Lebanon Football Season Outlook: 2023

Lancaster Lebanon League – Section 2, AAAAAA

Head Coach: Frank Isenberg – 4th season

Top Returners: Braylon Beaver  (Sr., WR/OLB); Corbett Brickle (Sr., OL/DL); Mahkye Cortes (Sr., OL/DL); Aidan Fernandez (Sr., RB/LB); Jack Herr (Sr., WR/LB/S); Derek Infante (Sr., WR/P/K/DB); Colin Johnsen (Sr., OL/DL); Paul Trace (Sr., WR/DB); Josiah Wright (Sr., OL/DL); Cayden Clentimack (Jr., OL/DL); Kai Rivera (Jr., RB/LB); Derrick Briddell (So., WR/DB)

Key Losses: Emanuel Mason (Seton Hill); Alex Orosco; Blaze Watson (Grove City)

2022 Results: 0-10

On the Radio: Lebanon Cedar Football can be heard on WLBR/Froggy Valley twice this season: August 25 against Palmyra and October 27 in the Cedar Bowl against Cedar Crest. Click for the full radio schedule.

Lebanon Football Season Outlook

Losing is not fun and unfortunately for the Lebanon Cedars, they have only experienced this feeling over the course of two full seasons.  In 2023, they are determined to turn that around and put one in the win column.

For 4^th year head coach Frank Isenberg, he knows what this can do, recently telling WLBR, “You know the losses are so magnified right now and everything has just been so negative.”

The 2022 was tough in the win-loss column, but it also tested the Cedars in other ways with many struggles off the field, including the unexpected death of assistant coach Bani Gbadyu following a brief illness.  Even in the most severe adversity, the 0-10 Lebanon team found ways to bond together, finishing the year suiting up 45 of the 51 players that suited up during Week 1.

Of that crew, almost all the starters will return in 2023, giving Lebanon a strong foundation heading into the season. Isenberg said, “Going into this year, so I mean by just having that veteran experience should be able to have a have a turn-around moving forward.”

Given that Coach Isenberg takes his role as an educator seriously, he took the entire off-season to plan how his team could learn and grow from the experiences they have faced.  The focus was on building confidence and a culture that can thrive in adverse situations.  They also did things as a team to build a capacity of leadership.

Among the leaders of the Cedars is senior wide receiver and defensive back Derek Infante, who said that he feels his role is “… helping the young guys out. When they when they have questions and they they’re too scared to ask Coach, I’m always there. I’m just looking to be like one of the guys that they could look up to and just talk to whenever.” 

Speaking to the frustrations on the field during 2022, Infante also said that one of the changes in culture has included a new routine after practice where the team will breakdown mistakes and use it as a learning opportunity to help one another grow.

In terms of getting along, Infante said, “We’re really locked in together. Our senior group, very strong, we’re all brothers.”

When it comes to how the team’s progress will translate into winning football games, Isenberg is confident that they can hit the ground running this season in order to shed the negativity following them from last season.  They will have a chance Week 1 when they host Palmyra, a team they lost to in the opening week last season in a tightly contested 14-6 game.

While he is a competitor who wants to win, Isenberg understands that there are larger lessons being learned: “We want to win football games here, but overall we can build these kids to become good men and become good products of the community. That’s what we’re all about.” 

For Infante and his teammates, there are lessons to be learned.  Isenberg is hopeful that those lessons will include some wins on the field on the way to scoring victories outside of the realm of football.

– By Dan Rau

2023 Lebanon Football Schedule

8/25     v Palmyra (radio)

8/31     v  Garden Spot

9/8       @ Ephrata

9/15     v  Muhlenberg

9/22     @ Exeter Township

9/29     v  Conestoga Valley

10/6     @ Manheim Central

10/13   v  Governor Mifflin

10/20   @ Warwick

10/26   @ Cedar Crest (radio)

* Section 2 game

2023 Lebanon Football Roster

For any comments or feedback, please reach out to Dan via email dan@lebcosports.com.