Lackawanna Trail coach Steve Jervis, center, address his players following the Lions’ 49-24 loss at Williams VAlley on Friday night in the District 2-11 Class 1A Subregional semifinal. (SCOTT WALSH / STAFF PHOTO)
Lackawanna Trail quarterback Lucas Filipek (20) calls a play in the huddle during Friday night’s District 2-11 Class 1A Subregional semifinal at Williams Valley. (SCOTT WALSH / STAFF PHOTO)
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Lackawanna Trail coach Steve Jervis, center, address his players following the Lions’ 49-24 loss at Williams VAlley on Friday night in the District 2-11 Class 1A Subregional semifinal. (SCOTT WALSH / STAFF PHOTO)
WILLIAMSTOWN — Every time it seemed like Lackawanna Trail gained some momentum in its District 2-11 Class 1A Subregional on Friday night, Williams Valley ripped off a big run to take it right back.
The Lions couldn’t handle the Vikings’ three-headed monster in the backfield and Williams Valley rolled to a 49-24 victory at Stauffenberg Field at Viking Stadium.
Top-seeded Williams Valley ran just 27 plays — 24 of which were running — and amassed 443 yards on the ground for an 18.5-yard average. Fletcher Thompson had 172 yards on 12 carries. Trevon Bair had 147 yards on five carries and Cole Hubler had 125 yards on six carries. Each ran for two touchdowns. Hubler also caught a touchdown pass as the Vikings (10-1) advanced to the subregional final against No. 2 seed Tri-Valley, which defeated No. 3 Marian Catholic in the other semifinal, 37-7.
“We have a ton of respect for the wing-T offense,” Lackawanna Trail coach Steve Jervis said. “I give them credit. They have the three backs that really complement each other well. Not only did they run the ball hard, I thought their backs blocked well.
“So much of a high school football game us about momentum. As soon as we started getting back in the game, we get the turnover, they go on a one-, two-, three-play drive. We just didn’t have much of an answer for them tonight.”
Lackawanna Trail (4-7), the No. 4 seed, battled hard to the end. Carter Edwards bulldozed his way to 139 yards on 18 carries. Quarterback Lucas Filipek passed for 108 yards and two touchdowns. Tim Richmond ran for a score, while Joey Thomas caught a touchdown pass, kicked three extra points and a field goal.
“I have to give the majority of it to the line because without them I wouldn’t be going anywhere,” Edwards said. “Once I get past them, I just try to make a move and do whatever I can to get the most yards on that play.
“On offense, we moved the ball quite a bit. But when they got on offense, they went right down the field. They definitely have a great skilled team. I’ve got to give hats off to them. They played great.”
According to Williams Valley coach Frank Gaffney, he installed this offense just three weeks ago.
“I’ve sort of been holding onto it,” Gaffney said. “We’re starting to mesh with it. We’ve punted just one time in three weeks. It’s nice to see each back rip off some big ones tonight and then go right back to the other side of the ball. They all play linebacker and are at the point of attack each play.
“Our two wing backs (Thompson and Hubler) are ultra explosive and (Bair) is a great downhill runner. Our quarterback (Cayden Witmer) is a sophomore with a big arm. We were trying to be a little more of a pro-style system like they’ve been for the past 12, 15 years. They won a lot of football games that way. We just realized we had something special here with multiple guys who could carry the ball. It takes pressure off our quarterback with his play-action. We just made a decision and said, ‘This is going to be our identity’ and so far it’s worked out for us.”
A glimpse of things to come took place on the game’s third play when Hubler ran 54 yards for a touchdown to give Williams Valley a 6-0 lead just 92 seconds in as the extra point was blocked.
Lucas Brunner pinned the Vikings at their 3 with a 46-yard punt on Lackawanna Trail’s first possession. However, Williams Valley went 97 yards in seven plays, the biggest being a 61-yard run by Bair to the Lions 20. He capped the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run and Witmer hit Thompson for the two-point conversion to make it 14-0 with 3:48 left in the first.
However, the Lions responded. Richmond’s 5-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter finished off a six-play, 62-yard scoring drive to cut the deficit to 14-7. Then, Edwards forced and recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff at the Vikings 48. Thirteen plays later, Thomas booted a 25-yard field goal to bring Lackawanna Trail within 14-10 with 4:30 remaining in the second.
But on the first play of the ensuing Williams Valley possession, Thompson went 66 yards for a touchdown to increase the Vikings’ lead to 20-10 with 4:11 left. Then after a three-and-out by Lackawanna Trail, Williams Valley put together a seven-play scoring drive that ended with Witmer finding Hubler for a 19-yard touchdown pass. He and Thompson connected again on the two-point pass for a 28-10 lead with 18 seconds left before halftime.
To open the third quarter, Lackawanna Trail appeared to score a touchdown when Filipek hit Danny Jones for 13 yards on fourth-and-6. However, a holding penalty nullified the play. The Lions went for it again, this time on fourth-and-16 from the 23. Filipek’s pass was intercepted at the goal line by Gabe Rodriguez and returned to the 45. A penalty on the runback pushed the Vikings back 10 yards.
No matter. On first down, Bair took a handoff 65 yards for a touchdown and Owen Mace’s kick made it 35-10 with 6:44 left in the third.
“That 14-point swing in the third quarter was so much of a difference maker,” Jervis said.
Bair then recovered a fumble on the ensuing Lackawanna Trail possession at the Lions 40. On second down, Hubler went 35 yards to a touchdown and a 42-10 lead that all but sealed it for Williams Valley.
Filipek threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter — a 3-yarder to Colby Stanton with 9:43 left and an 8-yarder to Thomas with 22 seconds left. In between, Thompson had a 27-yard touchdown run for Williams Valley with 6:35 to play.