ASHTABULA—Lakeside dominated the first and fourth quarters in grinding out a 22-14 win over visiting Eastlake North on Friday.
The Dragons overpowered the Rangers in the fourth quarter with 225-pound running back Nate Bartone chewing up yards and dragging defenders on his way to scoring the go-ahead touchdown and two-point conversion with 10:53 remaining in the game.
“We started six sophomores today and about seven seniors and two or three juniors, so we’re a young football team,” said Lakeside coach Buzz Edwards. “That win is a huge win for our program.”
Lakeside struck first when quarterback Alex DiSalvatore rolled to his right and then threw back across the field to Jimmy Timonere, who scampered into the end zone for a touchdown on fourth-and-goal from the nine.
A two-point conversion gave the Dragons an 8-0 lead.
Hassani Sy recovered an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff, but the Ranger defense held and tied the game midway through the second quarter when Re’ontae Lowery broke a tackle near the line of scrimmage and raced 27 yards for a touchdown with 6:10 left in the half.
The Rangers added a two-point conversion that left the game tied at 8-8 at halftime.
North took its first lead of the game in the third quarter when Lowery raced around the right corner and sprinted 23 yards for the go-ahead score.
Lakeside prevented the Rangers from converting their two-point try.
Devan Miller’s one-yard plunge tied the game at 14-14 with 5:08 left in the third, and that’s when the Dragons put the ball in Bartone’s hands.
“We were going to ride our O-line and give it to the big guy and let our big guys lean on their big guys and see who is a little bit tougher,” Edwards said. “We were fired up. We worked pretty hard for this game. We were ready, and I thought we were more ready than we were in the past for Week 1.”
After carrying the load—and a host of Rangers on his back—earlier in the drive, Bartone rumbled into the end zone for a six-yard touchdown, and he added the two-point conversion to close out the scoring with 10:53 left to play.
“We knew going in they were big up front and had that big back,” said North coach Shawn Dodd. “It’s funny how the tide turned. We went into halftime saying they’re wearing down and slowing down, and they were, they were playing a step slower and moving a little slower and sluggish, so I said, ‘Hey, guys, we’re in a good spot here.’ Once they got a little momentum, we looked like the tired team and they were playing well.”
Lakeside threatened again in the quarter, but the Rangers recovered a fumble at their own 16 and moved to the 31 after a Lakeside personal foul.
The Rangers moved the ball into plus territory but Jamille Massingill’s interception sealed Lakeside’s win with 1:15 left in the game.
“Credit Lakeside,” said North coach Shawn Dodd. “They executed well. They did not hurt themselves. They did everything to win and not lose, and we did things to win, but we also did things to lose. We had a lot of self-inflicted mistakes.”
Miller led the Dragons with 92 yards on 19 carries and Bartone finished with 18 carries for 81 yards.
Lowery racked up 83 rushing yards on 10 carries and scored twice for the Rangers.
