| Lions Caught in Lycoming War Path The Albright College Lions scored on the first possession of the game before the Warriors of Lycoming rattled off 39 unanswered points to down Albright 39-3 on Saturday, October 21st. The Lions, who had held their opponents to an average of 350 yards of total offense, were caught off-guard as Lycoming accumulated over 500 yards of total offense. The Lions were also stifled on the other side of the ball as the Warriors smothered the Albright offensive attack, holding the Lions to 231 yards of total offense, 100 yards less than their season average. The Lions marched 66 yards on 12 plays to jump to an early 3-0 lead on a George Merrill (Etters, PA; Red Land) 21 yard field goal. Junior tailback, Buck Scarduzio (Cinnaminson, NJ; Cinnaminson) accounted for 44 of the 66 yards, including a 30 yard reception from junior quarterback Mike Strack (Jeanesville, PA; Hazleton) on a crucial 3rd and 10 situation which put the Lions at Lycomings five yard line. The Lycomng defense awoke after the large gain and held the Lions to a field goal. Strack finished the day completing 14 of 26 passes for 143 yards. On the ensuing kickoff Ricky Lannetti broke free for a 49 yard return, giving Lycoming excellent field position at the Albright 49. On the next play Warriors quarterback Joe Feerrer hit Chris Dauber for a 37 yard reception taking the Warriors down to the Albright twelve yard line. The Lion defense settled down, halting the Warrior attack. Albright forced a fourth and goal situation from the one-yard line. The Warriors decided to roll the dice and go for the touchdown rather than attempting to tie the game with a field goal. Junior running back, Tim Deasay took a pitchout from Feerrer and ran out to the right side for the touchdown. John Shaffer added the extra point to give Lycoming a 7-3 lead. Following a three and out possession by the Lions, Feerrer looked down field once again, this time hooking up with senior wide receiver Joe Hanna for a 39 yard gain. The reception brought Lycoming to the Albright nine yard line. Two plays later Feerrer connected with Dauber for a seven yard touchdown reception. A misfired snap on the extra point left the score at 13-3. The Lions threatened to jump back into the game as Albright marched 45 yards on seven plays to bring up a fourth and four situation at the Lycoming 29 yard line. The Lions tried a quarterback draw that was quickly sniffed out by junior linebacker Ryan Ruppecht, who stepped up and stopped the scrambling Strack for a gain of one yard and a turnover on downs. The two teams exchanged possessions a few times before the Warriors pieced together a five play 64 yard drive which resulted in a touchdown. Early in the drive, Feerrer connected with Dauber and Hanna for 40 and 23 yard gains, respectively. Deep in Lion territory once again the Warriors turned to Deasay who carried the ball ten yards to the Albright one yard line. Lycoming then used the same pitchout which got the Warriors their first score, as Deasay scrambled out to his right and found the end zone for his second touchdown of the game. A failed two-point conversion left the score at 19-3 with eleven seconds left in the half. Deasay finished the game with 69 yards on 19 carries. The Lions tried to answer quickly, as Scarduzio rumbled down the field deep into Lycoming territory on the first play of the drive. Unfortunately, the play was called back for holding and the Lions were forced to retire to the locker room trailing by sixteen. Scarduzio finished the day with 13 carries for 42 yards. Lycoming began the second half with an impressive drive, plunging 52 yards on six plays. Feerrer, trying to add to the Lycoming lead, took a shot at a touchdown. The Lions, once again trying to claw their way back into the game, took advantage of the poorly thrown ball. Freshman cornerback Jack Byers intercepted the floating pass in the end zone to stop the Lycoming threat. The Lions drove down to the Lycoming 46 yard line before being forced to punt. The Albright offense struggled the remainder of the game, as the Lycoming defense contained the Lions, not allowing Albright past midfield again. Feerrer found Tom Zulkowski for a 61 yard touchdown reception and Jared Morris and Jon Neve each rushed for one touchdown to seal the victory for Lycoming. Feerrer finished the day 12 of 17 passing with 300 yards and two touchdowns. Morris had 107 yards on eight carries for the Warriors. Defensively, Matt Fitzgerald ((Oreland, PA; Bishop McDevitt) led the game in tackles with 11, while Tom Fitti (Drexel Hill, PA; Monsignor Bonner) tallied nine. Mark Seagraves of Lycoming tallied eight tackles, including five for a loss. Jeff Tinney, Mitch Marzo and Jesse Gambone joined Seagraves as the leading tacklers for Lycoming with eight tackles apiece. |