ERIE —  For a team that has relied on its offense to win games up until this point, General McLane proved that it can close out games on defense as it did against Strong Vincent in Region 6 action Friday night at Erie’s Veterans Memorial Stadium.

After the Lancers were forced to punt for only the second time in the game late in the fourth quarter, their defense was up to the task, recording two sacks by Lance Weschler and Chris Laird to end Strong Vincent’s chance of a comeback. General McLane hung on for a 24-20 win.

“That’s the key word,” General McLane head coach Jim Wells said. “We were able to hang on. That’s a very good football team. They came back in the second half like we knew they would. It’s a tough game and a great rivalry.”

It wasn’t all about defense for the Lancers though. For a team that was averaging 338 rushing yards entering the game, it was right on cue, registering 315 rushing yards on Friday.

General McLane got the ball rolling early, scoring on the first possession of the game. It took the Lancers seven plays, including six runs, with the last one being a five-yard touchdown run by Michael Suminski.

The first half was completely dominated by General McLane, which did not allow Strong Vincent to record its initial first down until midway through the second quarter.

Everything was clicking for the Lancers.

After keeping the drive alive with Aidan Graham’s eight-yard run on fourth-and-one, Graham provided some trickery with a 37-yard halfback pass to a wide open Clay Smith for the score. Graham has run the play three times this season, with all three opportunities resulting in a touchdown.

“We saw the safeties and corners coming in and helping out with run support,” Wells said. “Aidan was able to make a play for us. That was big.”

With a 14-0 lead, General McLane was looking comfortable, but it wasn’t quite ready to let off the gas quite yet.

The Lancers’ next threat stalled at the Colonels’ 31-yard line when Suminski coughed the ball up to Strong Vincent’s Deshawn Salter. It didn’t take long for the Lancers to get the ball back, as they forced a three-and-out by the Colonels.

After a poor punt by Strong Vincent gave General McLane a short field to work with, the Lancers made sure to capitalize.

A 22-yard scamper by quarterback Quinn Thompson set the Lancers up inside Vincent’s 10-yard line. Graham would then find the end zone from the ground this time, giving the Lancers a commanding 21-7 lead.

Strong Vincent would get a little momentum boost heading into halftime. After a roughing the passer call on fourth-and-nine kept the Colonels’ drive alive, quarterback Chris Starocci would punch it in from a yard out with 27 seconds left in the half.

Whatever was working for General McLane in the first half was not the case in the second. The Lancers were held to three points in the second half and had to rely on their tough defense.

“Our kids played tough in the first half and made too many mistakes in the second half,” Wells said. “Vincent just played harder.”

Early in the fourth quarter, Starocci found the end zone for the second time in the game, cutting the Lancers’ lead to 24-14.

With McLane looking to put the nail in the coffin deep into Colonels territory, more bad news unraveled for the Lancers. After recovering their own fumble at the Colonels’ 31-yard line, the Lancers would cough up the ball for the second time in the game, giving Strong Vincent hope.

Strong Vincent took full advantage.

What could have been the play of the game, Starocci connected with wideout Tyreek Green for 46 yards down the sideline. Later in the drive, Strong Vincent would fight its way back to within four points on a touchdown run by Hassam Farooq. A missed extra point left the score at 24-20.

That would be as close as the Colonels would get, as the Lancers’ defense stood tall in the final minutes of the game.

“It always sends a message,” Graham said about making the defensive stand. “It was nice to go out there and let everyone know we can win on both sides of the ball.”

The win puts the Lancers in great position for the Class AAA playoffs, but they know there is still more work to be done.

“It’s a big win definitely, but we have to be focused,” Graham said. “We got two tough games coming up.”

McLane will have a short week before it returns to Veterans Memorial Stadium on Thursday against another Erie city foe, Central Tech.