Dean Rotter, Daniel Boone, enjoy big finish against Fleetwood
By Mike Mitchell Jr. — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Daniel Boone quarterback Dean Rotter was all smiles after the Blazers defeated Fleetwood 35-8 in their Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 3 finale Friday night at Tigers Stadium.
Rotter had a phenomenal game, or actually, a phenomenal half for the Blazers (1-5, 2-8). He ran for 181 yards on only seven carries and threw for 154 yards and two touchdowns.
Rotter gained all of his yards on the same play, the quarterback draw.
“We added the QB draw a few weeks ago,” said Rotter. “It has worked well in every game. We just keep running it and it keeps working. Our line blocks that play extremely well.
“Fleetwood was in man coverage when we were in trips. Our receivers ran the backs off and the line took care of the rest.”
“Dean has played some really good football of late,” said Blazers coach Rob Flowers. “He’s throwing it well. He’s running it well. It is really cool to see his growth over these last couple of weeks.”
Rotter, a senior, connected with senior wide receiver Robbie Burns from 26 yards out for the Blazers first touchdown. That touchdown was set up by a 43-yard quarterback draw.
Later in the half Rotter connected with junior running back Ethan Kryman for an 11-yard catch-and-run for his second touchdown pass of the game.
Senior running back Caden Tolosky rushed for 61 yards on five carries and scored a touchdown for the Blazers. Jesse Smith and Ryan Souder each scored on 1-yard runs for the Blazers.
The Blazers did all of their damage in the first half, scoring on all five of their possessions and outgaining the Tigers by a total of 394 to 139.
For the Tigers (0-6, 2-8), Tristen McFarland (five carries for 55 yards and 4-for-7 passing for 32 yards) connected on a 27-yard touchdown pass to Owen Kotsch for the lone score. McFarland also ran the two-point conversion for the final margin
Both the Blazers and the Tigers came into the game with six-game losing streaks. The victory was a sweet way to end the season for Daniel Boone.
“It feels really good to get this win,” Rotter said. “We had a rough start to the season. We had to fight our way back after some really tough losses. But that’s the great thing about our team. We are a family. We never quit. We wanted to get that win.”
“There’s no quit in these guys,” added Flowers. “This senior class . . . they are fighters. It’s our second group to come through the program. They are special. They wanted this win tonight and they worked hard, fought, and earned it. I’m proud of them.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Daniel Boone | 14 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 35 |
| Fleetwood | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Daniel Boone | Burns, 25 pass from Rotter (Brown kick) | 10:48 |
| 1 | Daniel Boone | Smith, 1 run (Brown kick) | 3:32 |
| 2 | Daniel Boone | Tolosky, 4 run (Brown kick) | 11:56 |
| 2 | Daniel Boone | Kryman, 11 pass from Rotter (Brown kick) | 9:26 |
| 2 | Daniel Boone | Souder, 1 run (Brown kick) | 2:13 |
| 4 | Fleetwood | Kotsch, 27 pass from McFarland (Mc Farland run) | 3:45 |
Team statistics
| Daniel Boone | Fleetwood | |
| First downs | 11 | 14 |
| Rushes-yards | 24-243 | 26-119 |
| Passing yards | 159 | 126 |
| Total yards | 402 | 245 |
| Passes | 8-14-0 | 14-28-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-0 | 3-1 |
| Punts-average | 0-0 | 2-36.5 |
| Penalties-yards | 7-60 | 6-56 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Daniel Boone: Rotter 7-181, Tolosky 5-61, Smith 2-5, Hewitt 3-4, Souder 3-0,Davis 3 – (-1), Kryman 1- (-7).
Fleetwood: McFarland 5-55, Brickle 11-53, Ramsey 4-14, Wamsher 2-2, Riffle 4-(-5).
PASSING
Daniel Boone: Rotter7-13-0-154, Domenech 1-1-0-5.
Fleetwood: Riffle 10-21-0-94, McFarland 4-7-0-32.
RECEIVING
Daniel Boone: Kryman 3-46, Klick 2-48, High 2-12, Heffner 1-34, Burns 1-26.
Fleetwood:Wamsher 7-53, McFarland 3-22, Kotsch 2-43, Tomes 1-10, DeOlivieri 1-(-2).
MISSED FIELD GOALS
Daniel Boone: Maurek 43.
