LINESVILLE - Eisenhower's five-game winning streak came to an abrupt end Friday with a 41-21 loss to the Conneaut Eagles.
The loss was the first for the Knights since a week-one loss to Mercer. Ironically, both teams are from Region 1 - the same region which will oppose Eisenhower in the District 10 Class A playoffs next month, but Mercer is Class A and Conneaut is Class AAA.
The Eagles started the scoring on their second drive when Elijah Anderton broke loose and ran 76 yards for a touchdown. Minutes later, dual-threat quarterback Jon Onderko ran in a score of his own from 15 yards out to give Conneaut a 14-0 lead on its first Homecoming night.
The Knights answered back with 2:32 left in the first quarter when Alex Johnson broke into the open field for his own 76-yard touchdown run.
After Anderton added his second touchdown to give the Eagles a 21-7 lead, the Knights had a chance to score before halftime, driving all the way to the Conneaut 20-yard line before turning the ball over on downs.
The Eagles took advantage, marching down the field in just 49 seconds and adding a late score when Onderko hit Hunter Merritt with a three-yard pass that made it 28-7 with just two seconds remaining before halftime.
Fact Box
Ike-Conneaut Stats
Eisenhower7077-21
Conneaut141467-41
First Quarter
C- Elijah Anderton 76 run, 4:57, Tanner Houck kick
C- John Onderko 15 run, 2:32, Houck kick
E- Alex Johnson 76 run, 1:15, Nathan O'Brien kick
Second Quarter
C- Anderton 1 run, 11:20, Houck kick
C- Hunter Merritt 3 pass from Onderko, 0:02, Houck kick
Third Quarter
C- Merritt 26 run, 6:54, kick failed
E- Rob Wilston 27 pass from Aaron Lundmark, 2:53, O'Brien kick
Fourth Quarter
C- Onderko 15 run, 11:50, Houck kick
E- Johnson 1 run, 5:07, O'Brien kick
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EC
Offensive Plays4948
First downs1017
Rushes-yards32-13839-365
Passing13165
Total Yards269430
Comp-Att-Int10-17-05-9-0
Fumbles-Lost1-10-0
Penalties-Yards5-3010-70
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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-E- John Pascuzzi 17 for 54, Alex Johnson 6 for 102, 2 TD, Trevor Spicer 3 for 6, Aaron Lundmark 4 for -28, Rob Wilston 2 for 4; C- Anderton 17 for 181, 2 TD, Onderko 8 for 49, 2 TD, Merritt 14 for 135, TD
PASSING-E- Lundmark 10 of 17 for 131, TD; C- Onderko 5 of 8 for 65, TD, Merritt 0 of 1 for 0
RECEIVING-E- Nathan O'Brien 5 for 51, Pascuzzi 2 for 14, Jake Johnson 1 for 33, Wilston 1 for 27, TD, Johnson 1 for 6; C- Tyler Bartlett 1 for 19, Merritt 2 for 19, TD, Brandon Sherman 1 for 16, Chris Richardson 1 for 11
The Knights would add two more touchdowns in the second half, but both immediately followed a Conneaut score. Ike quarterback Aaron Lundmark hit Rob Wilston with a 27-yard touchdown pass for one score in the third quarter and Johnson ran in his second touchdown of the night with just five minutes remaining in the game.
The Eagles were able to run all over the Knights defense, finishing with a total of 365 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Anderton finished with 181 of those yards and Merritt added another 135.
Johnson finished with 102 yards on the ground for Eisenhower to go along with his two touchdowns. John Pascuzzi finished with 54 yards on17 carries and eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for his senior season.
Lundmark completed 10 of his 17 passes for 131 yards and one touchdown. Nathan O'Brien was Ike's leading receiver, hauling in five receptions for 51 yards.
Eisenhower (5-2, 5-0 in Region 2) will return to region action next Friday, visiting Union City.