Kickoff return sparks Lancaster Catholic to second straight win

(This story was produced by LNP/Lancasteronline, and published in partnership with MikeDragoSports.com.)

By Jeff Reinhart — LNP/Lancasteronline

McSHERRYSTOWN — R.J. Gonzalez thought he fumbled the ball away. Twice.

Not only did Lancaster Catholic’s ace return man not turn it over but his 76-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to open the second half gave the Crusaders a spark. And when Josh Acker picked off a pass and returned it 45 yards for a TD just 24 seconds later Lancaster Catholic was on its way.

Elijah Cunningham rushed for 144 yards and had a pair of TD runs, Terrell Crawley tacked on 81 rushing yards, Jaevon Parker hauled in a TD pass and the Crusaders topped Delone Catholic 33-21 in a non-league game Thursday.

“I was looking to take it to the house,” Gonzalez said of his game-changing return. “But I was nervous because I fumbled it. I kicked it a little bit. And I almost fumbled it at the end while I was switching hands. I was just trying to get some yards for the offense. And I ended up scoring.”

Lancaster Catholic improved to 2-0; it’s the Crusaders’ best start since a 4-0 getaway in 2019.

Gonzalez had a hard time corralling the second-half kickoff, but once he got his paws on it, he was off to the races, bobbing and weaving his way to the end zone, giving Lancaster Catholic an 18-7 lead. He nearly fumbled the ball away at the goal line but secured it at the last second.

Lancaster Catholic grabbed a 12-0 lead. Cunningham zoomed 9 yards for a TD late in the first quarter and quarterback Will Cranford zipped a 10-yard TD pass to Parker with 4:32 to go in the half. Earlier, Parker returned a punt 58 yards to set up another drive.

Delone Catholic finally got on the board when quarterback Denver Ostrum completed five straight passes, the last a 22-yard TD flip to Ryder Noel and it was 12-7 at the half.

That’s when Lancaster Catholic pounced. Gonzalez took the second-half kickoff to the house — Parker had a 90-yard kickoff return for a TD last week for the Crusaders — and when Delone Catholic immediately went up top on its ensuing drive, Acker stepped in front of Ostrum’s attempt, wrangled it away from a receiver and sashayed 45 yards, untouched, the other way for a TD.

“I came over to the sideline to get some water,” Gonzalez said, “and I heard our crowd screaming. I looked up and (Acker) was going down the field to score.”

It was easily the biggest sequence of the game and propelled the Crusaders the rest of the way.

“We were able to come out and start fast there,” Lancaster Catholic coach Chris Maiorino noted. “We talk to them all them time about coming out firing out of the locker room.”

Delone Catholic (0-2) hung around, getting a 40-yard TD run from Brady Dettinburn, and Ostrum delivered a 38-yard TD strike to Noel.

In between Lancaster Catholic opened up some breathing room when Cunningham dashed 15 yards for a TD for a 33-14 edge, as the Crusaders piled up 237 rushing yards.

Lancaster Catholic also got a big night defensively from D-end Hudson Hess, who had a pair of sacks for 15 yards in losses. Kellan Murphy, who returned a blocked kick 91 yards for a TD last week, added an 11-yard sack in the fourth quarter to quell another Squires’ drive.

“I thought our offensive line did a great job helping us churn out yards when we really needed them,” Maiorino said. “And we had two backs (Cunningham and Crawley) who really ran hard. Those guys were able to get the tough yards.”