Cedar Crest comes up short despite determined effort
2025 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
(This story was produced by LNP/Lancasteronline, and published in partnership with MikeDragoSports.com.)
By Brian Markley — LNP/Lancasteronline
CAMP HILL — Landyn Kline refused to watch the last 24 minutes of his high school football career from the sideline.
The Cedar Crest senior is a key defensive cog for the Falcons who doubled as their punter.
| Final | |
| Cedar Cliff | 35 |
| Cedar Crest | 6 |
When Kline required assistance to get to the sideline after a roughing the kicker penalty at the end of the second quarter of Friday’s District 3 Class 6A first-round game against Cedar Cliff, many thoughts began to bounce around inside his mind.
“Don’t be bad,” said Kline on his first thought regarding the injury after the play.
Halfway through the third quarter Kline returned to the field, making a tackle that stalled a Colts drive.
“He’s a big momentum-changer,” said teammate Isaiah Zimmerman. “You see him come out, and you’re like, ‘OK, we have a little bit more hope than we did before.’ ”
Kline, a four-year player for the Falcons, was determined. If he could be on the field, he was going to do it.
“I’m not going to show weakness,” said Kline. “If it hurts, I’m going to play through it. It’s my final season. I have to make the most of it.”
No. 9 Cedar Crest had its season come to an end on a blustery Friday night with a 35-6 loss to No. 8 Cedar Cliff at West Shore Stadium.
When Zimmerman saw Kline go down, he knew he needed to fill the void.
Zimmerman, a junior, saw his first reps of the season on defense, making his first tackle from the linebacker spot, a spot that Kline often operated from.
“I’ve been playing with this team forever, since I was 6,” said Zimmerman. “I’ve played both sides of the ball, and I figured, why not? I’d do anything for this team. I love these guys.”
It was one step forward and two steps back on offense for the Falcons (5-6), who simply couldn’t get a sustainable drive going.
Early on, most of Cedar Crest’s positive yardage came through improvisation. A fake punt for a first down. A flea-flicker that resulted in a 8-yard scamper for a first down. It wasn’t from plays the Falcons practice often, but ones that happen in the spur of the moment.
Unfortunately for Cedar Crest, positive yardage and plays were almost instantly followed up with loss of yards, making it tough for Zimmerman and Co. to really get going.
Zimmerman had the lone score for a Cedar Crest on a 51-yard touchdown pass from Steven Reyes.
Coach Nick Lambros had just one word to sum up his Falcons: sacrifice.
“They sacrifice to put us where we need to be as a playoff team,” said Lambros.
The Colts (6-5), who were without their top tailback, saw a lot of their success through the air.
It wasn’t easy on a windy night, but it didn’t hamper Cedar Cliff quarterback Jalen Hinton, who threw for 171 yards and four touchdowns.
This was a gritty, scrappy flock of Falcons. It was a group that had to scratch and claw just to make it to the playoffs, and they were never going to go out quietly.
