NEW OXFORD -- With their offense moving the ball up and down the field Friday night at New Oxford High School, it appeared that the New Oxford Colonials were in position to put an end to the unbeaten season of the Dallastown Wildcats.

Mistakes at crucial times, however, doomed the Colonials (1-3, 0-1 YAIAA Division I) as they came up short in a 28-20 loss that kept Dallastown (4-0, 1-0) perfect.

Two mistakes in the fourth quarter kept the Colonials from getting any closer.

A fumble at their own 3-yard line led to an easy Dallastown touchdown that made it 21-12 with 7:14 left in the game.

On Dallastown's next possession the Colonials lost containment on Wildcat quarterback Chris Hunt as he scrambled 50 yards for a touchdown that gave them a 28-12 lead with 3:16 remaining.

New Oxford moved down field to score on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Luckenbaugh to Zack Groft, but the ensuing onside kick failed to go the required 10 yards. The Wildcats then ran out the clock to secure the win.

Dallastown looked like it would run the Colonials off the field early in the game when it held New Oxford to a three-and-out and then moved the ball 65 yards on eight plays to score.

After passing for 11 yards on the first play, the Wildcats kept the ball on the game for the next seven plays to take a 6-0 lead with 7:17 remaining in the first half. Halfback Kole Kraut score the first of his three touchdowns on a 3-yard run.

The Colonials showed they

Advertisement
weren't going away as they took the ensuing kickoff and marched 80 yards in 14 plays to get their first touchdown. With the exception of a 20-yard pass from Luckenbaugh to Groft, the Colonials likewise kept the ball on the ground.

Tanner McNutt got the touchdown on a 5-yard run to make it a 7-6 game. The Wildcats blocked the PAT to keep their lead.

After forcing a three-and-out by the Wildcats, the Colonials appeared to be driving for the go ahead score when they committed their first crucial mistake. After two fumbled pitchouts that left New Oxford with a third-and-17, Luckenbaugh's pass was picked off by Kraut, who returned it 59 yards to the Colonials' 21-yard line.

Three plays later, Kraut again found the end zone to make it a 14-6 game with 6:10 remaining in the half.

That should have been enough time for the Colonials to score as they drove 50 yards in 18 plays to the Dallastown 19-yard line. Another interception by the Wildcats, this time by Nate Trovinger, killed the drive at the Dallastown one yard line.

Down 14-6, the Colonials ran 42 plays to Dallastown's 17 and had outgained the Wildcats 143 yards to 94 in the first half.

 

Dallastown  7    7    0  14 -- 28
New Oxford  6    0    0  14 -- 20

First Quarter
   Dt -- Kole Kraut 2 run (Trent Bear kick)
   NO -- Tanner McNutt 5 run (kick failed)
Second Quarter
   Dt -- Kraut 6 run (Bear kick)
Fourth Quarter
   NO -- Nick Rebert 3 run (run failed)
   Dt -- Kraut 7 run (Bear kick)
   Dt -- Chris Hunt 50 run (Bear kick)
   NO -- Zack Groft 19 pass from Ryan Luckenbaugh (Rebert run)
 
-- Dt -- NO
First downs -- 8 -- 18
Rushes-yards -- 30-135 -- 47-127
Passing -- 2-6-0 -- 14-26-2
Passing yards -- 38 -- 148
Total yards -- 173 -- 275
Punts -- 4-37.2 -- 3-32.6
Fumbles-lost -- 1-1 -- 3-0
Penalties-yards -- 8-58 -- 3-15

 
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
   Rushing -- Dallastown, Chris Hunt 11-50, Kole Kraut 10-48, Tyler Imhoff 6-33, Anthony DeFabio 1-7, Alex Orwig 1-5, J.J. Sweeney 1-(-8); New Oxford, Nick Rebert 19-59, Tanner McNutt 12-40, Ryan Luckenbaugh 13-26, Sean Odom 2-3, Steve Sanders 1-(-1).
   Passing -- Dallastown, Chris Hunt 2-6-0-38; New Oxford, Ryan Luckenbaugh 14-26-2-148.
   Receiving -- Dallastown, Eric Shoff 1-27, Kole Kraut 1-11; New Oxford, Zack Groft 8-101, Devon Ott 1-15, T.J. Hartlaub 1-8, Nick Rebert 1-8, Robert Laughman 1-6, Connor Neiman 1-5, Jerome Pritchett 1-5.