Lansdale Catholic too much for Lakeland – Scranton Times-Tribune

GERMANTOWN — Three times in the first half, Lakeland started a possession deep in Lansdale Catholic territory.

All three times, it came away empty.

Those missed opportunities were a contributing factor in the Chiefs’ 43-7 loss to the Crusaders in the first round of the PIAA Class 2A football playoffs on a cool, overcast Saturday afternoon at the Germantown Supersite’s Benjamin L. Johnson Memorial Stadium.

Southpaw quarterback Yeboa Cobbold Jr. threw for 131 yards and two second-quarter touchdown passes to James Webb Jr. He also ran for 68 yards and a score.

Defensively, the District 12 champs gave Lakeland and quarterback David Naniewicz fits all game, limiting him to 13 yards rushing on 23 carries, and forced three turnovers as Lansdale Catholic (11-2) advanced to next week’s state quarterfinals for the first time since 2007. There, it will face District 11 champion Williams Valley.

District 2 champion Lakeland finishes its season at 11-2.

“Good teams have to capitalize when you’re in the red zone,” Lakeland coach Dave Piwowarczyk said. “We had three opportunities and came away empty-handed. To compete at this level you have to be able to score. Unfortunately, we did not do that today.”

Lakeland went three-and-out on the game’s opening possession. But on Lansdale Catholic’s second play, Gavin Roberts hit Cobbold and forced a fumble which Luke McFarland recovered at the Crusaders 35. The Chiefs picked up a first down, then appeared to score when McFarland caught a pass in the end zone, but was ruled out of bounds. A fourth-down incompletion turned the ball over on downs.

On Lansdale Catholic’s ensuing possession, a high punt snap coupled with pressure from McFarland resulted in just a five-yard kick, giving Lakeland the ball at the Crusaders 26. After one first down, Chase Rosenkrans was stopped after a 6-yard reception on fourth-and-7 at the 11 to end that threat.

Lansdale Catholic responded with a seven-play, 95 yard scoring drive, culminating in a 35-yard touchdown pass from Cobbold to Webb. The first of Raymond Williamson’s five extra points made it 7-0 with 10 minutes left in the second quarter.

One play after a Lakeland punt, Cobbold fumbled and Weston Loomis recovered to set up the Chiefs at the Crusaders 23. Lakeland picked up two first downs to give it first-and-goal at the 3. But Naniewicz was stopped for no gain on first down. Roberts was dropped for a 1-yard loss on second down. Naniewicz again was held to no gain on third down. An illegal procedure penalty on the Chiefs pushed them back to the 9, where Naniewicz was sacked for a six-yard loss to again turn the ball over on downs.

“We just didn’t execute,” Naniewicz said. “We missed a lot of blocks and made a lot of mental mistakes that we knew we couldn’t make coming into the game. It’s unfortunate our season is over, but if we executed a little better, I think it would have been a different game.”

Crusaders coach Dom D’Addona said his defense just rose to the occasion.

“We put in a lot of work on defense and put in situations all week,” D’Addona said. “As a unit, they’re pretty tough. They bring it every play.

“We knew he (Naniewicz) was the key to their offense. We said if we could throttle him down, then start taking away some of his little passes here and there. He’s a tough nut.”

Buoyed by the defensive stand, Lansdale Catholic needed just three plays to extend its lead. Cobbold had runs of 11 and 17 yards, then hit Webb with a 57-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-0 with 28 seconds left before halftime.

Any thoughts of a Lakeland comeback took a hit on the first play of the second half when O’Brien broke out of a tackler grasp to turn a little-to-no gain into a 75-yard touchdown run that made it 21-0.

An interception by Saeed Robinson set up an eight-play, 87-yard scoring drive by Lansdale Catholic that Cobbold capped with a 20-yard touchdown run with 2:32 left in the third quarter to give the Crusaders a 28-0 lead.

Russell Holmes Jr. scored two touchdowns in a 2:02 span to put Lansdale Catholic in front, 43-0. First, he had a 23-yard scoring run, then returned a fumble 31 yards for a touchdown.

With 3:07 remaining in the fourth, Lakeland avoided the shutout when Naniewicz hit Roberts with an 8-yard touchdown pass and Nicholas Janosky added the extra point.

Despite the loss, Piwowarczyk said it still was a successful season. The Chiefs won a combined four games the past two seasons.

“To come back from where we were the last two years and end up here, I’m very happy for these kids and the community. We’ll be back. We’re still a young team.”