LEHMAN TWP. — Lake-Lehman’s first two offensive plays were just a sign of things to come Friday night.
The Black Knights scored on both of those plays. They barely slowed down from there.
Lake-Lehman added two more first-quarter touchdowns, put up 35 first-half points and played the final 18-plus minutes under the Mercy Rule after putting visiting Lakeland away early in a 42-12 District 2 Class 3A football quarterfinal romp.
The passing combination of Ethan Adams-to-Ryan Eiden had a big night. They got started early and also got a boost from the defensive play of Josiah Thomas and Justin James during the first quarter.
Adams was 6 for 6 passing for 151 yards in the first 16:45 while helping Lake-Lehman to a 35-6 lead.
By the time he was done, Adams had accounted for 370 yards and five touchdowns. He was 20 for 24 for 282 yards and three touchdowns passing. He carried seven times for 88 yards and the other two scores.
“Ethan’s doing a very good job,” Black Knights coach Jerry Gilsky said. “One thing we don’t ever want to overshadow is the team around him.
“The line, running this new scheme, we’re in Week 11 right now and they’re getting better every week. When you have weapons like Casey Kaminski, Ryan Eiden, Zack Kojadinovich, it creates that, having those guys surrounding him.”
Eiden is a perfect example. He caught a 48-yard touchdown pass for the second score and finished with nine catches for 151 yards and three touchdowns.
“I like to say he’s more of a utility player because we can use him in the backfield,” Gilsky said. “The passes we give him are more of run-style passes. We give him short passes, the swings and stuff, and now he’s one-on-one in space. That’s Ryan’s area.
“He could go in the backfield, but we have Zack there.”
Adams scrambled 55 yards on the game’s first play. He started to roll out right, but wound up covering the final 50 yards down the left sideline.
After the Chiefs picked up three first downs in a stretch of four plays, Thomas intercepted a pass and returned it 11 yards into Lakeland territory. Eiden’s first touchdown came on the next play and he ran for the two-pointer and 14-0 lead.
Lake-Lehman scored twice in late in the quarter. On the first play after an Adams touchdown, Thomas forced a fumble that Giovani Ferrari recovered at the Lakeland 31.
Adams threw a 28-yard pass to Kaminski, then James took over.
The 315-pound senior was already developing into one of the game’s biggest forces defensively when he stepped into the offensive backfield. He carried twice, scoring from the 1 on his second try.
“He’s a first-year player,” Gilsky said. “He’s a big boy, but he’s athletic. A lot of people don’t realize how much he can move with his quickness and speed.”
James had four tackles, including one for a loss, in the first quarter and later added another tackle and a pass rush.
Lake-Lehman’s offense was not stopped until its sixth possession. Then it ran out of time on the Lakeland 15 on the following drive.
Adams hit Eiden for touchdowns of 34 yards in the second quarter and 5 yards to cap an 11-play, 76-yard drive with the starting offense’s only second-half possession.
Lake-Lehman (8-3) advances to play at top-seeded Wyoming Area (9-1) in next week’s semifinals. The Warriors, who had a bye Friday, needed a second-half rally to win at Lake-Lehman 35-30 earlier in the season.
Lake-Lehman 42, Lakeland 12
Lakeland`0`6`6`0 — 12
Lake-Lehman`28`7`7`0 — 42
First quarter
LL – Ethan Adams 55 run (bad snap), 11:37
LL – Ryan Eiden 48 pass from Adams (Eiden run), 7:21
LL – Adams 1 run (Nate Salus kick), 1:40
LL – Justin James 1 run (Salus kick), 0:21
Second quarter
LAKE – Giovanni Spataro 4 run (pass failed), 8:17
LL – Eiden 34 pass from Adams (Salus kick), 7:15
Third quarter
LL – Eiden 5 pass from Adams (Salus kick), 6:11
LAKE – Spataro 70 run (run failed), 0:32
Team statistics`LAKE`LL
First downs`10`19
Rushes-yards`29-226`26-143
Passing yards`44`282
Total yards`270`425
Passing`4-19-2`20-26-1
Sacked-yards lost`1-5`1-10
Punts-avg.`3-45.3`2-38.5
Fumbles-lost`3-2`3-0
Penalties-yards`10-86`4-34
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — LAKE, C.J. Dippre 11-121, Spataro 14-107, Shane Barrett 1-4, Chase Nolan 1-2, Antonio Natale 1-2, Billy Good1-minus 10. LL, Adams 7-88, Zack Kojadinovich 6-28, Jeremy Scouton 7-13, Jacob Monko 4-11, James 2-3.
PASSING — LAKE, Dippre 4-18-1-44, Good 0-1-1-0. LL, Adams 20-24-1-282, Team 0-1-0-0, Monko 0-1-1-0.
RECEIVING — LAKE, Michael Pidgeon 2-22, Spataro 1-6, Good 1-6. LL, Eiden 9-151, Casey Kaminski 3-49, Danny Kutz 3-17, Kojadinovich 3-13, Colby Kennedy 2-52.
INTERCEPTIONS — LAKE, Natale 1-25. LL, Josiah Thomas 1-11, Dustin Heinrich 1-0.
MISSED FIELD GOALS – None.
