LEHMAN TWP. — On a crisp Friday night under the lights, the Lake-Lehman Black Knights came all the way back from a two-touchdown deficit in the second half to defeat the visiting Holy Redeemer Royals 22-20 in a thriller on Friday.
Lehman picked up its first win on the season after opening against a tough trio of Western Wayne, Lackawanna Trail, and Scranton Prep.
Holy Redeemer was flying high heading into the game. After they had dropped their season opener to Susquehanna, the Royals took off, as their dynamic offense scored 70 points against Holy Cross and 53 in a road win over Tunkhannock last week.
Long-time Lake-Lehman coach Jerry Gilsky was proud of his team’s no-quit effort after a tough start to the season.
“You worry about your team when you go 0-3 to start the season, and it was a brutal 0-3,” Gilsky said. “Overall we played quality teams, and this is another quality team tonight we had on our schedule.
“You just want to say to your kids, ‘Don’t quit.’ You’ve got to coach them up during the week and try different things and do it. Our kids know this is what we have, and let’s really work at this and work at our advantages and concentrate on getting better ever week.”
After both squads went scoreless in the opening quarter, the Royals got on the scoreboard first with 11:12 remaining in the second, as senior tailback Josh Wesneski converted on crucial fourth-and-goal from 5 yards out to give his team the early 7-0 advantage.
Redeemer would then increase its lead to 14-0 with 4:07 left in the first half as quarterback Jacob Hunter connected through the air on a 22-yard touchdown pass to speedy fellow senior Zach Perta, as the Royals would head into the break with a seemingly comfortable two-touchdown lead.
Lehman would show heart and determination in the third quarter, as the Black Knights would bounce right back and score 14 straight unanswered points to tie up the game.
The Knights’ first score came right after a costly botched Redeemer snap on a punt at its own goal line. That set Lehman up at the 1-yard line, and on the very next play, senior running back Javon Borger pounded it into the end zone.
Borger then ran it in for the successful two-point conversion attempt to cut his team’s deficit to just 14-8 with 4:37 left in the third.
Lehman would tie the game up at 14 apiece with 47 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Quarterback Gavin Wallace rolled out to his left and found fellow senior Landon Schuckers on a 12-yard touchdown pass.
But the Royals would show some grit and perseverance of their own in the fourth quarter, when they retook the lead with only 3:49 left in regulation on a 60-yard aerial bomb from Hunter to Perta for a 20-14 advantage.
Unfortunately for the Royals, their defense would lose their composure and commit numerous costly penalties late in the game, as a series of flags and an ejection to senior Jake Griffin set Lehman up at the Redeemer 1 with 1:38 left.
From there, Borger would cash in on the penalties, as he barreled into the end zone on another 1-yard score to tie things up at 20-20. Then on the decisive play, the Black Knights would go right back to Borger, as he ran it in for the successful two-point try, to give Lehman the slim lead at 22-20.
The Knights held on to complete the comeback win as the home crowd erupted at the game’s final whistle.
Now Gilsky and the Black Knights (1-3) will look to win a second straight next Friday evening when they travel to take on Nanticoke Area.
Meanwhile the Royals (2-2) will look to bounce back from this tough defeat next Saturday night when they host Milton at King’s College.
Lake-Lehman 22, Holy Redeemer 20
Holy Redeemer`0`14`0`6 — 20
Lake-Lehman`0`0`14`8 — 22
Second Quarter
HR — Josh Wesneski 5 pass from Jacob Hunter (Tyler Tarnalicki kick), 11:12.
HR — Zach Perta 22 pass from Hunter (Tarnalicki kick), 4:07.
Third Quarter
LL — Javon Borger 1 run (Borger run), 4:37.
LL — Landon Schuckers 12 pass from Gavin Wallace (Borger run), 0:47.
Fourth Quarter
HR — Perta 60 pass from Hunter (kick failed), 3:49.
LL — Borger 1 run (Borger run), 1:38.
Team statistics`HR`LL
First downs`17`11
Rushes-yards `28-85`26-163
Passing yards`310`70
Total yards`395`233
Passing`21-37-3-0`6-15-1-2
Sacked-yards lost`5-31`2-11
Punts-avg.`5-32`2-38
Fumbles-lost`2-0`3-2
Penalties-yards`22-172`4-35
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — HR, Josh Wesneski 12-(minus-8), Jacob Hunter 12-74, Zachary Perta 2-12, DJ McDermott 1-(minus-1), Louis Lussi 1-8. LL, Javon Borger 21-142, Gavin Wallace 3-22, Landon Schuckers 1-(minus-1), Brandon Ritinski 1-0.
PASSING — HR, Jacob Hunter 21-37-310-3-0. LL, Gavin Wallace 6-14-70-1-1, Landon Schuckers 0-1-0-0-1.
RECEIVING — HR, Zach Perta 9-158, Jake Griffin 3-44, Louis Lussi 1-10, Josh Wesneski 5-69, Yovanny Martinez 2-18, DJ McDermott 1-11. LL, Gavin Paraschak 1-10, Ben Dowling 2-29, Landon Schuckers 2-19, Christopher Sholtis 1-12.
INTERCEPTIONS — HR, Luke Kopec-2.
MISSED FGs — None.
