Five turnovers hasten end to Lancaster Catholic’s season
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(This story was produced by LNP/Lancasteronline, and published in partnership with MikeDragoSports.com.)
By Logan Moyer — LNP/Lancasteronline
HALIFAX — Sometimes a final game can sum up an entire season.
That was the case for Lancaster Catholic Friday night. The Crusaders had their season end with a 30-14 loss to Halifax in the semifinals of the District 3 Class 2A football playoffs.
| Final | |
| Halifax | 30 |
| Lanc. Cath. | 14 |
Lancaster Catholic (6-5), the No. 3 seed, was dominated up front by the No. 2 Wildcats (8-3). The Crusaders also turned the ball over five times, including three times in the first half. They didn’t complete a pass until the third quarter.
“We just didn’t make enough plays on offense,” Lancaster Catholic coach Chris Maiorino said. “We just couldn’t get in a rhythm.”
Freshman Rowan DeMarco and Colton Hegener, usually a receiver, each took snaps behind center but the Crusaders’ offensive front couldn’t give either sufficient time to throw. Running back Brandon Way, a Villanova commit, also had nowhere to run, especially in the first half.
It was a season that began with high hopes for the Crusaders. After being denied a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 5 title by Schuylkill Valley last season, Catholic was the odds-on favorite to win the crown this fall.
That also didn’t turn out to be the case. The Crusaders lost three straight, starting in Week 3, and starting quarterback J.J. Boas went out with an injury in Week 4.
Catholic had some uncharacteristic losses early in the year but won four out of its last five in the regular season to make the district 2A bracket.
“The game was kind of how our season went,” Maiorino said. “We had some good things going, but things kind of snowballed in the second half.”
Things went wrong from the jump Friday night. DeMarco’s first pass was intercepted and returned 28 yards for a touchdown by Joseph Witmer.
His second was also intercepted, which set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Teegan Carroll in the second quarter. Brayden Midile, who intercepted a pair of passes, drilled a 37-yard field goal late in the first half to give the Wildcats a three-score lead heading into the break.
It would have been easy for the Crusaders to back down. But just as they’ve done all season, they kept clawing back.
Way ran for a pair of third-quarter scores (8 and 4 yards), both out of the Wildcat formation. He finished with 92 rushing yards on 18 carries. But the Crusaders twice failed to turn great field position into points and never came within a score of the Wildcats.
Carroll and Cohen Bechtel, who ran for scores in the second half, finished with a combined 214 yards on 37 carries. Halifax will play Steel-High — a 46-22 winner over Columbia in Friday’s other semifinal — for the district title Friday at 7 p.m. at a neutral site.
“I was proud of how we came out in the second half,” Maiorino said. “For our seniors, it’s the last time they get to put on the uniform. It’s tough to see them walking away. It was a good season; we dealt with a lot of adversity.”
