Jay Huber passes Cedar Crest past C.D. East

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

By David Bohr — LNP/Lancasteronline

LEBANON — Cedar Crest led for most of a sloppy second half against Central Dauphin East in a non-league football game on Friday night but when the Panthers scored late to tie the game the Falcons played their best.

The Falcons (2-0) won 29-22 with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Jay Huber to Jack Waranavage with 50 seconds left.

Huber was 5-for-5 for all 63 yards on the winning drive. Two of his completions were for 7 and 16 yards to Owen Chernich, who had not made a catch in the first 46 minutes.

The Panthers (1-1) had five straight three-and-out possessions in the second half before Terrance Jackson-Coplay hit Izayah Jackson for a 28-yard touchdown with 2:42 remaining. Jackson-Coplay’s run for two points evened the score at 22-22.

The game was going CD East’s way early, but Cedar Crest scored 16 points in 53 seconds early in the second period. Huber connected with Nolan Groff for a 2-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7 with 9:11 left in the half. Connor Schwartz sacked Demaj Jalloh for a safety on the next series, and one play after the free kick, Huber hit Groff deep for an 84-yard touchdown and a 16-7 lead.

Groff finished with nine catches and 181 yards. He also recorded two sacks in the fourth quarter. Huber was 23-for-38 for 318 yards and four touchdowns. In addition to the two scoring strikes to Groff and the winner to Waranavage, he also had a 10-yard touchdown throw to Aiden Schomp in the third quarter. Schwartz had two sacks.

Both teams will be hearing about penalties in practice this week. Each side was flagged 13 times, the Falcons for 113 yards and the Panthers for 118 yards. The most critical flag came one play before the safety when East’s Jared Porter had an 88-yard touchdown reception called back on a hold.