Sports

Rangers Football Squad Starts Off Season With Huge Win

Lakewood High School tops Lincoln-West, 41-6, in the first game of the season.

's football squad started its season off on the right foot Friday night.

The Rangers — who finished last season with a disappointing 3-7 record — were hoping to turn to turn things around. 

They started this season in the right direction, pounding Lincoln-West High School, 41-6, before more than 600 home-crowd fans at Lakewood Stadium.

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To start the game, the Rangers seemed a bit jittery. On their first possession, they turned the ball over on a fumble. When the Wolverines didn't capitalize, the home team made them pay.

On their next possession, the offensive unit promptly marched 67 yards down the field and scored on a four-yard rushing touchdown by senior quarterback Aturo Morgan.

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Then, the Rangers poured it on.

They would score four more touchdowns in the first half. Three of those were by senior running back Ben Fitchwell — who rushed for only 33 yards, but he scored a touchdown every time he touched the ball.

Junior running back Jacob Supinski added a touchdown on a 20-yard run a couple minutes into the second quarter.

While the offense rolled, the defensive side of the ball looked equally solid. In the first half, the Rangers held the Wolverines to -1 yard (-13 yards rushing and 12 yards passing).

Lakewood head coach Ron Lewis was pleased with his squad's effort.

"Our kids worked really hard this summer," he said. "We told the kids all week that it wasn't about who we were playing, it was about us playing our best game."

With 6:06 to go in the third quarter, senior running back Devin Goddard made it 40-0 with a 1-yard rushing touchdown. Junior kicker Jacob Antel added on the point after (his fifth of the night) to make it 41-0.

By the third quarter, both teams began playing reserves to give the younger players some additional experience.

Lincoln-West got on the board with a 5-yard rushing touchdown from senior quarterback Joshua Lave, with 1:30 left in the game.

"The first night of high school football, it just doesn't get any better than that," Lewis said. 

The Rangers will face one of their greatest challenges next Friday when they host perennial powerhouse North Ridgeville. 


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