After defeating Elyria last week, the Lorain Titans wanted to continue their revenge tour of 2022 losses on the road at Sandusky.
However, the self-inflicted mistakes caught up to the Titans (2-1) as they dropped their first game of the season to the Blue Streaks (1-2) on Sept. 1, 30-23.
Sandusky lost two close games in the first two weeks, but it got over the hump as Jamarion Alexander ran in a 20-yard touchdown with 17 seconds remaining.
Unbelievable!
Sandusky takes the leads with 17 seconds left!
Alexander runs in the 20-yard touchdown and the 2-pt
30-23 Blue Streaks@MJournalSports @lorainathletics @gobluestreaks pic.twitter.com/ny6fdeaiBJ
— Travis Nelson (@travisnelson40) September 2, 2023
“That’s what it boiled down to, we left too many plays on the field,” Lorain coach Damion Creel said. “We had two turnovers that we shouldn’t turn it over on our mesh points. We didn’t come away with points twice after getting inside of the five-yard line. We missed a field goal before halftime. I think we gave them the game and they took advantage of what we did wrong.”
It was a first half full of mistakes for the Titans, and the scoreboard reflected it with a 22-12 halftime deficit. With that being said, Lorain’s offense got off to a good start.
After the defense forced a Sandusky three-and-out on the first possession, John Salaman went to work in the run game. He broke two runs in a row that put the Titans inside of the 5-yard line. The Blue Streaks made a stand on the first three plays, but Salaman punched it in from one yard out on fourth-and-goal. The extra point was no good, keeping the lead at 6-0.
TD Lorain!
Easy work in the run game, John Salaman scores from 1 yard out on 4th and goal!
6-0 Titans, 8:28 1Q@MJournalSports @lorainathletics @gobluestreaks pic.twitter.com/9ZO2NNmMry
— Travis Nelson (@travisnelson40) September 1, 2023
The miscues began when Alexander had a big return on the ensuing kickoff into Lorain territory. Quarterback Dale Johnson connected with Amir Aaron for a 28-yard pass inside of the 10-yard line, and the duo connected again on a five-yard score on third-and-goal. The extra point was good, and Sandusky took the lead, 7-6.
Starting with good field position themselves, the Titans scored again as Chase Davis found Jairo Williams on a screen pass for a 23-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion was no good, keeping Lorain’s lead at 12-7.
We might have a high scoring battle on our hands!
Chase Davis completes the 23-yd screen pass to Jairo Williams for the score!
12-7 Lorain, 4:25 1Q
2PT no good@MJournalSports @lorainathletics @gobluestreaks pic.twitter.com/JtbrIHUY7s
— Travis Nelson (@travisnelson40) September 1, 2023
Lorain picked up serious momentum after forcing a three-and-out, but the game flipped completely as Aa’zoriyon Bonner intercepted another Davis screen pass and returned it 65 yards for the touchdown. Alexander ran in the two-point conversion after a Lorain penalty, extending the lead to three.
Despite the tough play, the Titans’ offense came back strong and went on another long drive. Salaman had a strong half with 95 yards rushing, and Ocir Kimble provided a nice second option. Kimble appeared to have scored from four yards out, but a false start waved the play off. On the next play in the pile, Kimble fumbled and the Blue Streaks recovered.
Sandusky gave the ball right back as Johnny Geiger picked off a pass from Johnson. Both teams punted again before Lorain got the football back. The Titans coughed the ball up again after a fumbled handoff exchange between Davis and Salaman.
In the final two minutes of the half, Alexander ran for a first down on fourth-and-10 on a fake punt try. The Blue Streaks took advantage as the senior running back cashed in an eight-yard touchdown run with only 30 seconds left in the half. A Lorain 15-yard penalty helped out the drive.
The Titans had one last try in the final seconds to score after a nice kick return by Williams, but Johnson’s 32-yard field goal was no good as time expired.
“I just think we left too much on the field,” Creel said. “Our kids will bounce back, we’ll bounce back. It’s a tough thing to go through losing a game that you should’ve won. We’ll get them back ready to go for next week.”
Lorain received the ball to start the second half, and got a big boost as Davis completed a screen pass to Williams again for 53 yards. However, the drive stalled inside of the 10-yard line after a penalty. Johnson came on again and drilled a 22-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 22-15.
Sandusky turned the ball over on downs to give Lorain the ball back, but the Titans turned it over on downs themselves after a bad snap got Salaman wrapped up in the backfield. The game got wild on the next two snaps as both fumbled handoff exchanges. Lorain got the ball back for that one play with hopes of tying it up, but instead committed its fourth turnover of the game.
The Titans’ defense stepped up another stop, and the offense marched the ball into Sandusky territory after being pinned deep to start the fourth quarter. However, they had to punt the ball back after the drive stalled.
Johnson rolled a nice punt to the 1-yard line to pin the Blue Streaks back this time. The defense got another stop, and it rewarded the offense with good field position inside of Sandusky territory with under six minutes remaining.
The Titans finally got a drive going, and were able to put a touchdown on the board. They relied on their bread and butter of the run game, and Kimble punched in the five-yard touchdown with 1:11 left. Lorain rolled the dice going for the two-point conversion, and Salaman got into the end zone.
“We knew that we only had one drive left. We just had to put it all out there,” Salaman said. “We had to get a great drive, we made too many mistakes to even be in the game. I felt like we cost ourselves.”
After returning the squib kick to their own 40-yard line, the Blue Streaks got into Lorain territory in the two-minute drill. Johnson completed two passes and a facemask penalty advanced the ball to the 15-yard line.
On the next play, Johnson was stripped but Sandusky recovered. Alexander took the handoff on the next play to the house for the winning score. He added the two-point conversion for good measure.
Lorain had one last chance after a pass interference penalty, but the clock ran out.
“We’ve just been fighting. Even when we make mistakes, we pick each other up,” Salaman said.
Salaman ran the ball 27 times for 137 yards and a touchdown to lead the Titans. Davis went 10-17 passing for 168 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Williams hauled in four passes for 97 yards and a touchdown.
Alexander led Sandusky with 105 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 22 carries.
Both teams are on the road next week on Sept. 8 as Lorain travels to Akron Firestone and Sandusky is at Padua.
THE SCORE
Sandusky 30, Lorain 23
