Elyria Catholic scored on its first play from scrimmage against Lake Catholic on Oct. 11. Then the Panthers couldn’t move the ball past the 50-yard line until the fourth quarter. Coupled with a five-touchdown first half, and the Cougars were victorious, 49-6, in a North Coast Conference clash. Lake Catholic remains undefeated at 8-0, while Elyria Catholic fell to 1-7. The Cougars started the game with possession and moved the ball down the field methodically. A 12-play drive ate up just over six minutes of action and was capped by a Frankie Trinetti touchdown pass to Ace Peterlin from 16 yards out. Elyria Catholic took over on its 21 and on the first play, Connor Petrus took a jet sweep 79 yards for the score but the Panthers missed the extra point. Even after the play, Lake Catholic coach Marty Gibbons wasn’t sweating the defensive side of the ball. “They just had to wake up I think,” Marty said. “That was the biggest thing, just waking up and getting out there and playing. Once we settled down, we were in good shape.” The offense for Lake Catholic went back to work with four straight runs on the second drive before Trinetti found Cross Nimmo for a 37-yard touchdown. The next Cougars’ drive featured a mix of run and pass, capped off by a George Csepegi two-yard touchdown. Nimmo knows while they can press the field, they are able to have a balanced attack. “It’s nice having the backfield that we do,” Nimmo said. “They’re going to get five yards a run and if they don’t, we know that at worst they’ll be back at the line of scrimmage. Having that helps make the DBs and linebackers bite just a little bit and allows Frankie to sling it.” Trinetti was strong out of the gate as he finished 17-fot-20 for 288 yards and three touchdowns. At one point in the first half, he connected on 12 straight passes. The drive after Csepegi’s score, Trinetti completed four straight, including one to Patrick Radigan for the nine-yard touchdown. Even with his hot hand, the Cougars turned to Jimmy Gibbons on the next drive with three straight handoffs. The run game had issues a year ago but Trinetti knows a healthy Jimmy makes the offense that much more dangerous. “Having Jimmy back there, he’s a hard runner,” Trinetti said. “We’re able to do both and that opens up the playbook. We’re consistent this year and getting a lot better, forcing defenses to have a heavy box.” Jimmy finished with 14 carries for 70 yards and a score. After the three straight runs, Trinetti took the snap and rolled right. He heaved the ball downfield to Nimmo, who was in double coverage. But the Minnesota commit came down with the 50-yard reception to put the Cougars at the 1. Nimmo finished the game with six catches for 149 yards. “He (Cross) is that big 6-foot-6 tight end that we sometimes spread out,” Trinetti said. “We want him to go over top because he’s also quick. There was pressure on my left so I moved right, we have a big trust together and I trusted that he would come down with it.” Nimmo added: “The past two weeks we went through a lot of things in practice, including what we call the gauntlet. Four guys guarding me, going for jump balls and coming down through contact. Frankie comes to the huddle, told me I had the bog post and I knew it was coming to me. I just ran as fast as I could and went up and grabbed it.” Sears punched it in from the 1-yard line for the score. Out of the half, Peterlin had an interception that set the Cougars up inside the red zone and Jimmy capped it off with a 10-yard score. Having that balance of three scores on the ground and three in passing game is something that Marty has hoped the offense could produce and establish all season. “Frankie is one of the best on third down,” Marty said. “He didn’t need to show it today, but he is. For him to be balanced so well, him throwing the ball well on first or second down and being able to run the ball is great.” In the third with the running clock, Csepegi was handed the ball on six straight plays, capped with a 33-yard score as he tight roped down the sideline. Lake Catholic has its last two regular season games on the road, starting with a step out of conference against Canton Central Catholic on Oct. 18. Elyria Catholic also hits the road, with a trip to Holy Name. THE SCORE Lake Catholic 49, Elyria Catholic 6