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Lebanon loses early 13-0 lead in loss to McCaskey


LEBANON – A strong start gave the home fans at Lebanon Alumni Stadium some hope on a soggy Friday night, but the Cedars dropped a 42-21 decision to McCaskey in Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 football.

The Cedars (1-7, 0-5) held a 13-0 lead after the first quarter thanks to a 6-yard touchdown run by quarterback Zakee Sailsman and a 10-yard run by running back Joshua Kauffman. That advantage was 13-7 at halftime, but the Red Tornado (3-5, 1-4) took over by outscoring the hosts 21-0 in the third quarter.

Anthony DeLeon gave McCaskey a jump start in the third by returning the kickoff 47 yards, setting up a 42-yard touchdown drive for a 14-13 lead. Ray Godwin ran in a 6-yard touchdown, one of his four scores, with 7:45 left in the period.

Lebanon went three and out, but even when the Cedars forced a McCaskey punt, things went wrong. The punt was downed at the 1-yard line, and two plays later, Jaime Rodriguez-Vega intercepted a pass and ran it back 13 yards for a touchdown and a 21-13 Red Tornado lead.

Again Lebanon failed to pick up a first down, and two plays after getting the ball back on a punt, Godwin broke off a 58-yard run to get McCaskey down to the Lebanon 7-yard line. Two plays later, Godwin had a 5-yard touchdown run for a 28-13 advantage.

At the end of the third period, the Cedars' offense started coming to life again, driving to the McCaskey 45 early in the fourth before a sack on fourth down handed the ball back to the Red Tornado. On the next play, Godwin ran up the middle 42 yards for a 35-13 lead.

Lebanon returned to the end zone, helped along by a 43-yard pass from Sailsman to Phillip Hillesheim to get to the McCaskey 15. Two plays later, Luis Aquino Rios caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Sailsman. Sailsman ran in a two-point conversion to get the home team within 35-21 with 10:06 to play.

The Cedars drove down to the McCaskey 14 on their next possession before turning the ball over on downs with 5:20 to go. Lebanon got down to the Red Tornado 37 on its next series, but Tarshon Gant intercepted a deep pass and kept his feet on the wet grass to return it 93 yards for a touchdown for the 42-21 final with 51 seconds left.

Lebanon had started well with a 14-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to open the game, culminating in Sailsman's 6-yard touchdown run on the game's opening drive. McCaskey fumbled the ball back to the Cedars on their first play. That set up a four-play, 49-yard touchdown drive that ended with Kauffman's 10-yard touchdown run. However, the Cedars' offensive momentum disappeared in the middle quarters, as they had just 48 total yards in the second and third periods combined.

Sailsman was 30-for-53 for 356 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Hillesheim caught nine passes for 109 yards. Jeremiah Beckley pulled in seven passes for 120 yards, and Rios had six receptions for 72 yards.

Godwin finished with 142 yards on 18 carries. Jamiere Gray had three catches for 89 yards for McCaskey. Ante Robinson was 5-for-13 for 105 yards with one interception.

McCaskey 42, Lebanon 21

McCaskey _ 0 _ 7 _ 21 _ 14 _ — _ 42

Lebanon _ 13 _ 0 _ 0 _ 8 _ — _ 21

First Quarter

L — Zakee Sailsman 6 run (Ryan Brown kick), 7:02

L — Joshua Kauffman 10 run (kick failed), 6:19

Second Quarter

M — Ray Godwin 14 run (Nick Allen kick), 6:00

Third Quarter

M — Godwin 6 run (Allen kick), 7:45

M — Jaime Rodriguez-Vega 13 interception return (Allen kick), 4:19

M — Godwin 5 run (Allen kick), 2:58

Fourth Quarter

M — Godwin 42 run (Allen kick), 11:39

L — Luis Aquino Rios 15 pass from Salisman (Sailsman run), 10:06

M — Tarshon Gant 93 interception return (Allen kick), 0:51

Team Statistics

_McC_ Leb

First downs _ 13 _ 17

Rushes-yards _ 43-226 _ 35-30

Passing _ 5-13-1 _ 30-53-2

Passing yards _ 105 _ 356

Total yards _ 331 _ 386

Punts _ 3-34.7 _ 4-34.3

Fumbles-lost _ 4-2 _ 1-0

Penalties-yards _ 7-63 _ 3-20

Individual Statistics

Rushing — McC: Ray Godwin 18-142, Isiah Jackson 6-15, Ante Robinson 17-52, Anthony DeLeon 2-17; Leb: Joshua Kauffman 10-46, Zakee Sailsman 22-(-17), Phillip Hillesheim 3-1.

Passing — McC: Ante Robinson 5-13-1-105; Leb: Zakee Sailsman 30-53-2-356.

Receiving — McC: Jamiere Gray 3-89, Anthony DeLeon 1-18, Noah Santiago 1-(minus-2); Leb: Phillip Hillesheim 9-109, Jeremiah Beckley 7-120, Shaquell Ortiz 3-54, Luis Aquino Rios 6-72, Cody Kissinger 1-6, Joshua Kauffman 4-(-4).

Interceptions — McC: Rodriguez-Vega, Tarson Gant. Leb: Jeremiah Beckley.