Streaks get electrifying start in rout of Lexington

WILLARD — There are good starts. Then there is the start Sandusky got Friday.Within the first 7:40 of the game, the Blue Streaks got a touchdown from all three phases of its team, starting with Tevin Stewart's 75-yard kickoff return for a score on the game's first play. That allowed Sandusky to overwhelm Lexington from the start of a 56-12 rout in a Region 10 semifinal game played on a windy, cold night full of snow flurries at Willard High School.The win sets up a rematch with Norwalk — a 56-7 winner over Rocky River — in the regional finals at a site to be announced Sunday. The Truckers beat the Streaks 52-35 at Strobel Field on Oct. 5.Sandusky (8-4) hasn't been to a regional final since head coach Mike Franklin was the team's quarterback in 1990. Norwalk (9-3) hasn't been three weeks in since winning the 1974 state title."I've never seen us come out this fired up," Franklin said. "It was just a special start to the football game. It kind of reminded me of when we played Avon in 2010 (a 42-35 Blue Streaks win in Week 11) and it started snowing like that when we came out. I told the guys something special is going to happen in the first few plays."On the opening kickoff, Stewart caught the ball, made a few guys miss and found open field in front of him to put Sandusky up 7-0 just 11 seconds in.As if things couldn't get better, Streaks defensive back Eian Sherman put a big hit on Minutemen (7-5) star running back and linebacker Cade Stover — an Ohio State commit — on Lexington's third play, which jarred the ball loose. Kendrick Scott Jr. was standing right there to pick up the fumble and run it back 16 yards to increase the lead to 14-0 at the 10:20 mark after Max Corso's second of eight made extra points."We knew what they wanted to come out and do, which was run it with (Stover), who's really good," Sherman said. "We just executed properly, and luckily, the ball came out when I got that hit and Kendrick took it in."Lexington's first seven possessions went fumble, punt, punt, fumble, turnover on downs, halftime clock and interception.Finally, the Streaks got a chance with the ball, already up two scores and they added to it. On the fourth play, Terion Stewart got to the outside, then found another gear, ripping off a 59-yard scoring run to make it 21-0 with 4:20 still left in the first quarter.The younger Stewart rushed for 211 yards on 12 carries, tallying three scores on the ground and another on a 3-yard pass from Shonsai Aaron, which put Sandusky up 28-0 at the 9:31 mark of the second. For the season, the junior now unofficially has 2,652 yards. Norwalk's Breck Turner has the most yards in a single season in area history, having run for 2,795 in 2014."I tell my line every day, 'If all of you push it, we're going to get what we got to get,'" Aaron said. "We couldn't ask for anything better than what they gave us tonight."Added Terion Stewart: "Tevin's kickoff set the tone for the night. Then the line all did their 1/11."Aaron had 129 yards on seven carries as the Streaks ran for 352 yards as a group. Freshman Desmond Williams capped the team's scoring with a 14-yard TD run in the final quarter.The dam stayed open for the defense, too.Stover tried a halfback pass in the second, but the ball slipped out of his hand when he went to throw. Sandusky linebacker London Havens was right there to pick it up and run the remaining 32 yards to the end zone.Stover, who had over 1,400 yards coming in, was held to 70 yards on 22 carries."Throughout the season, we've faced a lot of good running backs, so we kind of came in knowing what we had to do," Sherman said. "All week in practice we stressed stopping the run, and we all executed out there."Lexington threw for 128 yards, but most of that came with the game already well in hand.The Streaks had a 42-0 lead at halftime."No, not a chance," said Sherman asked if he could've expected the start his team got. "But we did want to come out, get a hot start and get things going early, which is what we did."Losers of four of its final five games entering the playoffs, Sandusky was given little chance to see Week 11, much less Week 13."We love it when people doubt us," Terion said. "We feed off of that."Clearly they came into Friday with quite the appetite."By far, this is the best game we've played in all three phases all year, and I guess we saved it up until the end," Franklin said. "Obviously, our guys kept hearing about (Stover) and I told our guys, we got a lot of those players. I think a lot of those guys showed up tonight."Sandusky 21 21 7 7 — 56Lexington 0 0 6 6 — 12S — Tevin Stewart 75 kickoff return (Max Corso kick good)S — Kendrick Scott 16 fumble return (Corso kick good)S — Terion Stewart 59 run (Corso kick good)S — London Havens 32 fumble return (Corso kick good)S — Terion Stewart 3 pass from Shonsai Aaron (Corso kick good)S — Terion Stewart 27 run (Corso kick good)S — Terion Stewart 26 run (Corso kick good)L — Alex Green 39 run (kick missed)S — Desmond Williams 14 run (Corso kick good)L — Cade Stover 6 run (two-point pass failed)[gallery]Sandusky's Shonsai Aaron runs the ball during the Division III regional semifinal game against Lexington in Willard on Friday, Nov. 9, 2018.Sandusky's London Havens celebrates his touchdown during the Division III regional semifinal game against Lexington on Friday, Nov. 9, 2018, in Willard.Sandusky's Tevin Stewart protects teammate Terion Stewart as Terion runs for a touchdown during the Division III regional semifinal game against Lexington on Friday, Nov. 9, 2018, in Willard.Sandusky's Terion Stewart escapes the tackle during the Division III regional semifinal game against Lexington on Friday, Nov. 9, 2018, in Willard.