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  lions open 2019 with solid victory

Another season opened for the Lions on Friday night, and like recent years, it marked starting another campaign with a victory.

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Red Lion went to Lancaster and topped McCaskey 39-14. 

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Despite so many new starters in the lineup and turning the ball over on the first possession of the game, the Lions responded impressively, jumping out to a 39-0 lead.

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"With so many first year starters, you don't know how they are going to respond on a Friday night," said coach Jesse Shay. "After turning the ball over, we went from there. It was kind of a gut-punch and I think our defense responded really well."

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One thing that helped was the level of success the Lions have held the last several year, including in 2018 when the reserves, who are not starters, earned playing time in games.

 

"The fact that kids got some game experience is a tribute to them and our program," added Shay.  

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  lions hold off waynesboro

The Lions improved to 2-0 on the young season Friday night, but did it in a different way while visiting a solid Waynesboro squad. 

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Only scoring 14 points, Red Lion needed its defense to come up big and it did as the host Indians missed out on the tying 2-point conversion and the Lions won 14-12.

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"Kairen Gordon- Bey and Jake Bradley really did a nice job getting penetration and the rest of the defense rallied to the ball carrier to prevent him from escaping," Lions  coach Jesse Shay said. "It was huge, obviously.

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"The defense played well all game long. They put some long drives together, but even then we got off the field without giving up points. However in the 2nd half, those long drives tire you out and they were able to score on a couple of those drives. We need to learn to get off the field quicker to prevent that in the future."

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Red Lion stretched its lead to 14-6 early in the fourth quarter, but Waynesboro scored a touchdown with two minutes remaining, before missing the tying conversion.

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"Give credit to Waynesboro, because they are much improved from the version of the teams we played the last couple of years," added Shay. "The biggest lesson I think we got was that previous games mean nothing."

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Nic Shultz and Devyn Gurreri rushed for over 100 yards each and Shultz hit Gerald Zapata for touchdown catches on both Lion scores.

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  lions earn big victory

Lions coach Jesse Shay was quick to say, "It was one of the best game I have ever been a part of," when asked about Red Lion's 26-21 home-openig victory past Chambersburg. "It was an entertaining game for anyone watching."

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An early-second half gamble played a huge part for the Lions. Down 7-0 at the half, Shay called for a fake punt from the Red Lion 14. Moments later, the team was celebrating an 86-yard touchdown by Randy Fizer.

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"I thought we needed something," said Shay.

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That play led to Chambersburg going three-and-out and the Lions responding with another touchdown and suddenly the home side was up, 13-7.

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Still, the Trojans rallied for a 21-20 lead with a little more than six minutes to play, until Devante Dennis caught a swing pass from Nic Shultz and took it 80 yards for the go-ahead score.

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The Trojans drove down field, but sophomore Chase Evans intercepted a pass, sealing the Red Lion victory.

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Although the Trojans were a team that defeated Red Lion in 2018, Shay's message to his team was not one of revenge.

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"We talked about how everyone had coronated their running back (Keyshawn Jones)," said Shay. "Dealing with really good running backs is what are defense does really well."

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  lions fall against central

If something could go wrong on Friday night, it did when the Lions hosted Central York.

 

Plaqued by turnovers, penalties and missed opportunities, Red Lion suffered a 58-7 setback in the Division I opener for both schools.

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Lions coach Jesse Shay called the events a "snowball effect," but knows the team can recover.

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"It is a teachable moment about not being able to beat good teams if they shoot themselves in the foot," he said. "We kept putting our defense in bad positions. Offense needs to help the defense out in those situations."

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By the time Nick Shultz was able to throw a touchdown late in the first half, the Panthers had already built a 30-7 lead. 

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The good news is: It's still early in the season. And that is the message the coaches will extend to the players heading into this Friday's game at upstart South Western, which upset Dallastown.  

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"The message is that you can't let one game become your definition," said Shay. "We are still 3-1, which is exactly where we were last season and we won a title and made the playoffs.

 

"There's no reason to think that this team can't do the exact same thing this year if they come together and resolve to move forward."

 

 

South Western stuns Lions

Before the season started, Lions coach Jesse Shay said he expected Division I to be much tougher, especially with the improvement at places such as South Western.

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Last Friday Red Lion found out how much better the Mustangs are as South Western came from behind for a 17-14 victory. 

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Things look great for the Lions, who fell to 3-2 on the season. Kobe Martin intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown, giving Red Lion a 14-7 lead with five minutes left in the third quarter.

 

However, the Mustangs added a field goal early in the fourth, then scored the winning touchdown with a minute to play.  

 

 Lions Rebound in Style

        The Lions two-game losing skid became a thing of the past when Red Lion put on a terrific show in a 41-28 win over previously unbeaten Northeastern.

        “There is a difference between playing for the game and playing for your season,” Red Lion coach Jesse Shay said after his team improved to 4-2.

        “We knew that if we go 3-3, with a really tough York High team next week, it would make playoffs really difficult if we dropped this one. The kids took that to heart and worked really hard this week.”

       “When we dig ourselves a hole like that, we are just looking for opportunities to dig ourselves out,” said Randy Fizer. “It was a great opportunity and they got us last year, so we were really looking forward to this game.”      

         Fizer did his part, topping 200 combined yards with 170 in receptions and three touchdowns. Devyn Gurreri rushed for 129 yards and Nic Shultz ran for 144 yards and two touchdowns, plus threw for 255 yards and three scores as the Lions amassed nearly 600 yards of total offense.

         On Red Lions’ first play, after holding Northeastern on its opening series, Fizer caught a pass behind the line of scrimmage, looked to be tackled for a loss, only to reverse field and romp 91 yards for a 6-0 lead.

       Northeastern came back, and later held a 28-20 lead early in the second half, but Shultz cut that lead to one with a 4-yard TD run.

      Red Lion ran four straight times to start its next series before Shultz hit a wide open Kurt Keough over-the-middle and the senior running back took it the distance for a 60-yard touchdown.

      The lead fired up the Lions and the defense forced a turnover on downs and three plays later, Shultz found Fizer for a 69-yard catch-and-run for the final score of a great game.

      Lost in all the points was the defensive play against the dynamic Bobcats’ offense.

      While Northeastern scored 28 points, only one was a drive of more than 21 yards after two botched punts and the long kick return.

      “That’s a very good Northeastern team. We knew it was going to take a fantastic effort to overcome them and I’m just really proud of our kids,” said Shay. “The defensive staff and defensive side of the ball has played really well. Those two scores I am putting on special teams. What a game plan and our kids executed it.”

 

 Back in win column

       This one felt good.

       After all, not only did the Lions snap a two-game skid, but Spring Grove is a much better team than in the past and defeating the Rockets, 26-13, at Papermaker Stadium clinched at least a .500 record and kept the district playoff hopes alive.

       Red Lion struggled to score the previous two games, but Nic Shultz's 35-yard touchdown pass on the third play of the game capped a three-play, 63-yard drive and got things rolling for the Lions.

 Lions blanked at York

        Although York High doesn't have the prolific offense it has the last couple of seasons, the Bearcats defense is greatly improved as the Lions found out last Friday.

        Red Lion was able to move the ball in spells, but unable to find pay dirt in an 18-0 loss.  

       Still at 4-3, the Lions have plenty to play for in terms of making the District 3 playoffs. Red Lion is currently eighth in the Class 6A power rankings, battling with Lebanon and Cumberland Valley for the last spot in the eight-team field.

       Up next is a homecoming date with New Oxford, followed by a trip to Spring Grove and the annual season finale against rival Dallastown. With those three games, the Lions have a lot of control over their postseason fate.

 

 Lions drop second straight

        While losing skids have been quite rare over the past several seasons, the Lions find themselves in one right now after Friday's 27-0 loss to a tough New Oxford squad.

       After putting up a season-high 41 against Northeastern, Red Lion has been shutout in two straight games. 

       Still, if the offense comes together, a District 3 6A playoff shot remains a possibility for the Lions, who fell to 4-4 on the season.

       Red Lion plays at Spring Grove, then is home to rival Dallastown the next two weeks, both of which are opponents ranked well below the Lions. 

        Coach Shay and Company will have the team ready to continue Red Lion's streak of playoff appearances. 

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 Lions drop second straight

        While losing skids have been quite rare over the past several seasons, the Lions find themselves in one right now after Friday's 27-0 loss to a tough New Oxford squad.

       After putting up a season-high 41 against Northeastern, Red Lion has been shutout in two straight games. 

       Still, if the offense comes together, a District 3 6A playoff shot remains a possibility for the Lions, who fell to 4-4 on the season.

       Red Lion plays at Spring Grove, then is home to rival Dallastown the next two weeks, both of which are opponents ranked well below the Lions. 

        Coach Shay and Company will have the team ready to continue Red Lion's streak of playoff appearances. 

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 Lions end season by beating rival cats

       While it's kind of cliche to say it, sometimes when rivals get together you can throw the win-loss records right out the window.  

      And that is exactly how Friday night against rebuilding rival Dallastown went. The Wildcats had the lead, but Red Lion fought back and came away with a 28-21 victory. 

      Although the game was closer than expected to some, Lions coach Jesse Shay said that is what can happen when rivals get together.

      "Also at this time of the season, kids are banged up and for the 4th game in a row we were without our home run threat (Randy Fizer)," he said.       

      "Kids played hard. Responded really well in the 4th quarter when Dallastown made a little run at us and grabbed momentum."

     Trailing 21-20, Red Lion stopped a Wildcats' drive with seven minutes to go when Kurt Keough's tackle for a 3-yard loss changed possession.

     The Lions scored right after that and held on to win. 

     Devyn Gurreri ran for three touchdowns and Gerald Zapata added a reception for another score. Keough played well defensively and Shay added that Jake Bradley had his best game of the season on both sides of the ball. 

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