PEPPER PIKE—Just before Friday’s Chagrin Valley Conference Chagrin Division showdown with visiting Edgewood, Orange coach Adam Bechlem outlined his game plan.
The Lions then went out and executed it to perfection in a 55-12 win over the Warriors.
“We need to control the tempo of the game, and the way we’ll accomplish that is through the run game,” Bechlem declared. “We’ll be successful if we can run the ball well.”
Diante White got things started for the Lions with the first of his two touchdowns with 8:16 remaining in the first quarter. Zak Basharat scored on an 11-yard quarterback keeper and White ran for his second score moments later push the Lion lead to 20-0 in the first quarter.
Edgewood’s Ethan Colbert returned a punt for a touchdown early in the second quarter to slow the Orange momentum but that didn’t last long.
Basharat threw a 62-yard touchdown pass to Trevon Davis to increase Orange’s lead to 34-6 and Davis added another score with 22 seconds remaining in the half to make it 40-6. Davis finished the game with two catches for 111 yards and two scores.
Orange’s Greg Beard opened the second half with a carry up the gut then bounced out to the hash marks for a 51-yard touchdown and a 48-6 Lion lead.
Edgewood put together a six-minute drive but Mike McNeil picked off a Warriors pass in the red zone and returned it to midfield. Later, Ryan Adler returned an Edgewood interception for a touchdown to give the Lions a 55-6 lead.
Colbert closed out the scoring with his second touchdown of the day with 9:50 remaining in the game.
Beard led the Orange rushing attack with 102 yards on seven carries and the one touchdown. White finished the game with just six carries, but he ran for 41 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Basharat threw for 188 yards and two scores and he also ran in a touchdown. Luca Garofoli added nine carries for 32 yards and a score and Marvin Davies caught four passes for 76 yards.
