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Lycoming feeds off its ‘D’ to stay
perfect
Guy
Cipriano Sun-Gazette Staff
Even Lycoming’s best
players will admit the Warriors sometimes make the simple look
difficult.
This week’s simple task
included beating a winless FDU-Florham which had scored just 25
points in its first five games. The revenge factor — an embarrassing
overtime loss to the Devils last year — should have made the task
easier.
But as Lycoming’s players entered
their cozy locker room after defeating FDU-Florham, 24-7, Saturday
at David Person Field, they all agreed a game that should have been
simple had its tough moments.
“They just
came out to play and we were slow in the first half,” sophomore
linebacker Luke Sterling said. “Sometimes we tend to play down to
our opponents, but we came out with a victory. Now, it’s time to
step it up to the next level.”
At
halftime, the Warriors (4-0) held a 3-0 lead. The teams combined for
just 128 yards of total offense in 60 first-half plays. Lycoming,
which entered yesterday averaging more than 30 points per game,
gained 86 yards in the first half.
“We
have been in this long enough to know that there are 60 minutes in a
game,” Lycoming coach Frank Girardi said. “They gave us their best
shot in the first half, no question about
that.”
Junior quarterback Phil Mann said
FDU-Florham’s defense made it tough for the Warriors to move the
ball.
“I give it to FDU,” Mann said.
“They were playing great in the first half. We weren’t on our game,
but they played real well.”
To solve the
offensive woes, Mann turned to Lycoming’s most reliable big-play
target.
With 6:18 remaining in the third
quarter, the Warriors started a drive at the FDU-Florham (0-6)
21-yard line after Luke Sterling recovered a fumble by quarterback
Dan Huff.
Lycoming’s drive started with
Mann hitting receiver Ricky Lannetti on a 10-yard pass play over the
middle. On the next play, Lannetti gained 10 yards on an end-around.
Junior running back Drew Corsilli then ran for 20 yards, but lost
the football after getting hit by cornerback Noel Kavanagh.
The ball bounced in the end zone, where
Lannetti jumped on it to give the Warriors’ their first touchdown.
“I was supposed to block that guy,”
Lannetti said. “I got a piece of him and I was just following the
play in case Drew cut it back. I saw that guy strip it and the ball
went right to me.”
On Lycoming’s next
drive, Lannetti caught a 36-yard pass on a third-and-22 play.
Fullback Robert Miller, a Milton graduate, scored on an eight-yard
run two plays later to give Lycoming a 17-0 lead.
Lannetti finished with eight receptions
for 92 yards, while Mann, a Central Mountain graduate, completed
18-of-29 passes for 179 yards.
“Ricky’s
always important to get involved,” Mann said. “He’s our go-to
receiver. We have a great receiving corps, but you know when you get
the ball to Ricky he can make things happen. That was one of our
goals at halftime.”
Lycoming’s defense
didn’t have to make any halftime adjustments. After allowing
FDU-Florham to gain 41 yards on a 13-play drive to start the game,
the Warriors allowed just one yard on the Devils’ next seven drives.
FDU-Florham ended the first half with 42 yards on 33 plays. Chris
Trolan’s 22-yard run in the second quarter represented FDU-Florham’s
longest play of the first half.
“We were
kind of flat on the first drive, but after that we just saw how they
were coming out and what they were doing,” said freshman defensive
tackle Dave VanNort, who had eight tackles, including five for
losses. “We were having a little trouble and we just picked it
up.”
For the game, FDU-Florham produced
205 yards of total offense on 62 plays. A third of those yards (76)
came on the Devils’ final drive which ended with a 1-yard touchdown
run by Trolan. FDU-Florham’s only points where scored against
Lycoming’s second-team defense.
“The
defense was unbelievable,” Lannetti said. “They kept us in the game
the whole time. If it wasn’t for them, we could have been down a lot
at halftime. But they came up with big
plays.”
Lycoming’s defense forced five
turnovers, including three in the first half. Three of FDU-Florham’s
mistakes fell into Sterling’s hands. Sterling finished with two
fumble recoveries and an interception. Sterling added six tackles
and recorded one of Lycoming’s five
sacks.
“The whole defense got after it,”
Girardi said. “Luke is one of those kids that’s extremely athletic
and he’s got those great hands. With the way our front four was
getting the push, their kids had no room to
breathe.”
And after this victory,
Lycoming received a chance to breathe a little
easier.
NOTES: Junior running back Jon
Carpenter, a Montgomery graduate, scored Lycoming’s final touchdown
on a 4-yard run with 3:02 remaining...FDU-Florham used senior
Patrick O’Neil and Huff, a freshman, at quarterback. The
quarterbacks rotated throughout the game and during the second half
FDU-Florham coach Rich Mosca played O’Neil and Huff on the same
possession...Lycoming honored two-time All-American Keith Jenkins at
halftime. Jenkins, a South Williamsport graduate, was attending his
first game since sustaining serious injuries in a car accident 14
months ago.
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Sports Date Posted:
10/11/2003 |
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As appearing in Saturday - October 11, 2003 edition of
The Sun-Gazette
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