LEHMAN TWP. — Lake-Lehman’s fourth long-distance touchdown run of the night was called back on a hold.
No matter. On the next play, the Black Knights just handed it off to a different running back and scored anyway.
Lehman has been cruising these first two weeks of the season, relying on an impressive offensive line, multiple-talented runners and a stingy defense.
On Friday, it added up to an eye-popping 415 yards rushing and a 34-7 steamrolling of Mid Valley at Edward Edwards Stadium. Nick Eury had 205 on just 13 carries while Joey Vigil went for 107 on nine. Both scored two touchdowns.
Trey Borger also got in on the fun, finishing with 84 yards and a score on eight attempts.
“It’s a three-headed dragon,” Knights coach Jerry Gilsky said. “That’s what you want to do — disperse the ball. Because when you give it to three different backs rather than just one, they don’t know who’s getting the ball the majority of the time.”
It caused plenty of problems for the Spartans, who saw Vigil break off touchdown runs of 35 and 15 yards before Eury scored from 65 and 25 yards out to make it 28-0 at halftime. The Knights (2-0) had 301 yards on the ground at the break, averaging 13.7 yards per carry.
Borger added a 25-yard touchdown midway through the third, prompting Lehman to start pulling its starters.
After two games, the Knights now have 852 yards rushing as a team after going for 337 in an opening win over Lackawanna Trail. Gilsky said there was room for improvement after that game, and he saw it on Friday from the unit, which is anchored by Penn State recruit Connor McGovern at center.
“Last game, we didn’t get off the ball well with the heat and the conditions for both sides,” Gilsky said. “So we really concentrated on that this week with our offensive line. I thought they did an excellent job up front. They were very physical, they had great drive and great physical tendencies, too. It’s just amazing how they do up front.”
And the Knights had to make an adjustment this week, as starting quarterback Vince Ferrari missed the game with an injury.
Sophomore Nate O’Donnell stepped in and came up with a 17-yard completion to Zach Brucher on his first varsity pass.
“Very good,” Gilsky said of O’Donnell’s night. “I thought Nate came in and did an excellent job as a sophomore. I was expecting him to (be scared), but he did a pretty good job. I can’t complain.”
Gilsky said he expects to have Ferrari back by Week 4 or Week 5.
Mid Valley (0-2) avoided being shut out for the second straight week to open the season when Nasir Reese scored on a short run in the final minute of the game with backups in on both sides.
Lake-Lehman 34, Mid Valley 7
Mid Valley`0`0`0`7`—`7
Lake-Lehman`7`21`6`0`—`34
First quarter
LL — Joey Vigil 35 run (Ian Dawsey kick), 7:37
Second quarter
LL — Vigil 15 run (Dawsey kick), 6:57
LL — Nick Eury 65 run (Dawsey kick), 3:39
LL — Eury 25 run (Dawsey kick), 1:16
Third quarter
LL — Trey Borger 25 run (kick failed), 4:25
Fourth quarter
MV — Nasir Reese 2 run (Colin Munley kick), 0:42
Team statistics`MV`LL
First downs`14`18
Rushes-yards`48-174`42-415
Passing yards`12`17
Total yards`186`432
Passing`1-6-0`1-2-0
Sacked-yards lost`1-4`0-0
Punts-avg.`6-27.5`3-30.0
Fumbles-lost`3-3`2-2
Penalties-yards`1-15`8-64
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — MV, Zach Fiume 20-87, Nasir Reese 13-44, Cody Petcavage 5-15, Colin Munley 4-12, Joe Killino 2-10, Ethan Hasenzahl 1-4, Tom Egnotovitch 1-2; LL, Nick Eury 13-205, Joey Vigil 9-107, Try Borger 8-84, Jesse Tomolonis 3-9, Tyler Wojciechowksi 4-8, Kyler Space 2-3, Matt Benn 1-1, TEAM 1-(minus-1), Nate O’Donnell 1-(minus-2).
PASSING — MV, Munley 1-5-0-12, Brandon Wallo 0-1-0-0; LL, O’Donnell 1-1-0-17, Jake Tomolonis 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING — MV, Petcavage 1-12; LL, Zach Brucher 1-17.
INTERCEPTIONS — None.
MISSED FGs — None.
