Getting tested is a good thing. Getting tested and coming away with a huge win to remain undefeated is a great thing.
That’s exactly what happened when our Lions went to Central York for a Division I battle, and came away with a 28-18 victory.
“My staff and I talked before, our closest win closest win prior to Friday was 21 points,” coach Jesse Shay said. “At some point, we needed to be in a close game because we want to do something in playoffs.
“You better be battle tested to the point in a close game you know what to do. It’s not something you can just learn without doing. There’s a different mentality when you are in a dogfight. We were very fortunate to go through that and get the win.”
Pat Daughtery got things going right away, taking a handoff from Sam Emig and racing 61 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage.
Later in the opening quarter, Daugherty hauled in an Emig pass for a 16-yard score and 14-0 lead.
Emig’s 19-yard touchdown run sent the Lions to the locker room with a 21-6 halftime lead. However, playing on their homecoming, the Panthers scored twice in the third quarter, cutting the deficit to 21-18.
In the fourth quarter, Red Lion blocked the potential tying field goal and the Lions marched down the field, with Zach Throne gathering up much of the yardage. Emig’s 6-yard run posted the final score.
Throne, who is also the Lions backup quarterback and starts in the defensive backfield, ended up setting a school record with 20 receptions for 196 yards.
“He’s such a good athlete we had to get him on the field,” said Shay. “Throne running jet sweeps was the difference. After (blocking) the field goal, we went 80 yards with 50-some those jet passes to Throne.”
While pleased to hold the high-powered Panthers under 20 points, Shay said the Lions have some things to clean up when they head to Spring Grove for next week, and in their annual Week 10 showdown with rival Dallastown.
But, there’s no looking ahead. Spring Grove is next up. The Rockets’ roster can be found here.
Shay added: “Nothing else matters than this one against Spring Grove. Then if we are fortunate enough to win, nothing will matter more than defeating Dallastown.”
