After leading his team to just one win in the first three games of the season, Red Lion quarterback Mike Wiertel was benched by coach Pat Conrad in favor of freshman phenom Chad Kelly in last week's loss to William Penn.

When Kelly was dismissed from the team for undisclosed reasons this week, Wiertel -- who according to Conrad had a very good week in practice -- was handed back the keys to the Lions' offense.

Against Spring Grove on Friday night, the senior played like he wasn't about to give those keys back, leading Red Lion to a 48-13 trouncing of the Rockets in a YAIAA Division I contest at Horn Field.

"He stepped up for us," Conrad said of his quarterback. "He had a great week at practice, and he's getting better all the time."

Helping Wiertel in the backfield was senior workhorse Brett Fishel, who collected 136 yards rushing on 29 carries and three touchdowns.

"That's his job," Conrad said. "He does a great job running the ball for us."

Red Lion (2-3, 1-1) didn't look at Friday night's game as a must-win, although the loss by Spring Grove (1-4, 0-2) didn't lend much hope to the Rockets making it past the regular season.

"We're playing for ourselves," Conrad said. "We're a good football team, better than what our record looks like. We're going one game at a time, one opponent at a time."

Wiertel and the Lions' defense never relinquished momentum against the Rockets.

Red Lion scored from every angle, collecting five rushing

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touchdowns, a 37-yard interception return by Keith Dalheimer and a 94-yard kickoff return bolt by Joe Ross.

Red Lion shut out the Rockets in the first half and knocked out starting quarterback Ian Smith with 1:26 remaining in the first quarter. The QB left when the Lions rushed Smith and took him down just as he released the ball -- right into the hands of Dalheimer.

Dalheimer took his interception back 37 yards for a score, Red Lion's second of the night after Fishel punched it in from a yard out on the Lions' opening possession.

Neal Grudi, who replaced Smith behind center for the Rockets, made it an eight-point game in the opening minutes of the second half, turning a fumbled handoff into a four-yard touchdown run.

A missed conversion and Ross' 94-yard kickoff return for the Lions on the next play put Spring Grove down by 15 again. Red Lion quickly began padding its cushion.

Fishel added a 2-yard run in the third quarter and a 4-yard run with 10:14 remaining in the final quarter, giving the Lions a comfortable lead at 35-6.

With the clock running down, Conrad was able to make substitutions on the field. Sophomore Dave Quackenbos made the most of his opportunity in the backfield, getting two handoffs in the final quarter and taking one eight yards for a touchdown that put the Lions up, 42-6.

Junior Bobby Bailey, who was the Spring Grove offense on Friday night, collected 139 yards on 18 carries and finally found the end zone late in the game, breaking away from the Red Lion defense for a 54-yard score.

Sophomore Jeremy Knaub added a touchdown for the Lions in the final seconds, setting the final score.

"We knew Spring Grove was going to come ready to play, and they came," Conrad said. "But this group of seniors is a great group of players, and they controlled the game tonight."

 
Spring Grove    0    0    6    7 -- 13
Red Lion  15    0  13  20 -- 48

First Quarter
   RL -- Brett Fishel 1 run (Tyler Zeller pass from Mike Wiertel), 7:17
   RL -- Keith Dalheimer 37 interception return (Dylan McCoy kick), 1:26
Third Quarter
   SG -- Neal Grudi 4 run (pass failed), 9:24
   RL -- Joe Ross 94 kickoff return (kick failed), 9:10
   RL -- Brett Fishel 2 run (Dylan McCoy kick), 6:08
Fourth Quarter
   RL -- Brett Fishel 4 run (Todd Maciejewski kick), 10:14
   RL -- Dave Quakenbos 8 run (Todd Maciejewski kick), 6:45
   SG -- Bobby Bailey 54 run (Josh Slate kick), 5:55
   RL -- Jeremy Knaub 6 run (kick failed), :21 
-- SG -- RL
First downs -- 7 -- 14
Rushes-yards -- 31-154 -- 48-252
Passing -- 3-12-3 -- 5-11-1
Passing yards -- 20 -- 90
Total yards -- 174 -- 342
Punts -- 5-32.4 -- 2-40.5
Fumbles-lost -- 1-0 -- 2-2
Penalties-yards -- 1-5 -- 5-40

 
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
   Rushing -- Spring Grove, Bobby Bailey 18-139, Neal Grudi 10-10, Joseph Slate 1-4, Josh Nell 2-1; Red Lion, Brett Fishel 29-136, Dalton Miller 4-40, Jake Hagan 5-35, Jeremy Knaub 2-15, Dave Quackenbos 2-13, Joe Ross 1-8, Harry Darrah 3-5, Mike Wiertel 2-0.
   Passing -- Spring Grove, Neal Grudi 3-11-2-20, Ian Smith 0-1-2-0; Red Lion, Mike Wiertel 5-11-1-90, Dalton Miller 0-0-0-0.
   Receiving -- Spring Grove, Cortlin Dell 1-8, Matthew Brookhart 1-8, Josh Nell 1-4; Red Lion, Joe Ross 2-43, Todd Maciejewski 1-25, Max Horka 1-14, Steve Trueitt 1-8.