Newark takes down Lancaster 36-25

 

*Using rosters from maxpreps and Hudl*

Newark, Ohio- Last night I was back at White Field, this time watching the Newark Wildcats host the Lancaster Golden Gales. 2005 was the last time I can remember seeing the Wildcats play, and that was their 100th meeting with rival Zanesville. Newark would win that game 34-10. 2018 was the last time I had watched Lancaster play, and that was a game that they lost 28-7 to Reynoldsburg.

The Wildcats defense got things headed in the direction they needed when Brody Driskel got to dangerous Jahmeir Gordon for a loss of 5 yards with 9:27 left in the opening quarter. Just 30 seconds later, Parker Camplbell would get the Lancaster's Isaiah Sweatee after a catch for a loss of 9 yards.

The Wildcats would quietly go on a 9-play, 59-yard drive that cumulated in a 26-yard field goal from Sean Brechbill, making this a 3-0 game with 5:16 left in the quarter.

Lancaster would get a nice 16-yard run from Brody Burke to move the chains. With 0.37 seconds left in the quarter, Adrian Taylor put a Lee Roy Jordan type his on Gordon, causing a loss of one. The quarter ended with Kalen Winbush getting Gordon for a loss of one. The Golden Gales drive ended in the third with a 20-yard field goal from Ethan Graham locking this one up at three with 11:16 left in the half.

The Wildcats responded with a 57-yard touchdown pass from Bodie Smith to Daniel Cutliif, making this a 10-3 game with 9:23 showing on the clock. The Wildcats really did look like a team that could score on any play as they could serve up a big group of dangerous weapons.

Gordon would show some Emmit Smith-like skills when he broke free for a gain of 29 yards at the 7:47 mark of the quarter. Lancaster, who seems more of a ground and pound type team, forgot all of that at the 6:43 mark when they pulled off a nasty flea-flicker that resulted in a touchdown. Kaleb Santiny would find himself all alone, making the throw very easy for Brody Burke for the 40-yard score, locking the game up at ten.

Bodie Smith Smith hit Austin Rose for 15 yards on third and ten. He then connected with Preston Lunsford for 24 yards again on third and ten. The 14-play, 80-yard drive came to a climax with Kolten Peterson scoring on a 10-yard run, making this a 16-10 game. The point after looked to be good, but a flag on the Wildcats resulted in the ball being marked back five yards, and the kick was not on target.

Lancaster would get a 17-yard completion to Andrew Whitlatch before the half came to a close.

Rose, as good a two-way player as I have watched this year, got to Gordon for a loss of four with 9:16 left in the third. I believe that play helps set the tone for the rest of the game for the Newark team.

Smith hit Drayson Peterson for 32 yards. When Smith takes a breath before tossing the rock, he can be very accurate, creating havoc for any secondary he is going against. Kolton Peterson picked up 32 yards to set up the next Wildcats score that came on a 20-yard run by Alex Irvin, who ran through Kelton Fisher, making this a 23-10 game. The drive went for 84 yards, lasting just 5 plays.

Rose would get to Gordon for a loss of three with 3:09 left in the quarter to help force a punt a short time later.

Irvin would pick up 12 yards, then he made this a 30-10 game with a 27-yard run with 0:50 left on the clock. The drive went for 55 yards and lasted for 5 plays.

The DL BURNWORTH HIT OF THE GAME came on the ensuing kickoff with Adrian Taylor going boom on Gordon. Gordon took a pounding in this one, but each time he pounced up and went right back to work.

Lancaster looked like they did not have a care in the world even as they trailed by 20 points, as it would take 11 plays to go 74 yards for their next score. The score came on a 9-yard touchdown pass to Kamerom Griffith. Griffith goes 6-5, 247, and he looked like a Freedy Kruer Nightmare ready to haunt the Newark defense, but his number was seldom called. After a two-point conversion run by Devin Wilson, we had a 30-18 game with 6:54 left to play.

Peterson broke a tackle on his way to an 11-yard run to move the chains for Newark with 4:36 left. The 7-play, 56-yard drive ended on a Smith to Cooper Fink 6-yard score to make this a 36-18 game, as the point after kick was blocked by Kelton Fisher.

Kaleb Santiny made a Jeremiah Smith-type one-handed catch for a gain of 34 yards, and to add difficulty to the coach, he was leaping high in the air along the sideline with tight coverage. Burke hit Andrew Whitlatch for an 8-yard touchdown to make the score 36-25. The Golden Gales would recover the onside kick, but the Newark defense surrendered nothing on the drive, allowing their offense to come in and take a knee for the win.

My Stats

Lancaster

64 plays

361 yards

Passing, 16-23, 3 TD's

Newark

52 plays

415 yards

Passing, 14-24 2 TD's

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