LEHMAN TWP. — As a first-year varsity player, Ryan Eiden is simply feeling his way through the early part of the high school football season.
Like the rest of his Lake-Lehman teammates, he had little trouble finding the way to the end zone.
Eiden rolled up a game-high 83 rushing yards and scored on a 24-yard touchdown burst Friday as Lake-Lehman overpowered Meyers 42-7 in a dominating performance that saw six different Black Knights reach the end zone at Lake-Lehman High School.
“I’ve got to give it to the line,” Eiden said. “As a sophomore, I’m just finding ways to fit in with the team. It’s nice being able to contribute.”
Eiden’s biggest contribution came in the first quarter, when he shot down the right side of the field with under a minute remaining in the first quarter and went 24 yards into the end zone for the game’s second score — and a 14-0 Lehman lead.
“First, the hole opening up,” Eiden said. “The line, fantastic job. It’s just running the field and following your blocks.”
That wasn’t the last time Eiden was heard from.
Following a short Meyers punt in the third quarter, Eiden immediately darted 10 yards, setting up a 16-yard touchdown pass by Ethan Adams for a 28-0 Lehman lead.
“Ryan Eiden, he’s doing an excellent job,” Lake-Lehman coach Jerry Gilsky said. “He’s always working hard. For this offense, it’s just another step forward.”
He wasn’t the only one marching ahead.
Lehman’s backfield of Zack Kojadinovich, Eiden and Matt Kurtz combined for 200 rushing yards on on 25 carries — averaging 8 yards per rush — and Kojadinovich and Eiden reached the end zone.
So did the quarterback, Adams, and backup running back Jarrett Cummings, as the Black Knights bullied their way past a speedy and talented Meyers team while erasing memories of a season-opening loss to Western Wayne.
“We just had to play football,” Gilsky said. “Western Wayne manhandled us. We wanted to make sure we got back to doing that.”
This time, Lehman did the manhandling.
Kojadinovich raced 32 yards for the game’s first score and Eiden followed with his touchdown to put the Black Knights up two scores.
Kurtz used four runs to blast ahead for 38 yards, fueling a 98-yard drive that Adams finished off with a 4-yard run that put Lehman up 21-0 late in the second quarter to take some wind out of the Mohawks.
And when Adams found Casey Kaminski with a 16-yard touchdown throw 58 seconds before halftime, Meyers appeared even further deflated.
“They were getting frustrated, especially at halftime,” Eiden said.
The Black Knights only added to that frustration in the second half, as Adams connected with Kaminski on a 27-yard strike to set up a 5-yard touchdown run by Cummings to give Lehman a 35-0 lead and get the clock running constantly under the mercy rule.
Meyers finally got on the board when state track and field hurdles champ Nazir Dunell sprinted 52 yards and Darrian Tyson followed with a 1-yard touchdown run.
But Lehman answered that with a 40-yard run by Eiden, which led to a 1-yard scoring burst by Robbins.
“We came out firing at the start,” Eiden said. “I wouldn’t say it was easy, but we’re going to give it our all.”
Lake-Lehman 42, Meyers 7
Meyers`0`0`7`0 — 7
Lake-Lehman`14`14`7`7 — 42
First quarter
LL — Zack Kojadinovich 33 run (Justin Timonte kick), 4:57
LL — Ryan Eiden 24 run (Timonte kick), 0:52
Second quarter
LL — Ethan Adams 4 run (Timonte kick), 3:15
LL — Casey Kaminski 16 pass from Ethan Adams (Timonte kick), 0:58
Third quarter
LL — Jarrett Cummings 5 run (Timonte kick), 6:13
M — Darrian Tyson 1 run (Micheal Deutsch-Jones kick), 2:17
Fourth quarter
LL— Scott Robbins 1 run (Timonte kick), 10:44
Team statistics`MEY`LL
First downs`8`16
Rushes-yards`27-124`38-244
Passing yards`114`87
Total yards`238`331
Passing`8-18-2`6-9-0
Sacked-yards lost`1-6`0-0
Punts-avg.`4-33.3`2-36
Fumbles-lost`3-1`0-0
Penalties-yards`5-29`3-20
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — MEY, Nazir Dunell 3-81, Joevanney Martinez 6-40, Darrian Tyson 4-17, Kevin Dessoye 4-4, Timothy Tyndall 5-4, Reese Patronick 2- (minus 2), Talee Sweeney 2- (minus 4), TEAM 1- (minus 16). LL, Ryan Eiden 10-83, Zack Kojadinovich 8-59, Matt Kuntz 7-58, Ethan Adams 4-18, Scott Robbins 4-11, Jarrett Cummings 2-7, Matt Galasso 1-5, Tim Schecterly 1-2, Nick Zaboski 1-1.
PASSING — MEY, Swinney 7-16-2-102, Martinez 1-2-0-12. LL, Adams 6-9-0-87.
RECEIVING — MEY, Patronick 3-41, Tyson 1-28, Dessoye 1-15, Najese Hood 1-12, Alfredo Cartegena 1-12, Maleek Robinson 1- (minus 4). LL, Casey Kaminski 4-75, Tyler Billotti 1-14, Eiden 1- (minus 2).
INTERCEPTIONS — LL, Kaminski 1-4, Floyd McCroy 1-34.
