drive looked similar like the previous one as three straight rushes found Walsh with 4th and short. Once again, Wickard found Lodge for a 32 yard touchdown pass, pushing the score to 28-7.
Looking ahead, Walsh will host the Ashland Eagles, next Saturday, at 12pm.
LOCATION: Larry Staudt Field
SCORE: WU 28 - LEC 7
RECORDS: WU 3-0 (1-0), LEC 2-1 (0-1)
FOR THE CAVS
- Hayden Wickard threw three touchdown passes and had 156 passing yards. He also rushed for 46 yards.
- Jake Gill rushed for 72 yards and one touchdown.
- Shawn Lodge snagged two key touchdown passes and had 91 receiving yards.
- Eddie Nichols totaled 13 tackles for the Walsh defense.
