FOOTBALL: Friday Night Leftovers from Week 2
Some leftover thoughts and notes from Week 2 of the high school football season:
Two weeks in the books and Northern Lebanon has already crossed off an item on its 2015 to-do list.
The Vikings knocked off Lebanon in their final meeting for the foreseeable future, 51-27, and avenged their lone loss from a year ago. The Section Three visitors were unyielding at Alumni Stadium, pounding the rock behind a veteran offensive line. Luke Funck and Dylan Weaver each broke off for long runs, as Weaver accounted for four touchdowns all by himself, including a kickoff return that sparked Northern Lebanon from the get-go.
"I was real nervous in the beginning. We haven't been them in the last two, three years. It's a big game," Weaver said. "But that kick return felt nice. As soon as I saw the hole and that third block in front of me, I knew I was gone."
HUNTER RUNS WELL IN DEFEAT>> Lebanon's Malik Hunter ripped off a 48-yard run on the Cedars' opening drive Friday night. Unfortunately, as was the case for the rest of the Cedars, it was almost all downhill from there. While the senior runner later added a touchdown, he could only muster 36 additional yards on the ground against the Vikings' front. Not all of that can be attributed to Hunter, of course, as Lebanon's offensive line also turned in a mixed performance.
"I thought Malik Hunter ran hard," Cedars coach Gerry Yonchiuk said. "Some guys are playing extremely well and you can see that. But we're just struggling at other spots and not executing. And in football, you've got to have all eleven in sync. We're not going to win until get together."
Hunter and Lebanon will take its next shot at winning together at Elco this upcoming Friday.
ELCO SHOWS IMPROVEMENT>> Elco fell to 0-2 with Friday night's 30-22 loss at Palmyra, but it wasn't all bad news for the Raiders.
Bob Miller's squad took many steps forward on the heels of an ugly 30-8 opening-week loss to Hamburg.
Among the positives were two touchdown passes from senior quarterback Jeff Martin, tough inside running from Tyler Horst and some physical play up front from Nate Hostetter and company.
But the most impressive accomplishment from the Raiders was their display of resiliency. Palmyra is a quality team — at least it looks that way so far — and Elco had every excuse to pack it in after falling behind by scores of 10-0 and 23-7.
But there the Raiders were, down just one late in the third quarter and still with a chance to force overtime on the game's final play.
That should serve them well moving forward, and if they continue to progress there is no reason the Raiders can't be a factor in the Section Three title race.
FOX CONTINUES TO LEAD ANNVILLE-CLEONA >> Senior quarterback Adam Fox added three more touchdowns to an already impressive start to 2015, having already led the Little Dutchmen to a double-overtime victory in Week 1. Annville-Cleona handled Hamburg on Friday, 30-8, employing first-year coach Matt Gingrich's run-heavy option offense, an attack heavily reliant on Fox. It's unlikely the Little Dutchmen can ride him for the entire season. But for now, the plan is working just fine.