Erie Prep Dominates Lake Catholic Football Team

The motto of the football team (1-3) this year is "find a way."

But the Cougars couldn't find a way to overcome Erie Cathedral Prep (3-0) Saturday night.

The Ramblers dominated all facets of the game on a way to a 37-6 win.

However, the Cougars had to compete without their usual starting quarterback Mark Baniewicz, the team's leading passer and rusher, who strained his medial collateral ligament .

Before that, Baniewicz was already playing both sides of the ball to fill in for injured safety Kaz Struna.

Additionally, defensive back Sam Cicconetti is still recuperating after a nasty helmet-to-helmet collision during the Youngstown Ursuline game.

Dylan Bell and Mitch Spitler started in Baniewicz and Cicconetti's steads, respectively, Saturday.

But Lake Catholic Head Coach Mike Bell had no interest in using his team's injuries as an excuse for their performance.

"Those guys are on the sidelines," Bell said after the game. "It's about the guys on the field. We have guys on the field who are capable of incredible things and winning football games."

The Ramblers' onslaught was fronted by Michigan State recruit Damion Terry at quarterback and running back Delton Williams.

Erie Prep owned the first two quarters of the game. They had 13 first downs in the first half to Lake Catholic's 3; 237 yards to Lake Catholic's 66 (and that doesn't count a 55-yard punt return for a touchdown by Williams); and 34 points to Lake Catholic's zero.

Terry finished the game with 227 yards on 16 passes and three douchdowns. Williams had 114 yards receiving and 32 rushing.

"We knew about those two guys," Bell said. "They're very talented, special players.

Bell said the Cougars weren't caught by surprise. Instead, they simply failed to execute their game plan.

"We needed to do the things we planned to do, which is line up and play physically -- move the ball three and four yards," Bell said.

"The strength of our team is supposed to be the five or six guys up front. They need to be able to move the other team off the ball, especially with a new quarterback."

The Cougars actually outscored the Ramblers in the second half 6-3.

Lake Catholic closed the game with a touchdown.

With two seconds left on the clock, Dylan Bell -- who is Coach Bell's son -- tossed a 15-yard touchdown pass to Pat Fitzgerald to put the Cougars on the board.

The subsequent 2-point conversion failed.

Mike Bell said that, despite starting the season 1-3, the team's ultimate goal is still to make the playoffs.

"The only thing we're excluded from is finishing 10-0," he said.