By Pete Chiodo
EDINBORO — Down two touchdowns to a tough Greenville team, the General McLane Lancers needed to dig deep.
It just so happens, the Lancers are good at digging.
“Every week we dig deep,” said McLane coach Jim Wells. “That’s the character of this team.”
The Lancers battled back and claimed a thrilling 27-19 victory over the Trojans in a back-and-forth District 10 Class AA quarterfinal, held at Edinboro University’s Sox Harrison Stadium Saturday night.
“We had to dig deep last week against Fairview,” said Wells. “We were down 11 points inside of four minutes and we came back to win it. We were down at the half against Northwestern and came back.
“These kids don’t give up. They’re going to battle. They’re going to fight.”
The Lancers (11-0) have another big skirmish lined up againstnext week in the D-10 semifinals. There they’ll face Sharon, which had a comeback of its own in an 18-17 win over Fairview last night.
Greenville, meanwhile, ends the year at 7-4.
“That’s an outstanding Greenville team,” said Wells. “They are very difficult to stop. And I hate playing them.”
It’s hard to blame Wells, considering the lickin’ Greenville gave McLane over the first quarter and some change.
The Trojans scored on their first drive when tailback Dylan Zuschlag broke off a 41-yard touchdown run.
McLane then turned over its next two possessions. And Greenville made the Lancers pay for that second turnover, piecing together a 15-play drive that covered 63 yards, including a one-yard TD plunge from power back R.J. Malson.
Kyle Ponsoll got a hand in front of the extra point try by Greenville’s Mike Simons, and Greenville led 13-0.
Things were getting desperate for McLane.
“We thought, this is for real,” said McLane running back Cory Lee. “(Greenville) was no joke. Not that we took them lightly. We just had to come to grips with the fact that we were going to have to play a perfect game to get back in it.”
McLane’s next offensive series was in danger of stalling out as the Lancers faced a fourth-and-goal on the 18.
The Lancers had to go for it, and ended up with the play that turned everything around. Quarterback Nick Lombardo lofted a pass to Josh Niswonger in the end zone. The Greenville defender got a hand on the pass, tipping it to Niswonger. Niswonger bobbled it again, but finally got his hands around the ball as he went down in the back of the end zone. Touchdown GM.
Greenville got the ball back. But three plays in, the Trojans fumbled away a double-reversal. The Lancers’ D-end Kyle Shuman picked it up and returned it about seven yards.
McLane now set up on the Trojans’ 33 with 12 seconds to play. The Lancers didn’t even need that much time.
Lombardo rolled out and zinged a pass to Matt Astorino, who reached out and cradled the ball as he fell into the end zone. David Oleszewski had the point after.
In 35 seconds, McLane had gone from being down two touchdowns to leading 14-13.
Greenville still had some punch left in the second half. They picked off a Lombardo pass for the second time of the night, allowing them to start at the Lancers’ 39.
Eight plays later, Malson plowed in from two yards out and the Trojans were back on top 19-14.
That lead was short-lived, though. Lee found a crack in Greenville’s defense and exploited it. The Lancers had a six-play drive and Lee carried the ball on all six plays. He went 47 yards, the last of which was a one-yard touchdown, pushing McLane back in front 20-19.
Lee had a phenomenal night for the Lancers, rushing for 175 yards on 35 carries.
“The only way you can explain it is (Lee) is a workhorse,” said Lombardo. “I know that if I give him the ball, he’s going to run as hard as he can and he’ll get every single yard he can.”
McLane tacked on another touchdown in the fourth quarter when Lombardo hung onto an option and went 35 yards for the score.
Lombardo would finish the night with 51 yards and one touchdown rushing and 93 yards and two touchdowns passing.
For Greenville, Zuschlag had 134 yards on 22 carries. Malson had two touchdowns and 27 yards on 11 carries.
Pete Chiodo can be reached at 724-6370 ext. 275 or by e-mail at pchiodo@meadvilletribune.com.
