Beachwood Football Off to Strong Start With 52-7 Win Over Gilmour

 Ari Sobel scored the first three touchdowns of the game and the Bison cruised past Gilmour Academy 52-7 in the first game of the 2011 season.

“We expect a lot from Ari,” Beachwood head coach Ryan Williams said. “When he gets through he’s too fast for guys to catch and we’re going to need that coming up this weekend.”

Beachwood’s second drive set the tone of the game: heavy doses of running. They utilized eight plays — all runs — for 40 yards capped off by a five-yard touchdown from Sobel. After a quick three and out from Gilmour, Beachwood forced two more runs down the Lacers' throat before going to the play action for a 17-yard gain to Darrell Sullins that took the Bison down to Gilmour’s 20 yard line. Sobel capped the drive with a 19-yard run.

The Lancers promptly gave the ball back three plays later when Beachwood sophomore Julio Stevens intercepted Gilmour’s sophomore quarterback Jimmy Rooney for his second pick on the day. Sobel scored three plays later from 17 yards out, capping the 43-second drive and putting the Bison up 21-0.

“Our guys came off the ball well and the running backs ran through without anyone touching them,” Ryan Williams said.

Gilmour was forced to punt three plays later and ran a fake from their own 29 yard line. When the Bison stuffed the attempt, the very next play was a 21-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end David Shapiro set up by a play action fake to Sobel.

The Lancers then had a promising drive that took them into Bison territory in six plays, but Rooney threw his third pick of the day to Chris Lardie, who returned it 62 yards down to Gilmour’s 17. After a pair of penalties put Beachwood in a first and 27, Jordan Lane took a run all the way in for a score. Beachwood added another field goal on their next drive to go into the locker room with a 38-0 lead.

Gilmour came out of halftime with their best drive of the game, taking the ball to Beachwood’s 34 yard line in 12 plays, but decided to punt the ball away when they failed to convert on third and nine. The very next play, Jacob Sabroff took a beautifully executed bubble screen 74 yards for a score.

Gilmour added a touchdown with 8:48 left to play when Rooney found Ryan Conroy in the end zone for a 12-yard completion. Beachwood’s final score came on an interception returned by freshman Tyler Hines 75 yards for a touchdown.

Rooney’s start was the first at quarterback in his career at Gilmour due to injuries from starters Michael Antonelli and Omar Asem.

“In the first half I thought the game was a little fast for him,” Gilmour head coach Shawn Dodd said. “It was the first time he’s ever been at quarterback. Overall I was impressed with his performance, we’re going to keep coaching him up and he’s going to get better.”

Beachwood remains home next Saturday and takes on Orange Academy at 1 p.m., a cross-division Chagrin Valley Conference rival and a Div. III school that will provide an opportunity for the Bison to pick up some all-important computer points toward a post-season bid.

“This is what we’ve been waiting for the past year,” Williams said. “They’re bigger than us division-wise, against the big teams and the big schools we have to be prepared for sudden change. When something bad happens, we have to just go out and make up for it.”