With Defense and determination, The Lions prove to be too much for West Geauga!

Post date: Oct 11, 2016 5:57:44 PM

Friday night was a much needed "feel good" evening for The Orange Lions. Coming into the game having lost 2 in a row, The Lions looked to bounce back against a tough West Geauga team. They did just that with a 28-18 victory, moving them to 4-3 on the season. West Geauga received the opening kickoff to only go three-and-out, having to punt to The Lions. From there, The Lion offense mustered up a couple of first downs, but still had to punt. When the punt ended up inside The Wolverine 10 yard line, Orange's defense buckled up and on the ensuing play, stuffed and stripped the ball carrier allowing Junior OLB Antonio Baez to walk into the end-zone for the first touchdown of the game.

With the score 7-0, The Lions would again go back to defense; once again forcing a three-and-out. When The Lion offense took the field again, they were able to put the offense together. In a flash, Junior RB Jake Sonkin would take a handoff and go 58 yards for a TD putting The Lions ahead 14-0. Even though it took West Geauga 16 plays and two 4th down conversions to do it, they finally scored in the second quarter, but had the all important extra point blocked by Junior MLB Pablo Garcia, making the score 14-6 at the half.

The Orange Lions came out in the second half and continued to play with determination. They stayed hungry. They never became satisfied with their lead. As Jake Sonkin would score two more touchdowns(1 yard, 21 yards), The Lion defense would bend a little, but never broke. They stuffed West Geauga on their two-point conversion that would have put the Wolverines within one score This proved to be the demise of the West Geauga Wolverines as The Lions took them out of their game plan. This was the first time The Lions have beaten West Geauga in 4 years. Some called it an upset. But The Orange Lions Football Family knew the hard work would eventually would pay off, regardless who the opponent was.

The Orange Lions (4-3) will look to get to 5-3 as they travel to Perry (7-0) to take on the Pirates. This will prove to be another tough game for The Lions, but they know what they need to do to prepare accordingly. Kickoff will be this Friday night at 7pm at Perry. We hope to see you there to support your Lions! Go Lions!

Cleveland Plain Dealer