Lampeter-Strasburg finds a way, rallies past Cocalico
2025 Berks football coverage presented by
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(This story was produced by LNP/Lancasteronline, and published in partnership with MikeDragoSports.com.)
By Jason Guarente — LNP/Lancasteronline
DENVER — The words are written in Lampeter-Strasburg’s creed and the football players believe in them. From the depths of fatigue and the grasp of exhaustion, you find a way.
| Final | |
| Lampeter | 10 |
| Cocalico | 6 |
Those last three words captured what transpired in Denver Friday night. The Pioneers weren’t perfect. They weren’t their best. They found a way.
L-S scored a touchdown with 1:25 left to overcome Cocalico 10-6 in a non-league game featuring two of the Lancaster-Lebanon League’s storied programs.
“It’s our ability to dig deep,” senior captain Keegan Curtis said. “We know who we are. We trust in our brothers. We know we can always do it.”
There were reasons to have doubts when L-S took over at its own 32 with 6:59 remaining. The Pioneers trailed 6-3 and the go-ahead score seemed like it was a mile away. Their offense had produced two touchdowns in the past seven-and-a-half quarters.
Twice during the 14-play journey, L-S faced fourth down. Twice it decided to go for it. Neither was an easy decision.
L-S faced 4th-and-8 near midfield with about five minutes left. Asher Jones scrambled for 12 yards to keep the drive going. It was supposed to be a pass. Jones made it a run.
“Any way possible to move the chains,” the quarterback said. “If the first couple of reads aren’t there, you’ve got to take off.”
L-S faced 4th-and-3 from Cocalico’s 15. The safe choice was a 32-yard field goal attempt by Peter Fiorello that likely would’ve forced overtime. The Pioneers didn’t play it safe.
“We were struggling on offense to sustain drives,” coach Victor Ridenour said. “Sometimes you need to find a spark. You put it on your offense. Here’s an opportunity for you to take over a game.”
Ridenour could tell by his players’ reaction that going for it was the right call.
“We knew the game was on the line at that point,” the coach said. “Our kids wanted it. It was good to see their eyes that way.”
Again, it was Jones who picked up the first down. On the next play, Colby DeJessa scored from the 10 and the Pioneers were back in front.
Cocalico took the lead on Dane Horning’s 2-yard touchdown run with 7:07 left. Horning rushed for 85 yards and threw his No. 20 jersey into almost every defensive play. The senior couldn’t have done more to help the home team prevail.
The first three weeks have been frustrating for the Eagles. They are 0-3. They could be 1-2 or 2-1 or 3-0. They led all three games in the fourth quarter.
“Obviously, that’s not the situation you want to be in,” Cocalico coach Bryan Strohl said. “I would certainly hope we’ve learned a lot from these games. No. 1 is that we can compete and have a good chance of winning against very good teams.”
Cocalico had two fumbles that stalled drives. One deep in L-S territory. The Eagles had two chances to stall the Pioneers’ last drive and couldn’t make the tackle that got their defense off the field.
That’s how a program that claimed District 3 Class 5A championships in 2022 and 2023 ends up winless heading into Week 4.
“There are so many what ifs,” Strohl said. “What if I would have done this? What if I would have called that? Like I told our kids, we’re not losing games for a lack of effort.”
Lampeter-Strasburg (2-1) doesn’t have the same roster that charged into the PIAA Class 4A final undefeated in December. The Pioneers have the same uniforms and many of the same traits.
“It’s just a mentality,” Jones said. “We’ve got to play for the person beside us. We played our best drive when we needed it the most.”
After Cocalico’s final possession went nowhere, L-S’s players celebrated. They stood arm-in-arm and swayed to the alma mater as the band played.
The Pioneers didn’t just say the creed Friday night. They lived it.
