Lancaster Catholic remains unbeaten with win over Columbia

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

By Darly Simione — LNP/Lancasteronline

Mired in a sloppy, low-scoring game through two quarters at Columbia on Friday night, the Lancaster Catholic football team came out of the locker room at halftime ready to make a statement.

Columbia, meanwhile, was riding high after knotting the score just before the half, and had great starting field position on its first possession of the third quarter and a chance to break a 6-6 stalemate.

But the Crusaders’ defense held Columbia to no yards on three straight carries from the 35-yard line and Josh Acker intercepted a fourth-down pass to steal the momentum.

Two plays later, Jaevon Parker took a screen pass 64 yards to the house for the go-ahead score and Lancaster Catholic was on its way to a 26-6 victory over Columbia in the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 5 opener for both teams.

Lancaster Catholic improved to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in league play, while Columbia fell to 2-2, 0-1.

“I was saying in the locker room, ‘We’re not losing this game, we’re winning this game,’” Lancaster Catholic senior Ed Dresch said of his team’s emotions at halftime. “Everyone was hyped, everyone was getting ready, there were no doubters in the locker room. Everyone was encouraging each other and we were all ready to go.”

Lancaster Catholic’s defense smothered Columbia throughout much of the second half, sacking Crimson Tide quarterback Daezjon Giles eight times and intercepting him twice.

Crusaders defensive tackle Eric Salapeh had two sacks over Columbia’s next two drives of the third quarter, with Dresch sacking Giles on a fourth-down play at midfield.

In between, Lancaster Catholic extended its lead on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Will Cranford (4-for-10, 133 yards) to Hudson Hess.

The Crusaders took firm control on a 2-yard touchdown run from Christian Fields with 10 minutes to play to set the final margin.

It was a far cry from a year ago, when a star-studded Crimson Tide offense unloaded 60 points on the Crusaders.

“I would say we expected it,” Dresch said of the defensive turnaround. “We brought a lot of guys back in. The work we’ve been putting in all summer has been paying off. We’ve been a lot more dedicated, all the more focused and ready just to work hard.”

Parker added an interception, and Kellan Murphy and Zach Dresch combined on another pair of sacks as the Crusaders’ defense won out.

Lancaster Catholic opened the scoring on a 13-yard touchdown run from Elijah Cunningham (14 carries, 64 yards).

But Columbia drove 91 yards on just six plays, aided by a pair of Lancaster Catholic penalties, to tie the score at 6-6 right before halftime.

A facemask penalty gave Columbia new life on third-and-12 from its own 6-yard line. Two plays later, Jayden Boone lofted an option pass to Demari Simms for a 29-yard gain.

Giles (19-for-26 passing, 208 yards) threw a 12-yard pass to Aiden Miller and a subsequent pass interference call gave Columbia a first down at the 28-yard line.

Giles then found Boone on a deep post over the middle for a 28-yard touchdown with 19 seconds to go before halftime.

The teams combined for 18 penalties, seven punts and six fumbles.