Lancaster Catholic stops late two-point bid to remain unbeaten

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

By David Bohr — LNP/Lancasteronline

ANNVILLE — Lancaster Catholic had all it could handle against Annville-Cleona Friday night but salvaged a 14-13 Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 5 victory to remain in first place.

The Crusaders (4-0, 7-0) went ahead 14-7 with 7:28 left in the fourth quarter when Will Cranford connected with Jaevon Parker for a 10-yard touchdown pass, Parker’s second score of the game.

The Dutchmen (2-2, 4-3) answered with a 12-play, 71-yard drive. Gavin Keller threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Alex Long with 1:53 to go but the two-point passing attempt fell incomplete.

An ensuing onside kick attempt did not travel the necessary 10 yards and the Crusaders were able to run out the clock.

Lancaster Catholic turned back Hamburg 38-35 last week to claim sole possession of first place.

The Dutchmen tied the score 7-7 on the first play of the fourth quarter on a 2-yard touchdown run by Keller, ending a 10-play, 60-yard drive. But Lancaster Catholic took momentum back right away. First, the kickoff went out of bounds. On the first play of the possession, a 26-yard connection between Parker and Keller, Lancaster Catholic was already in scoring range. Parker’s go-ahead score came seven snaps later.

Parker finished with eight catches for 114 yards and two touchdowns. His first score came on a 12-yard pass from Cranford with seven seconds left in the first quarter, on which Parker caught the ball at the 5-yard line and dodged a tackle on the way to the end zone.

Cranford was 15-for-20 passing for 172 yards.

On the other side, league rushing leader Phoenix Music was the workhorse in Annville-Cleona’s ball-control offense with 39 carries for 185 yards.

Defensively, Brandon Way made two open-field tackles that prevented touchdowns by A-C. Hudson Hess blocked a field goal for the Crusaders.

Lancaster Catholic had only seven possessions, so it was hard for the Crusaders to reach their average of 35.8 points per game. However, the defense stopped the Dutchmen three times on their side of the field to preserve the lead.