Reduced to
rubble a week ago, Lycoming's offense rose from the ashes
Saturday.The Warriors racked up
a season-high 503 yards and rumbled past ALbright, 39-3, in a
Middle Atlantic Conference clash before a Homecoming crowd at
David Person Field.Lycoming (5-1, 2-0
Freedom League) managed a paltry sum of 31 total yards against
Wilkes in its previous outing. Against the Lions, the Warriors
threw for 300 yards, ran for 203, and made Frank Girardi, their
head coach, a very happy man.“We had great
balance,” said Girardi. “Last week, we knew we
didn’t perform very well offensively, but I had no doubt
that these kids would come back and play well.“We kept them
(the Lions) off-balance, and, if we can continue to do that,
we’re going to be tough to beat.”Joe Feerrar and Chris
Dauber, former teammates at Jersey Shore High, turned in solid
efforts for Lyco. Feerrar completed 12 of 17 passes for two TDs
and a career-high 300 yards, while Dauber caught four balls for
104 yards and a score.“Last week, you
could tell after the game that the offense felt they let the team
down,” Dauber said. “We didn't say it out loud, but all
the offensive people had it in their minds that we needed to come
out and show everybody what we were about and help out the
defense this week. We had a great day.”Added Feerrar,
“It was embarrassing for me because of how awful the offense
played against Wilkes. This week, we had a great week of
practice. We were really sharp in all of our sessions, and we
just carried that into this game.”Lycoming’s
defense picked up where it left off the past two weeks, limiting
the Lions (3-4, 2-2 Commonwealth League) to 78 rushing yards on
39 tries and just 231 total yards.Albright's day started
well. On the Lions’ first possession, they put together a
12-play, 66-yard drive that ended when George Merrill drilled a
21-yard field goal. The PAT gave Albright its only lead —
and provided its lone highlight of the afternoon.Freshman Ricky
Lannetti returned the ensuing kickoff 49 yards to the Lions' 49,
and the Warriors went ahead to stay seven plays later on Tim
Deasey’s 1-yard TD run. A 37-yard pass from Feerrar to
Dauber keyed the drive. Lycoming padded its
lead later in the opening frame when Dauber hauled in a 7-yard
scoring pass from Feerrar. A 39-yard reception by Joe Hanna, a
Lock Haven grad, set up the TD. The PAT try was botched.Deasey scored again on
a 1-yard run with 18 seconds left in the half, giving the
Warriors a 19-3 advantage at the break.In the third quarter,
Feerrar found wideout Tom Zulkowski with a 20-yard pass that
Zulkowski turned into a 61-yard scoring play.The Warriors tallied
twice on the ground in the fourth quarter. Fullback Jon Neve ran
two yards for a score at the 9:05 mark and tailback Jared Morris,
a sophomore from Canton, tacked on a 25-yard TD run with 17
seconds left.Morris led all rushers
with 107 yards on just eight carries.Mike Spagnuolo,
Lycoming’s starting center and a senior co-captain, sat out
the game with an injury. His replacement, freshman Matt Mendola,
did ‘one heckuva job’, according to Girardi. “For a freshman
to fill in for a captain who’s one of the leaders of our
offense and to do what he did was great,” said Girardi.
“He made all the line calls. We gave him the option of not
making the calls, but he wanted to make them, and he did a
fantastic job.”Jeff Tinney, Mitch
Marzo, Jesse Gambone, and Mark Seagreaves each had eight tackles
to pace the Warrior defense. Five of Seagreaves’ tackles
were for loss.Steph Chortanoff, a sophomore linebacker, contributed an interception.
Linebacker Matt
Fitzgerald led Albright with 11 stops.Lycoming travels to
Delaware Valley next week.