Annville-Cleona knocks off Lancaster Catholic in Section 5 showdown
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
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(This story was produced by LNP/Lancasteronline, and published in partnership with MikeDragoSports.com.)
By Dave Byrne — LNP/Lancasteronline
ROSSMERE — It was a lesson in classic, smash-mouth football. The hammer pounding the anvil relentlessly.
Annville-Cleona rushed 70 times for 388 yards, dominating both the clock and Lancaster Catholic in a 35-21 Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 5 victory Friday night.
The Dutchmen (4-0, 5-2) keep pace with Schuylkill Valley and knock the defending champion Crusaders (3-1, 6-1) out of a share of first place with three weeks to go.
It was A-C’s first victory over the Crusaders since 2016 and just the second ever.
“Every time we’ve played here they have taken us out to the woodshed,” said Dutchmen head coach Matt Gingrich. “Last year (in Annville) we put up a real good fight, we went for two to win the game and came up a little short.
“Last year was the first time in a while that our kids were willing to match their physicality. That’s the formula for us, and we did it again.”
Catholic had the Dutchmen’s Veer figured out. For two possessions. On the third possession, trailing 7-0, A-C went six plays for 65 yards, with quarterback Cameron Connelly scoring from the 30.
The next time they had the ball, taking over at their 3, they went the distance in 11 plays. Make that one play, 11 times.
“We ran the same play out of the same formation the whole time,” said Gingrich, “because, to be honest, that’s all we could do.”
Connelly ran for 14 yards. Hitting the ‘C’ gap on fullback dives, Bryce Keller (28 carries, 146 yards) ran for 16, 4, 4 and 6, a journey interrupted by Connelly’s 11-yard rush, before Keller picked up 12 and 18. After Cael Harter’s 4-yard palate cleanser, Connelly capped the expedition scoring from the 4.
With few moments on offense, Catholic made the best of them as Elijah Cunningham, who put Catholic on the board with a 7-yard score, broke a 49-yard run to send the game into halftime tied 14-14.
Harter’s 40-yard kickoff return to open the second half was the opening salvo in an 11-play, 45-yard possession that took five and a half minutes off the clock and ended with Connelly visiting the end zone for the third time in the evening, from 1 yard out.
The game turned, as much as it could turn, on Catholic’s next possession. An incredible 40-yard, one-handed catch by Josh Acker put the Crusaders in business at the A-C 5. There was a high snap on the next play, quarterback David Stefanow covering it at the 24. Three plays yielded nothing and the Dutchmen took over at the 24.
“It’s not one play,” said Crusaders’ coach Chris Maiorino. “We had two big plays called back because we were undisciplined. We pride ourselves on being disciplined, accountable, so we’re not going to make excuses.”
The game unraveled for Catholic from there. Annville drove 76 yards in eight plays, a personal foul penalty tacked on to an 18-yard run by Harter, before scoring on a 17-yard TD run by Jonathan Shay at the start of the fourth quarter.
Darrian Holloway sacked Stefanow for a loss of 8 on fourth-and-13 at the Catholic 32 — one play after a procedure penalty wiped out a 21-yard, first-down completion to Acker — and the Dutchmen were soon in the end zone on Harter’s 11-yard dash.
Intercepted on their next possession the Crusaders held, forced a punt and went 73 yards in 11 plays, Cunningham scoring his third TD of the night from the 2 with 4:42 still to play.
Annville recovered the inevitable onside kick, punted away but got the ball back instantly on an interception and ran out the clock.
“They did a heck of a job tonight,” Maiorino said of the Dutchmen. “They had a great game plan. They executed it and they didn’t turn the ball over.”
“Week 3, halftime, was the turning point,” Gingrich said. “Since then the team has grinded out wins. We’re going to try to just pound on teams and, if we can do that, we have a chance to win.”
