East Cleveland leader. [volume] (East Cleveland, Ohio) 1942-1970, 1950-10-19
By Bob keefer

Every local football ian who
was fortunate enough to see last
Fridays Shaw-Lakewood game at
Shaw Stadium will certainly bear
me out when | say that the Cardi-
nails staged one of the greatest,
most courageous comebacks that
any team, bar none, has ever made
on the gridiron.
1t was unfortunate that a team
which fought so fiercely to over
come a 25-6 deficit had to lose
on a last-minute touchdown by
1925 count for it's first defeat of
the season. The Shaw boys played
their hearts out in a desperate at
tempt to pull the game out of
the fire but time ran out and the
victory went to bewildered Lake
wood who knew they had been in
a rugged ball game.
In twenty years this was the
first time / have seen a Shaw
crowd stand up and applaud for
fully five minutes as the Cardinal
eleven, tired and detected, trudged
to the dressing room.
1t was an inspiring expression
of sympathy and appreciation for
gallant group of athletes who
made football history at Shaw
Stadium despite the fact that the
count on the scoreboard lists the
game as lost. From field work, it
was definite victory.
Lakewood started out with a
vengeance. Speedy backs skirted
the ends and ripped through the
line with comparative ease.
Shaw missed a scoring oppor-
tunity when Righthalf George
Measor recovered a Lakewood
tumble on the Ranger %. The visi-
tors held, however, and staged a
65-yard march to the Shaw end
zone, blowing over from the one
foot line. The second quarter was
less than two minutes old when
Ray Perkins, Lakewood's high
scoring lefthalf, took a pitch-out
and ran SO yards. to put the ball
on the Shaw II. Two plays later
he tailed from eleven yards out.
On the ensuing kickoff, Ken
Horton took the ball to the Shaw
21, to let it pop out of his arms
into the outstretched hands of Paul
Fitzgibbon, Ranger end, who raced
for the third Lakewood I'd and
the second in Is minutes. Stunned
Cardinal players and rooters re-
ceived small degree Of appease-
ment two minutes later when Dan
Kramer connected on a 15-yard
pass to Roman for Shaw's first
score, making the count, 1875.
Lakewood lost little time in add
ing their fourth I'd. Art Vaga
made good on the only one of five
place kicks to make the half time
score, 25-6.
Even the most ardent Shaw fan
wouldn't have given a nickel for
Cardinals chances to win after
that disastrous first half. How
ever, they failed to consider the
analytical skill of the alert Shaw
coaching staff which revamped the
Cardinal defensive setup and
boosted the spirits Of the discour-
aged players. And it didn't take
long to witness the grim deter
of the red and black
clad players.
That wild second half kept the
spectators on their feet through
out the remainder of the game.
The first of two good breaks in
the Shaw favor came shortly after
the kickoff when Alemagna re-
covered a Lakewood tumble on his
80. Three successful passes ac-
counted for the second Shaw I'd
with the scrappy wingman taking
an arching aerial in the end zone
from 18 yards out. Bob Hawk con-
verted to make the score 25-13, and
the Rangers then realized they
were facing an inspired team.
A poor pass from center on
fourth down gave the Cardinals
their next scoring opportunity.
With Mason set to punt from his
own a, Mike Skope, Ranger CEN
ter, sent the ball high over his
head. 1t rolled to the