Lutheran East Goes Up Early But Can't Hold Lead Against St. Wendelin

First, the good news.

’s football team scored first and took an early 6-0 lead at home against St. Wendelin on Saturday, giving hope that the Falcons would capture their first win of the season after enduring four blowout losses.

Now, the bad news.

St. Wendelin scored second, then third, then fourth … and well, you get the idea. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t meant to be for the hard-luck Falcons and they ultimately fell, 36-6, to the team from Fostoria, OH.

At one point, the Falcons trailed by a mere 15-6 at halftime and kept it that way until the dam broke in the fourth quarter and the Mohawks scored 21 points. Lutheran East skidded to 0-5, while St. Wendelin won its second in a row to even its season record at 2-2.

“We had breakdowns, missed tackles, carelessness with the football. There are too many errors that don’t need to be taking place, but for some reason, they just keep happening. We didn’t move the ball that good at all. It’s frustrating,” Falcons coach Donald Dawson said.

On the Falcons’ only scoring play, Don Rashad’s catch set Lutheran East at the 1-yard line and Thomas Jackson scored on a quarterback sneak. The Falcons didn’t make a two-point conversion.

Coach Dawson felt they might have taken St. Wendelin lightly because it fielded a team of only 16 players.

“They saw how many players they had on their roster and overlooked them,” Dawson said. “Hopefully we can get one next week. (But) this should have been the one that we won.”

This is the first time in Dawson’s nine-year coaching career that he’s started a season 0-5. This is his third year as the Falcons' coach.

The Falcons travel and face Southington Chalker at Windham High School on Saturday night (7 p.m.)

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS

Girls’ tennis

The Tigers lost, 5-0, at Laurel School on Thursday as their record fell to 8-6-1 for the season. The Tigers’ match at Lorain was canceled on Wednesday.

“We have two matches and a tournament before sectionals on Friday. Basically the girls really need to focus and work on their skills to get ready for Friday,” Tigers coach Kalee Muller said.

The Tigers host Shaker Heights for two matches on Monday (4 p.m.) at to make up for an earlier cancellation and travel to face Magnificat on Tuesday (4 p.m.). The Tigers then play in the Lake Erie League Tournament on Wednesday. Shaker Heights will host the event.

The Tigers will finish the busy week with sectional competition on Friday. Although the site hasn’t been announced, Muller believes it will be held at Brush.

Boys’ soccer

In perhaps the toughest week they’ve had this season, the Tigers lost all three games finishing with a 4-1 defeat at home to Olmsted Falls on Saturday evening.

went up, 1-0, on Leonardo Leitao’s goal in the first half, but Olmsted Falls rallied with an early second-half goal and converted a penalty kick with 20 minutes left. The Tigers played a man down for the remainder of the game.

Earlier in the week, Cleveland Heights lost, 3-0, at North Olmsted and suffered a 6-1 defeat at the hands of rival Shaker Heights at . Ashton Bernard earned the Tigers’ goal on a header.

The Tigers (4-4-1) go on the road to face Wellington on Monday (5 p.m.) and host Brush on Saturday (7 p.m.)

Girls’ soccer

Despite having three starters and four total varsity players out on Saturday, the Tigers knocked off Brush, 3-0, on the road and raised their record to 4-7 on the season.

Chloe Sudduth had two goals and freshman Brandi Hall had her first varsity goal in her debut game at that level. Doleisha Moton had her third shutout of the season. Tigers coach Robbie Helfgott cited the defensive play of Isabel Collins and Meg Lentz as crucial to the win.

Earlier this week, the Tigers fell to Shaker, 3-0, on Wednesday at Denison Park.

The Tigers go to Geneva on Monday (7 p.m.), host Lorain on Tuesday (7 p.m.) and travel to Willoughby South on Saturday (3 p.m.)

Field hockey

Cleveland Heights’ match against Hudson was canceled twice last week due to unplayable field conditions in the Tigers’ only scheduled game for the week. Bad weather impacted the schools’ two attempts to fit in the game on Tuesday and Thursday.

Tigers head coach Brittany Ross said the schools still hope to play the match this season.

The Tigers are on the road this week and face Orange on Tuesday (4:30 p.m.)

Boys’ golf

Cleveland Heights shot a 409 and finished fourth at the Lake Erie League Tournament at the Big Met Golf Course on Thursday. Euclid won with 318 followed by Shaker Heights (334) and Lorain (356). Bedford (429) finished last.

Freshman Shemiah Nkosi fired a 91 to beat out his more experienced teammates including Sheldon White (103), Steven Bell (118) and Jameel Jackson (94).

“The funny part about that is our freshman beat out the whole team. I was proud of that accomplishment for him. He’s a new kid on the team. Our seniors weren’t too happy with it, though,” Dixon said.

Earlier in the week, the Tigers lost twice in regular matches to Lakeside on Monday at Highland Park and to Lorain on Tuesday at Fox Creek Golf and Racquet Club.

Against Lakeside, Jackson shot a 42 followed by White (53), Bell (61) and Nkosi (48). In facing Lorain, Jackson shot 42 along with Bell (48), White (56) and Nkosi (66).

Overall, the team is 5-8 on the season and 1-5 in the LEL.

This week, the Tigers face Lorain and Euclid on Monday (3 p.m.) at Briardale Greens Golf Course. After that, Cleveland Heights will play in the sectionals at Quail Hollow on Monday, Oct. 3. Play begins at 8:30 a.m. against 17 teams. The teams will play on the Devlin Course.

Girls’ volleyball

Earlier in the week, Cleveland Heights defeated Shaw, 3-0, on the road with sets of 25-20, 25-9, 25-17.

The Tigers are the road this week against Bedford on Tuesday (7:30 p.m.) and Lake Ridge Academy on Saturday (4 p.m.)

Cross country

The Tigers were off this week, but will return to action in the Gilmour Academy Paul Primeau Invitational on Friday. The following week, Cleveland Heights will run in the Legends Meet at Trumbull County Fairgrounds on Saturday, Oct. 8.

BEAUMONT

Volleyball

The Blue Streaks won three out of four matches in a packed week and raised their overall record to 5-4 and 3-2 in the North Coast League, one of the toughest in the state.

The Blue Streaks defeated St. Joseph Academy, 3-1, on the road with set scores of 25-15, 18-25, 25-21, 25-11 on Monday. Beaumont followed that up with a 3-0 home win over Archbishop Hoban, 25-17, 28-26, 25-19, on Tuesday.

On Thursday at Padua, they lost, 3-2, with set scores of 25-12, 25-23, 17-25, 18-25, 18-16, but rebounded with a 3-0 win hosting Willoughby South, 25-16, 25-10, 25-21, on Saturday.

“We’re running more of a college offense than I ever have. When it looks good, it really looks good. The girls are still learning and still getting comfortable with the system,” Beaumont coach Patrick Royer said. “If we get some girls playing better … I think by the end of year, we could make a pretty deep run.”

The Blue Streaks host Kenston on Monday (7:30 p.m.), travel to Notre Dame Cathedral Latin on Tuesday (7:30 p.m.), host Lake Catholic on Thursday (7:30 p.m.) and play in the Mayfield Tournament on Saturday. Play begins at 9 a.m.

Girls’ golf

Lizzie Mosier and Jennifer Corrado both shot personal best scores as the Blue Streaks finished in sixth place in the Northeast Independent Championship at Rosemont Country Club on Thursday.

The Blue Streaks finished with a 415 which was sixth out of nine teams. Magnificat finished first with 333.

Mosier shot 102 and Corrado had a 103 for the Blue Streaks. Other Beaumont scorers included Alexa Brown (112), Cassandra Heathcote (108) and Samantha Cumley (118).

In the Laurel Invitational on Monday, Beaumont had 429 overall as Brown fired a 110 followed by Heathcote (104), Mosier (115), Jennifer Corrado (108) and Katherine Corrado (107).

Beaumont is off next week and will compete in the sectional tournament at Gleneagles on Oct. 4.

Girls’ tennis

While Beaumont is struggling as a team to find victories, Caitlin Lawless continues her run of winning play. The team is 3-9, but Lawless is 14-3 on the season.

In the North Coast League Tournament, Beaumont finished sixth out of seven teams beating out Padua. Walsh won the tournament. The event was scheduled to begin Wednesday but was rained out. The league played the entire tournament on Saturday.

Lawless reached the finals but lost to Walsh’s Katelyn Hissong, 6-3, 6-3.

Earlier in the week, Lawless and No. 2 singles player Celina Barone won their matches at St. Joseph but lost, 3-2, on Tuesday. Also, the team lost, 4-1, at Massillon on Thursday. Lawless got the team’s only win.

Sectional play is coming up, and Beaumont coach Al Slawson has high hopes for Lawless. The Division II sectionals will be held at Tri-City Park in Rocky River on Saturday. Play begins at 8:30 a.m.

“I’m assuming she’ll get to the semifinals and qualify for district. The problem is if you finish third or fourth, you usually have a tough time because you’ll end up playing a No. 1 or 2 (seeded player). Where she’ll finish in sectionals will be important to her chances,” Slawson said.

Also this week, the Blue Streaks host Avon Lake on Tuesday (4 p.m.) and then host Brecksville-Broadview Heights on Wednesday (4 p.m.) Beaumont has a make-up match at Hudson on Thursday (4 p.m.)

Girls’ soccer

Beaumont sophomore defender Christine Baucco scored the game-winner to earn a 1-0 win over Shaker Heights at home on Saturday.

Baucco scored on a corner kick with 15 minutes remaining to raise the Blue Streaks record to 7-2.

Thunderstorms canceled Beaumont’s home game against Archbishop Hoban on Wednesday. The game has been rescheduled for Saturday. Also this week, the Blue Streaks go to Orange on Monday (7 p.m.) and then pay a visit to Padua on Wednesday (7 p.m.)