Emig leads high-powered Red Lion past South Western
At the beginning of the season, the Red Lion football team circled Weeks 5 and 6 on its schedule.
Those were the games against Northeastern and South Western. Having lost to both of those teams last season, and knowing that both would probably be in contention for the YAIAA Division I title, the Lions entered this fall determined to beat the Bobcats and Mustangs.
Mission accomplished.
A week after beating Northeastern by three touchdowns, the Lions looked dominant once again Friday night when they beat South Western on the road, 42-13. Senior quarterback Sam Emig was the catalyst of the victory, rushing for three touchdowns, throwing for two and finishing with 230 yards of total offense.
"We felt that last year we let some games slip away from us, did some things we shouldn't have done," Red Lion head coach Jesse Shay said. "And South Western is a heck of a program, (Damian) Poalucci is a heck of a coach, and this is a tough place to win. The Corral is special to them, and it was something we wanted to take ownership of and get the win here."
After Dallastown lost to Northeastern on Friday, Red Lion (6-0, 3-0) is now in sole possession of first place in Division I. And after the Lions racked up 456 total yards Friday and drove down the field at will, Red Lion looks tough to beat.
But Shay isn't letting the team get ahead of itself.
"I don't want to sit here and say nobody can stop (our offense)," the coach said. "Our kids played well. I thought our line played very well up front. I thought our kids all ran the ball incredibly hard. I would imagine when an offense is playing this well, it's difficult to stop."
The Lions were clicking on offense right off the bat, scoring on their opening drive on a short touchdown run by fullback Patrick Daugherty. The Mustangs quickly answered with a 56-yard touchdown run by Delunche Shaw, but Red Lion scored three more times to go into halftime with a 21-point lead.
The key drive came in the second quarter with Red Lion leading by seven but pinned on its own 6-yard line. The Lions needed just six plays to go 94 yards, finishing off the dominant drive with a 15-yard run by Emig.
The senior quarterback was remarkably efficient Friday, completing 12-of-13 passes while running for 116 yards. Running back Dylan Gurreri also reached the 100-yard mark despite missing the entire second quarter, and Paul Jones made numerous plays both at receiver and defensive back.
"With how many weapons we have running the ball, it opens up a lot of passing," Emig said. "It makes my job a little easier."
The outcome of the game put a damper on South Western's homecoming weekend. A wee after earning an impressive victory against Central York, the Mustangs weren't able to hang with Red Lion.
The Mustangs scored twice on big plays, but they weren't able to sustain drives or throw the ball consistently. Poalucci replaced starting quarterback Nate VanCampen with Sean Wolfe at the beginning of the second half to try and spark the team's offense.
"I told the kids at halftime, 'It's time to man up,'" Poalucci said. "They challenged our manhood and we have to step up and play that game. We did it last week and it's my fault, I don't think we prepared the kids to be that physical."
Red Lion _14_14_7_7_—_42
South Western _7_0_6_0_—_13
First Quarter
RL -- Patrick Daugherty 2 run (Sam Emig kick), 8:28
SW -- Delunche Shaw 56 run (Wes Sneeringer kick), 7:39
RL -- Emig 1 run (Emig kick), 0:27
Second Quarter
RL -- Emig 15 run (Emig kick), 5:51
RL -- Taylor Uberti 12 pass from Emig (Emig kick), 1:12
Third Quarter
SW -- Teain Moore 61 pass from Sean Wolfe (kick failed), 10:07
RL-- Ben Frey 13 pass from Emig (Emig kick is good), 0:59
Fourth Quarter
RL -- Emig 29 run (Emig kick is good), 8:48
_RL_ SW
First downs_27_6
Rushes-Yards_52-346_22-116
Passing_12-13-0_4-17-2
Passing Yards_114_100
Total Yards_456_216
Punts_0-0_4-29.5
Fumbles-Lost_1-1_1-1
Penalties-Yards_5-40_6-29
Rushing — RL, Dylan Gurreri 16-100, Sam Emig 18-116, Patrick Daugherty 8-72, Tyler Ness 7-34, Justin Dillon 2-19 , Zach Mentzer 1-5. SW, Delunche Shaw 5-71, Drew Hartlaub 6-25, Thaddeus Davis 7-19, Nate VanCampen 2-0, DeSean Crump 2-1.
Passing — RL, Emig 12-13-114. SW, VanCampen 1-8-10-0, Sean Wolfe 3-9-90-2.
Receiving — RL, Paul Jones 6-54, Giuliano Favorito 3-25, Ben Frey 2-23, Taylor Uberti 1-12. SW, Teian Moore 1-61, Crump 1-10, Shaw 2-29.