The Lakewood Rangers did everything except get the ball in the end zone in the September 7th battle against North Olmsted. Unfortunately for the Rangers, they were unable to turn statistical domination into points. The Eagles staggered away with a 7-0 home victory in a non-league game.

Eagle running back Stephan MacDonald, who many coaches consider the fastest back in the Southwest Conference, used his speed to get around the corner of the Lakewood defense and sprinted untouched 74-yards for the games only touchdown. John Rodriguez added the extra point and made the score 7-0 with 4:42 remaining the first quarter.

Despite giving up the long scoring run the Rangers defense held MacDonald to just 102 yards on 12 carries on the night. Lakewood coach Jim Slagle praised the work of his defensive unit. “(MacDonald) got us once but they ran that play 10 more times and we stopped it every time. We gave them a physical football game tonight.”

Linebacker Gahad Suleiman single handedly stymied a number of Eagle drives with his relentless pursuit of the football. In addition to being a captain on the football team, the 5-foot-8 213 pound senior is also a standout on Lakewood’s wrestling team. “If that kid was 6-feet-tall he’d be on his way to Ohio State,” Slagle said. “He’s one of the best linebackers in Ohio.”

Lakewood ran 39 plays inside North Olmsted territory and moved the chains for 13 first downs but saw the North Olmsted defense rise to the occasion each time to keep the Rangers off the scoreboard. Senior fullback Robert Trivitt had his way with the Eagles defense rushing for 149 yards on 29 carries.

The closest the Rangers got to the end zone was early in the second quarter when they advanced two the North Olmsted 2-yard line. Eagle linebacker Nicolas Gessner tackled Trivitt in the backfield and sacked Lakewood quarterback Dan Shannon on consecutive plays forcing the Rangers to attempt a 27-yard field goal. Ardjan Bako’s kick sailed wide left and Lakewood went into the locker room at halftime trailing by a touchdown.

The Rangers best advance of the second half was an 11-play drive that saw Lakewood consume 6:35 off the clock and get down the North Olmsted 24 before turning the ball over on downs.

Slagle wrapped up his teams offensive woes stating, “We’ve been fighting this for three years now. We’ve got to learn how to win.”