Annville-Cleona

LebCo High School Football: Week 5 Results

by
LebCoSports Staff
September 21, 2024

This post will serve as a rolling update of Week 4 Football action from around LebCo. With all six teams in action on Friday night, we will work to compile the best information as we can in a timely fashion. This includes talking to many of the coaches and including post-game summaries. Keep checking back regularly for new information about your favorite teams.

The Northern Lebanon/Donegal recap was written primarily by Gavin Sweeney, a local high school student and aspiring sports journalist.

If you like this type of coverage, please let us know by Following us on social media: Twitter/X – @lebcosports1 and Facebook.

For any questions, comments, or discrepancies, please reach out to dan@lebcosports.com.

Friday

Northern Lebanon 14, Donegal 12

After a tough loss to Wyomissing in Week 4, the Vikings were back at home hosting the Donegal Indians. The challenging part for Northern Lebanon would be the adjustment in their offense without running back Myles Watson following the broken arm that he sustained on the first offensive play last week. This meant that other players would need to step up if they were going to win their Homecoming game. However, Northern Lebanon’s defense has been very strong throughout the season and would be the foundation of any game plan this week.

The Vikings did not waste any time getting on the board, as Brady Ryan was the first player to step up when he took the opening kickoff 85 yards to the house. Following a Riley Messinger PAT, the Vikings were out in front 7-0 just seconds into the game. The game then turned into a back-and-forth, with both defenses showing that this game was going to be one of those games where every yard is earned. Brendan Ryan recovered a fumble to slow Donegal’s offense, while Bryce Yocum and Bryan Mitzel made several tackles. Linebacker Karter Adams turned many heads when he recorded two sacks in the 1st quarter. However, it was defensive play by Donegal’s Angel Mendez that turned the tide when he returned a pick-six to make the score 7-6. A failed two-point conversion kept Northern Lebanon in front.

In the 2nd quarter, Kael Erdman returned to his role as the Viking quarterback. This immediately translated into a change of pace, as Erdman used his legs for some big pick-ups. However, it was a Brendan Ryan punt return that he took 75 yards to the house, joining his brother with an exciting play on special teams. Following the extra point, the Vikings led 14-6. The Viking D continued to look solid as they slowed Donegal’s offensive efforts. A fumble recovery by Adams again played in favor of Northern Lebanon. However, a fumble led to a Mendez touchdown reception late in the 2nd quarter. Erdman intercepted the attempt at a two-point conversion to keep the score 14-12.

In addition to the interception, another major development occurred when Mendez was called for unsportsmanlike conduct on the scoring play and the ensuing two-point conversion. This led to him being disqualified, leaving Donegal without their most productive playmaker.

In the 3rd quarter, Erdman continued to use his legs to move the ball and open up the field. This led to him having the ability to find Brady Ryan through the air. Jack Kleisath and Jake Emborsky showed little fear filling in for the injured Watson, with both showing their ability to pick up yards by running the ball and catching passes from Erdman. Yet again, an untimely fumble from the Vikings ended their scoring threat in the quarter. Likewise, Adams had a major tackle for a loss that slammed the door on Donegal’s offense.

Adams continued his tirade into the 4th quarter as he recorded another sack. When Donegal was faced with 4th down, they went to their bag of tricks and successfully ran a fake punt. On the next 4th down, the Vikings stopped them.

Following a Northern Lebanon punt, the Indians had one more chance to spoil the party in Fredericksburg. As they approached the red zone, Kleisath intercepted the Donegal pass to give the ball back to Northern Lebanon. From there, all they had to do was run the clock. It is fitting that the defensive battle ended with a major defensive play.

One item worth noting is that the Donegal defense is directed by former Lebanon head coach Frank Isenberg, who was recently promoted to the team’s defensive coordinator.

Northern Lebanon (2-3) will now begin prepping for a tough match-up next Friday night against Twin Valley.

Annville-Cleona 43, Columbia 0

Annville-Cleona entered their homecoming matchup with Columbia looking to reset after last week’s loss to Hamburg, where nothing seemed to go the way of the Dutchmen. Though the Crimson Tide entered the game with a record of 0-4, this had the potential to become a trap game for Annville, given the toughness with which Columbia typically plays.

With that in mind, Annville exorcised the demons that plagued them last week and hopped out to an early lead when Jonathon Shay capped off a successful drive with a 4-yard touchdown run just four minutes into the game. An injury to starting kicker Cian Soliday led to the decision to go for two, an attempt that failed. Two minutes later, Bryce Keller found Jonathan Moran for a 70-yard touchdown reception. Backup kicker Levi Kreider successfully booted through the PAT. The 1st quarter ended with the Dutchmen leading 13-0.

Less than four minutes into the 2nd quarter, Annville scored again, this time via a Bryce Keller 1-yard run. On Columbia’s ensuing possession, the Annville defense collapsed on the Tide and forced a safety to make the score 22-0. Less than two minutes later, Annville scored again when Devon Englehart had a 3-yard touchdown rush. Annville then tacked on another score with just under a minute remaining until halftime when Yamaliel Navarro ran it into the end zone from 6 yards out. When the teams went to their respective locker rooms, the outcome was all but determined, with the Dutchmen leading 36-0.

With the game in mercy rule territory, Annville would score only once more courtesy of Englehart’s second touchdown run on the evening. The 7-yard touchdown run came less than a minute into the 4th quarter.

The Annville defense was solid throughout the game as they limited Columbia in all phases of the game, holding them to less than 100 yards of total offense.

Annville (2-3) will hope to keep things moving in the right direction when they travel to Kutztown next Friday night.

Coach Gingrich’s Post-Game Thoughts

We caught up with Coach Matt Gingrich following the game and he had this to say about the Homecoming victory.

He started by reflecting on past games and how those were reflected against Columbia: “We played much better tonight than the first three weeks, and we kind of built upon last week. I thought we played pretty good last week against Hamburg, but they’re a pretty good team, and hopefully, between last week and this week, we can find our mojo and keep moving forward.”

On his team’s effort on offense, defense, and special teams, he said: “It was neat to play complimentary football. Our defense held Columbia to 45 yards of offense, which is something that we typically can’t do. Our offense averaged nearly 10 yards a play and scored a pretty good amount of points. Our special teams really did well. Our kicker right now is Levi Kreider, who is our backup kicker; he has really been an asset and, as a sophomore, is really taking off.”

Gingrich praised the efforts of his offensive leaders: “We had some major performances. Jon Moran continues to exhibit big playability. Also Jon Shay really, really battled through injuries the last couple weeks and played a great game offensively and defensively. Bryce Keller got back onto what he was doing well early in the year, making quick decisions and going. He threw the ball. Well, I think he was 4-4 for 100 yards or something close to that.”

He went on to give recognition to more players that have stepped up to provide solid play: “The other neat part was Jackson Speece, who was really great offensively and defensively. He’s been one of the better linemen I’ve ever been able to coach, and he’s only a sophomore. Hudson Sellers really stepped up as a middle linebacker. We switched him and it’s paying dividends.”

On it being Homecoming, Gingrich talked about the experience, especially as it was the first Homecoming game held at the new stadium: “It was a good night, and nice to have a homecoming like that. We had a lot of people come home and got to see the stadium for the first time. I just got done giving tours. That’s pretty cool when you can have a place that you’re proud of that you can show off for future generations that they’re gonna get what they need so they can hopefully have a successful program way after I’m out of here and us coaches are long gone. It was a pretty cool night all around.”

He finished his thoughts by looking ahead: “We really messed up the first couple of weeks, and we have no margin for error. We have to get back on that horse and play a great rest of the season.”