Lebanon falls to E-town on Senior Night
Senior Night is a time for seniors to play one last game in front of their home fans, and a night coaches and parents hope the players can not only lead, but also shine.
Led by Daniel Caricabeur, Malik Hunter, Hector Cortes Cruz, Alex Maldonado Hernandez, Jonathan Maldonado and 11 other Cedar seniors, Lebanon (2-8, 0-7) got off to a hot start against the Elizabethtown Bears, but were unable to win in its final outing of the season, falling 28-20.
The Cedars opened the game with a 70-yard, 10-play drive that culminated in a 10-yard run by Hunter. Cortes Cruz tacked on the extra point.
The Cedar defense then forced a 3-and-out by the Bears, but Elizabethtown then forced the Cedars into two consecutive 3-and-outs.
Meanwhile, the Elizabethtown offense kicked into gear with touchdown drives of 37 and 84 yards, as Cayden Livingston punched the ball in both times.
The senior heroics continued for Lebanon when Maldonado intercepted Garber on the goal line and returned the pick 46 yards. The Cedars were flagged for a block in the back, but Caricabeur led his team down the field with passes of 35 and 19 yards, and capped the drive with a 22-yard scramble to send the Cedars and Bears to the locker rooms tied at 14.
"We played a great first half. The kids came out and matched their scores," Cedar coach Gerry Yonchiuk said. "I'm very proud of the team and how they responded, but it was the tale of the two halves."
Lebanon was unable to sustain any lengthy drives in the second half until it scored the final touchdown of the game. Caricabeur found Maldonado in the endzone for a 5-yard score.
By that time, Elizabethtown had added two more scores to secure its second win of the season and second win in as many weeks.
The Bears also found a way to contain Hunter (16-82), who amassed 81 yards in the first half.
But it was the miscues that ultimately led to Lebanon's demise, especially those on special teams, including some untimely penalties that helped Elizabethtown sustain drives.
"It was the mistakes that were made, and you can't win football games if you're making mistakes," Yonchiuk said.
There were some bright spots on special teams for Lebanon, though, including a blocked field goal attempt.
"The flip side of that was the kick that was blocked that brought us in and gave us life," said Yonchiuk.
Unfortunately for the Cedars, it was too little, too late as the on-side kick attempt was just out of reach of Lebanon players and rolled out-of-bounds. Elizabethtown then ran out the clock to secure the win.
Elizabethtown 28, Lebanon 20
Elizabethtown7777—28
Lebanon7706—20
First Quarter
L - Hunter 10 yard run (Cortes Cruz kick)
E - Livingston 2 yard run (Good kick)
Second Quarter
E - Livingston 1 yard run (Good kick)
L - Caricabeur 22 yard run (Cortes Cruz kick)
Third Quarter
E - Lonardi 34 yard pass from Garber (Good kick)
Fourth Quarter
E - Livingston 9 yard run (Good kick)
L - Moldonado 5 yard pass from Caricabeur (kick failed)
EL
First downs1711
Rushes-yards36-18628-117
Passing8-16-112-30-1
Passing yards139139
Total yards349256
Punts4-32.54-28.5
Fumbles-lost0-01-1
Penalties-yards8-857-59
Individual statistics
Rushing - E Fox 11-41, Garber 2-9, Livingston 25-119, Davies 2-4, Beiler 6-13
L - Hunter 16-82, Caricabeur 9-32, Kissinger 2-(-2), Suarez-Torres 1-5
Passing - E - Garber 8-16-1
L - Kissinger 3-9-1, Caricabeur 9-21-0
Receiving - E - Yohn 1-12, Cooper 2-37, Livingston 3-39, Lonardi 2-51
L - Suarez-Torres 3-24, Hillesheim 1-2, Maldonado-Hernandez 3-34, Hunter 3-68, Beckley 1-6, Maldonado 1-5