FOOTBALL: Dylan Weaver, Northern Lebanon run over Lebanon for 51-27 win
It took Lebanon only three plays from scrimmage to get on the board Friday night and seemingly escape the frustration of its opening blowout loss to rival Cedar Crest.
But then Dylan Weaver raced back the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown and an entirely new nightmare was born.
Weaver scored in all three phrases to lead Northern Lebanon in a 51-27 victory over the Cedars (0-2) at Alumni Stadium. The Vikings (2-0) piled up 320 rushing yards, 161 of which belonged to Weaver, and started the second half with 13 straight hand-offs. The first went 60 yards straight to the end zone in the arms of Weaver for an insurmountable 22-point lead.
"He has a chance to break it every time he touches the ball," Northern Lebanon coach Roy Wall said. "So you've got to account for him, and that leaves other people wide open, too."
Weaver is a junior transfer from Central Dauphin, who drew rave internal reviews during the team's preseason but had only seven carries in the Vikings' opener. There's now little doubt the rest of the Lancaster-Lebanon League is aware of the speedster's ability. How soon did Wall know what he had?
"As soon as we met him," Wall said.
The Vikings' final score Friday registered as a 37-yard Weaver interception return for a touchdown with less than five minutes left, simultaneously the final snap of the evening for Lebanon quarterback Cody Kissinger. Kissinger finished 13 of 26 for 144 yards and also threw three picks. Kissinger twice managed to bring the Cedars within 17 during the second half, but the team simply couldn't overcome a regular interruption of errors.
For after Lebanon surrendered Weaver's initial kickoff return, it suffered from two pick-sixes, one lost fumble amid three others, a safety and a tipped punt.
"Mistakes, mistakes, mistakes," Cedars coach Gerry Yonchiuk said. "You can't make those gigantic mistakes, and they're just so many to mention. I don't know what to say."
The safety handed Northern Lebanon its first lead midway through the second quarter, finally eclipsing the seven points from Lebanon's initial score, a Malik Hunter (84 rush yards) touchdown. Vikings fullback Luke Funck then broke free around the left end for a 44-yard scoring scamper and senior lineman Dustin Motter returned an interception to the house just 56 seconds later.
Trailing suddenly by 17, Lebanon could only manage to match the Vikings from there, as its Section Three visitors avenged their only loss from a year ago behind Weaver, Funck and a physical run game.
"We have the chance to go undefeated this year," Weaver said. "And we're going to shove it down people's throats."
His coach, in a more tempered manner, agreed.
"We're just going to be physical with people. Our offensive line has been the strength of our team," Wall said. "I like our running game. As much as I try to spread it out and throw the ball, I always wind up back to ground and pound. But hey, it works."
And it sure worked Friday night.
Northern Lebanon 51, Lebanon 27
N. Lebanon6181413—51
Lebanon72612—27
L — Suarez Torres 20-yard run (Castillo kick)
NL — Weaver 84-yard fumble recovery (2-point try fails)
Second Quarter
NL — Safety
NL — Funck 44-yard run (Weaver run)
NL — Motter 69-yard interception return (Wengert pass)
L — Safety
Third Quarter
NL — Weaver 60-yard run (Funck run)
L — Hunter 10-yard run (2-point try fails)
NL — Weaver 44-yard run (2-point try fails)
Fourth Quarter
L — Kissinger 18-yard run (2-point try fails)
NL — Thompson 7-yard pass from Wengert (Kick blocked)
NL — Weaver 36-yard interception return (Thompson kick good)
L — Hillesheim 13-yard pass from Imm (Game ends)
NLLFirst downs1315Rushes-yards42-32029-175Passing6-17-115-37-1Passing yards55188Total yards375363Punts2-294-26.5Fumbles-lost3-14-1Penalties-yards11-955-45
Individual statistics
Rushing — NL: Dylan Weaver 17-161, Luke Funck 12-133, Blaise Bressler 2-4, Noah Smith 1-2, Isaac Wengert 7-(-9). L: Malik Hunter 13-84, Julian Imm 1-24, Jan Suarez Torres 5-13, Cody Kissinger 11-6.
Passing —NL: Wengert 6-17-1-55. L: Kissinger 13-26-3-144, Imm 3-7-1-44.
Receiving —NL: Funck 3-34, Teasdale 1-7, Herb 1-7, Thompson 1-7. L: Beckley 3-61, J. Maldanado 1-38, Hillesheim 2-29, A. Maldanado 3-24, Hunter 1-10, S. Ortiz 1-4, Fureman 1-2.