Dutchmen lock down top seed, share of Section 5 title
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
(This story was produced by LNP/Lancasteronline, and published in partnership with MikeDragoSports.com.)
By David Bohr — LNP/Lancasteronline
FREDERICKSBURG — Annville-Cleona claimed a share of the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 5 title Friday night with a 24-0 win at Northern Lebanon.
The Dutchmen (6-1, 7-3), who split the crown with Lancaster Catholic and Schuylkill Valley — used two monster drives to put the game away. They had the ball for almost the entirety of the second quarter, driving 85 yards on 27 plays for 12:41, ending with a Mina Elzek 32-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead.
Then, A-C had the ball to begin the third period and turned it into a 19-play, 71-yard touchdown drive. Cam Connelly ended this 9:55 possession with a 2-yard touchdown run for a 17-0 lead.
The Vikings (3-4, 4-6) had a chance to change the whole dynamic of the game before those odysseys by the Dutchmen. Though Cael Harter scored on an 8-yard touchdown run to put the visitors ahead, Brendan Ryan returned the kickoff 63 yards to get Northern Lebanon in the red zone. Two plays later, a touchdown pass was called back on offensive pass interference, and the Vikings wound up going so far backward that they had to punt.
Harter rushed for 113 yards on 21 carries. He also scored the touchdown that sealed the game on defense, returning an interception in the offensive backfield 20 yards to the end zone to make it 24-0 with 45 seconds left in the third quarter.
A-C was 7-for-7 on fourth-down conversions. That allowed the Dutchmen to run the ball 65 times for 223 yards. The Northern Lebanon defense didn’t give up many big plays, as only three of those carries went 10 or more yards. But A-C’s willingness — and success — on fourth down kept its offense on the field.
Also, the A-C defense held the Vikings to minus-2 rushing yards on 12 attempts.
The Dutchmen are unofficially the No. 1 seed for the District 3 Class 2A playofs and will host a semifinal next week. They will play at Lebanon Alumni Stadium because of construction at Annville-Cleona.
