Streaking Cocalico shuts down Gettysburg

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

By Matt Pawlikowski — LNP/Lancasteronline

GETTYSBURG — Just up the street from the Gettysburg National Military Park, Cocalico’s football team staged a battle of its own Friday night in their District 3 Class 5A quarterfinal game against Gettysburg.

Twice the Eagles overcame deficits, the men in the trenches pushed back when needed and on a night that felt more like early September, with jerseys soaked in sweat, it was placekicker Cole Roos who secured the 23-13 win for the 12th-seeded Eagles with his 34-yard field goal with 2:34 remaining.

“This feels awesome. It’s a dream. I appreciated my holders, my snappers and my line,” Roos said. “I had the easy job. I just had to put it through. My team trusts me and I trust them to block for me, so all credit to them.”

For a third consecutive week, the Eagles defense held a team under 150 total yards (129), with the most impressive stat of the night they held a team that averaged 226 yards entering the game to a measly 13. The Eagles would rack up 417 yards, with Sam Steffey leading the way with 176.

Just how good was the Eagles defense? It held the Warriors to just six first downs. Both Gettysburg first-half scores also came off miscues. The first led to a 32-yard field goal by Germaine Gonde with 6:44 left in the first quarter. The second was that Tanner Newman found a way to ramble 85-yards down the sidelines to make it a 10-7 game.

The Eagles responded after the first miscue by handing off to one of their hottest players, as Sam Steffey took it in from three yards out. It was his 11th score in the past four weeks. Steffey would score his 12th later in the game on a one-yard plunge in the third.

This came after the Warriors made it a 13-7 game following the second-half kickoff, which led to a 29-yard field goal. It also came on the tails of a huge 56-yard run by Brayden Epinette, who was horse collared at the five yard line, keeping him out of the endzone.

The Eagles other score of the night came with 3:40 left in the third quarter. On an outside veer with some outstanding blocking downfield, Josh Myer raced 97 yards for a score, making it 20-13 after Roos’s PAT.

Gettysburg had one more legit shot for a scoring opportunity. With 11:57 left in the fourth quarter, the Warriors faced a fourth and two from the 39. They opted to pass, and it was promptly deflected by Carter Getz. The Eagles would take over with 7:25 left and never looked back.

“Our defense has been playing lights out, and honestly today, we go into the half down 10-7,” Cocalico coach Bryan Strohl said. “But I told them the game is not won in 24 minutes. We did some different formations in the second half, but pretty much it was sticking with what is working and finding a way to punch it in the end zone and sustain some long drives. I’m proud of their effort.”

The Eagles have to wait a day to find out who they play in the semifinals, as the game between Solanco and Shippensburg was postponed until today. The Eagles fell to the Mules 21-7 early in September.