Olmsted Falls quarterback Tyler Sparks fires downfield during the Bulldogs 21-14 victory over Avon Lake. The Bulldogs victory helps keep them atop the conference standings. (Photo by Larry Bennet)

Tyler ‘Sparks’ Bulldogs to huge win over Shoremen
By Matt Pawlikowski
Sports
Published Oct. 4, 2006

They say high school football is the purest of sport. The Olmsted Falls-Avon Lake clash was a prime example of that. It was a game ESPN would love, one with ups and downs, spectacular highlights, and a true classic battle between two giant titans, which kept fans on the edge of their seats until the very end.

“That’s the way it should be when two good teams play, ’’ said Olmsted Falls coach Jim Ryan. “‘It should go down to the fourth quarter.’’

Ryan’s Bulldogs prevailed, taking home not only a 21-14 win, but more important it was the statement they made, that being  (6-0, 4-0 SWC), they are the real deal. 

“They’ve got the best of us the last two or three years, so we knew we had to perform this year, it was our turn to knock them off, but what a heck of a ballgame.’’ said Ryan. ‘’Obviously there are things we can do better. ’We’ll just keep going to work each week, and try to win each week, but at 6-0 you can’t complain.’’

Bulldog players, who celebrated the victory afterwards, couldn’t agree more.

“We pulled it off, all the seniors have been waiting for this for four years, I’ve been waiting for three, and we did it as a team,” said junior tackle Cody Connare. “We just looked at it as it was our own, its our house now,” It’s feels great. This was huge it’s pretty much the SWC, we just pulled through and did what we had to do.’’

Entering the contest, Avon Lake had won 30 consecutive games at home. The last time they lost, Sept. 11, 2001, had yet to occur. They have won or shared the conference title for the last nine years. Now, the Shoremen (3-3, 1-2), who have not lost two games since 2002, must find a way to regroup, as they travel to North Olmsted to face the 3-3 Eagles, who are hungry after losing a tough 28-21 double overtime decision to Amherst.

“All I see is a loss, they can be happy about a classic football game, but no one is happy in our lockeroom,’’ Shoremen coach Dave  Dlugosz said. “I’m going to tell (the team) to buckle things up, the season is not over, we can start a winning streak and let’s get going. If we play as well as we played tonight, and eliminate the errors, we’ll run the rest of the year, but that’s a big if. We’ll see what happens.’’

Those errors, which Dlugosz imbeds in his team as FIPs (fumbles, interceptions and penalties) gave Falls great field position, and led to 14 points.  But nothing was more crucial to Olmsted Falls victory then the poise of quarterback Tyler Sparks.

Avon Lake had just tied the game at 14 with 11:32 left, after Kevin Mansnerus scored from 1 yard out. Considering the Shoremen defense had done a good job of holding Sparks and his high-octane offense in check to that point, it appeared overtime was a possibility.

But Sparks had different thoughts. Not only did he engineer an 11-play, 79- yard drive, he capped it off with 4:31 left, when he took the snap from center, and scrambled 17 yards around end.

“This feels great, our fans are great. They supported us the whole game. “It was a great defensive game the whole way. I wanted this so bad,’’ Sparks said. “We just have to stay level headed and keep working hard now. We want this conference championship so badly. It’s what we’re working for. Even the year we won the state championship, we lost to these guys and shared the SWC, so this is a great feeling.”

The turning point in the game may have come five plays earlier. On a first down play with and the ball at the Shoremen 30, Sparks avoided a potential disaster, when he was able to snag a bad snap from center. Under pressure, and in the grasp of a Shoremen defender, he somehow managed to get a pass off.

“It was a turning point in the game,’’ Sparks said. “Shane Smith was the guy I threw it to, he found a way to get wide open. I was being pulled down by the leg, and it was a good play.’’

Avon Lake was able to stay in the game not only behind a strong defensive effort, but also from its bread and butter running game, racking up 175, with Alex Elamin leading the way with 103. Although Alex Berry’s 35-yard pass to a wide open Elamin set up the first Shoremen score of the night, the fact they only completed two passes hurt the team.

“You have to give Avon Lake credit. Up front they are tough, their running back came in and did a good job, and their defense played tremendous,’’ Ryan said. “They held our offense in check for most the game, but the guys got it going in the fourth quarter and put together a big drive when we needed it.”

After a scoreless first quarter, Avon Lake took the early lead on Elemi’s 1-yard run. But after holding Falls in check, Elamin fumbled on the Shoremen’s next possession, giving the Bulldogs great field position at the Shoremen 13 yard line. Three plays later Sparks connected with Smith, who leads the team with 20 receptions, to even things out.

Olmsted Falls got its next points off an Avon Lake fumble. Sparks found Dave Pellerite from 30 yards out for the score. It took just six plays and covered 31 yards.

 On the night, Sparks rushed for 89 yards on 18 carries, and also had 90 yards in the air. Aaron Schlecter had 24 yards rushing, while Smith led all receivers with 51.

Quotable:
“He’s an outstanding athlete, probably the best in the conference. We didn’t fear him, but we certainly respected his ability.’’ Avon Lake coach Dave Dlugosz on Olmsted Falls QB Tyler Sparks.