Haywood propels East to 2nd victory, 20-18

The quarterback passed for two scores as the Panthers defeated Warrensville Heights at Stambaugh Stadium.

By GREG GULAS

Vindicator Correspondent

YOUNGSTOWN — East High quarterback Shawn Haywood threw for 171 yards and two touchdowns Saturday as the Panthers defeated Warrensville Heights, 20-18 at Youngstown State University’s Stambaugh Stadium.

Haywood’s 1-yard run with 5:06 remaining proved to be the difference in the game for the Panthers (2-2).

Unassuming in the first half by rushing for just 27 yards, running back Leon Edwards gained 69 of his team’s 72 yards on the final scoring drive.

Edwards, who rushed for a game-high 148 yards on 17 carries, drew praise from Panthers head coach Brian Shaner for igniting the offense when they needed it most.

“Leon is a first-year player who was out for two weeks with a leg injury, yet he ran as hard today as I have ever seen him run,” Shaner said. “He’s a good, hard running back and I am proud of not only his, but everyone’s overall effort today.

“This is a nice win because it gets us back to the .500 mark,” Shaner said. “The way that we won today will be a real character builder for us as well. We were resilient and for the most part, controlled the game.”

Edwards noted that the key was their offensive line.

“It makes me feel good that Coach has the confidence to call my number,” Edwards said.

“I could never have gotten the yardage that I did today, however, without the effort of our offensive line.

“They opened holes for not only me, but every one of our backs and that was the key to our running success all afternoon,” Edwards said.

Warrensville Heights (2-2) got on the board first on their opening drive of the game when running back Leonard Harris capped a four-play, 58-yard drive with a 40-yard dash to the end zone for a 6-0 advantage.

Harris, who had 60 yards on the drive, finished with a team-best 113 rushing yards.

Haywood, who completed 8 of 21 passes for 171 yards, knotted the score at 6-6 when he connected with wide receiver Michael Thomas on a 49-yard scoring strike at the 5:04 mark of the opening frame.

He followed that with a 60-yard strike to Trumane Jenkins with 46 seconds remaining in the period as the Panthers built a 12-6 advantage.

“Shawn [Haywood] has a rocket for an arm and each and every week has a better understanding of the game,” Shaner said.

“He has unlimited potential and if he stays patient and just continues to grow, will no doubt become a really great quarterback,” Shaner said.

After a scoreless second quarter, the Tigers relied on quarterback Davion Herron’s arm to knot the game after intermission.

Herron found Nate Morris for the first of two strikes to his wide receiver at the 8:06 mark of the third period to tie the game at 12-all.

After Haywood’s run gave the Panthers the 20-12 lead, Herron hit Morris again, this time with a with a 53-yard scoring strike to pull the Tigers to within 20-18 just 34 seconds later.

Herron’s pass on the two-point conversion try was incomplete.

East racked up 365 yards of total offense with 194 of those yards coming on the ground.

The Tigers had 304 total yards; 167 via the passing route.

Morris had three catches for Warrensville Heights for 80 yards while Thomas had a team high four receptions for 79 yards for the Panthers.

East held a 15-12 first down advantage.