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NEW OXFORD -- Fans may have come to see New Oxford's homecoming football game against Red Lion on Friday, but they got a special edition of the Joe Ross and Dalton Miller Show instead.
The Red Lion duo led a 34-point explosion in the second half as the Lions shook off a sluggish start and won their fourth game in a row, 41-0, over the Colonials (1-7, 0-5 Division I).
Red Lion (5-3, 4-1) has now topped the 40-point mark in three of its last four games.
"We just knew we had to come out ready to go (after halftime)," said Ross, who finished the game with three touchdowns and 131 yards of total offense. "We knew we had to step it up, and we did."
Ross notched all three of his touchdowns in less than 10
"We've got a sophomore back there at quarterback, and he still has some growing pains," Red Lion coach Pat Conrad said.
Miller completed just 3 of 11 passes in the first half, but went 7 for 8 in the final 24 minutes. "He shook them off and did a great job," Conrad said.
The coach characterized the mood of the Lion locker room at halftime as "pretty upset" after his team squandered a chance inside the Colonial 10-yard line late in the second quarter and went into the break up just 7-0.
Neither team put together much sustained offense in the opening two quarters, and Conrad credited New Oxford -- which he called a very good team despite its 1-7 record -- for making the Lions' task difficult.
When the second half opened, however, the Lions took charge, chewing more than six minutes off the clock and rolling 63 yards to the end zone.
On fourth down from the 18-yard line, Miller eluded New Oxford's rush and found Ross all alone in the end zone after his defender slipped.
The fun had just started.
Red Lion had a field goal blocked late in the third quarter, but scored the next three times it touched the ball. Ross got the fourth quarter off to a rousing start when he took a reverse 28 yards around the left side for a 21-0 lead.
"We had Kyle Soskin and Mike Malloy up there, and they were going to make sure no one touched me," Ross said.
If that play didn't excite the crowd enough, Ross made sure they got their money's worth on Red Lion's next play from scrimmage. He beat the defense on a post route and took a Miller pass 77 yards for a back-breaking score.
"When I made my first cut, I knew I had to score," Ross said. "The line did a heck of a job, and Dalton made a heck of a throw."
Miller capped his solid night with a 2-yard pass to Trueitt, and the Lions' final score came when Casey Raver -- who kicked five extra points on the night -- blocked a punt, scooped up the ball and rambled 15 yards for the score.
"The kids were pretty loose and felt pretty confident," Conrad said. "They should be confident and feel good about themselves."
Red Lion 7 0 7 27 -- 41
New Oxford 0 0 0 0 -- 0
First Quarter
RL -- Todd Maciejewski 11 pass from Dalton Miller (Casey Raver kick), 3:54
Third Quarter
RL -- Joe Ross 18 pass from Miller (Raver kick), 5:40
Fourth Quarter
RL -- Ross 28 run (Raver kick), 11:15
RL -- Ross 77 pass from Miller (kick failed), 7:56
RL -- Steve Trueitt 2 pass from Miller (Raver kick), 4:33
RL -- Raver 15 blocked punt return (Raver kick), 2:28
-- RL -- NO
First downs -- 11 -- 7
Rushes-yards -- 30-102 -- 40-70
Passing -- 10-19-1 -- 3-6-0
Passing yards -- 208 -- 19
Total yards -- 310 -- 89
Punts -- 3-39.7 -- 9-21.3
Fumbles-lost -- 2-1 -- 5-3
Penalties-yards -- 4-30 -- 1-7
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing -- Red Lion, Brett Fishel 18-43, Joe Ross 1-28, Jake Hagan 5-25, Todd Maciejewski 1-18, Dalton Miller 5- (-12); New Oxford, Tanner McNutt 9-61, Nick Rebert 13-29, Jerome Pritchett 1-9, James Eline 1-1, Steve Sanders 7- (-4), Ryan Luckenbaugh 9- (-26).
Passing -- Red Lion, Miller 10-19-1-208; New Oxford, Luckenbaugh 2-4-0-24, Sanders 1-2-0-(-5).
Receiving -- Red Lion, Ross 4-103, Maciejewski 2-39, James Morton 1-30, Hagan 1-19, Max Horka 1-15, Steve Trueitt, 1-2; New Oxford, Eline 1-17, Devin Ott 1-7, Robert Laughman 1- (-5).
