<H1 class=red>Raiders follow script, rally to top Panthers
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Saturday, October 01, 2005 Bob Fortuna
Plain Dealer Reporter
It's beginning to be old hat for Shaker Heights. Trail for most of the football game, then come back and win.
Friday night the Raiders battled back from an early 14-0 deficit and trailed, 17-14, midway through the fourth quarter before scoring twice in the fourth quarter for a 28-17 victory over Euclid at "Sparky" DiBiasio Stadium.
The result evens both teams' records at 3-3, however, Shaker Heights improved to 1-0 in the Lake Erie League Lake Division. The Pan thers fell to 0-1.
Two plays loomed large in Shaker's comeback.
After Euclid took a 17-14 lead with 6:04 left in the game on Matt Zuzic's 34-yard field goal, Shaker scored on the third play after the kickoff when quarterback Alex Math faked to running back Craig Johnson, then darted up the middle for a 57-yard touchdown run.
"We've been down every single game this year, so we know we can come back," said Math, a 5-11, 175-pound senior who teamed with Johnson for 175 yards rushing. "The play was just a QB wrap and the line really opened it up for me."
The crushing blow came 96 seconds later when the Raiders were faced with fourth-and-6 on Euclid's 41. Blocking back Ahmad Motley took the snap on a fake punt and motored to the end zone.
"We've run that play three times this year and have scored every time," said Motley, the benefactor each time. "This team just seems to play better when the pressure is on."
Panthers coach Mike Rezzolla said Shaker didn't do anything surprising.
"Those are plays [Shaker's] been running all year long," Euclid coach Mike Rezzolla said. "The problem was, we rarely had the ball."
The Panthers did most of the damage through the air while taking a 14-7 lead at halftime.
Panthers quarterback Howard Drake completed 9 of 11 first-half passes for 128 yards. He got 47 yards during a 10-play, 65-yard march as Euclid scored the first touchdown. Jamall Javey went in from 5 yards on a pitch around right end.
The Panthers extended their lead to 14-0 with 2:53 remaining in the half when Drake hooked up with Hayden Lewis from 5 yards out to cap an 11-play, 81-yard drive that featured a 31-yard pass from Drake to Lewis. Lewis finished with six receptions for 92 yards.
Shaker Heights found the end zone with 30 seconds left as Math scored on a 1-yard sneak, but Johnson was the workhorse on the series.
The 5-9, 165-pound senior carried three times for 39 yards, including a 23-yard scamper that gave the Raiders a first-and-goal on the 3.
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