Rangers Fall in Season Finale

Ranger seniors Quentin Palmer and Tommy Paul hug after the game. This was their final game playing for Lakewood.

Amherst Steele defeated Lakewood 37-14 Friday night to close out the football season for both teams.  The Ranger offense, which this week included the addition of linebacker Kevin Musai, moved the ball on multiple occasions. However, turnovers doomed their effort by ending drives and setting up Comet scores. The Rangers finished the season at 0-10, going winless for the first time since 1977.  

                After an exchange of punts on the game’s opening possessions, the Comets  started their second drive at their own 18 yard line. After running two ineffective plays, they faced a third and seven situation.  Amherst quarterback Johnny Matakovich launched a deep pass down the right side, but it was slightly underthrown. The ball bounced off the Ranger defender and into the arms of wide receiver Alec Platz, who ran the ball into the endzone.  Comet fans exploded with excitement, as they had a 7-0 lead with 8:05 left in the first quarter.

                Disaster struck on the next Ranger possession, as quarterback Austin Mahar’s pass was intercepted by Mark Harris and returned to the Lakewood three yard line. Comet running back Jeremy Smith ran in a touchdown on the next play, extending the lead to 14-0. That’s where the score stayed until midway through the second quarter. Amherst marched the ball down the field, but threw an interception in the Rangers red zone. Defensive back Dayvon Hanible, who also had a busy night on special teams, picked off a Comet pass at Lakewood’s four yard line.

                On the Rangers first play from scrimmage, Comet linebacker Christian Velez tackled the Ranger running back in the endzone, scoring a safety. Velez is the son of Ohio State Trooper Kenny Velez, who died on duty September 15. Velez was directing traffic on I-90 near McKinley Avenue when he was struck and killed by a motorist.  Amherst added another touchdown on the next drive, taking a 23-0 lead into the half.

                The Rangers scored on a touchdown run by Senior Kevin Musai midway through the third quarter. Musai, a linebacker by trade, was added to the offense this week in order to put a new wrinkle in the gameplan. His ten yard TD run was followed by a two point conversion pass from Mahar to Senior running back Quentin Palmer, who had another great game. The score cut the Comet lead to 23-8. A Steele touchdown and fumbles on the next two Ranger possessions put the game away. The Rangers got one more possession in the final minute and were able to make it count. Quentin Palmer, who has been a tireless workhorse back all season, got the final touchdown of the season with 29 seconds to play. The clock ran out on the game and the Rangers season. The teams exchanged handshakes, then the Rangers quietly exchanged hugs on the field for the final time this year.

Mike Deneen

Mike Deneen has extensive experience covering sports and community stories for the Lakewood Observer. Mike has been a Senior Industry Analyst for the Freedonia Group in Cleveland, Ohio, since 1998. He has appeared on CNBC’s Closing Bell, NPR’s MarketPlace and has been quoted multiple times in The Wall Street Journal. He has made multiple guest appearances on ESPN Cleveland radio. Mike also writes for Inside Northwestern, a website that covers Northwestern Wildcat Athletics. You can reach him on Twitter at @MikeDeneen1 

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Volume 12, Issue 23, Posted 11:21 PM, 10.28.2016