KEITH SCHWEIGERT, Online Sports Editor
By now, the aches and pains are fading, and the numbing cold has left their fingers and toes. Lancaster Catholic’s football team and their fans woke up this morning to the reality that their season — a record-setting, 13-2 ride — came to an end with last night’s 37-14 loss to Philadelphia West Catholic in the PIAA Class AA semifinals.
The Crusaders have little to hang their heads about. And, happily, that seems to be the attitude that most of the players and coaches had after the clock ran out last night. They ran into a better football team. Sometimes it’s just as simple as that. There’s no shame in falling to West Catholic. It will take a miracle to deny the Burrs the state championship next Saturday. And if you’re going to get knocked out, you might as well get knocked out by the best.
West Catholic’s fantastic quarterback, the Penn State-bound Curtis Drake, rushed for 187 yards on just nine carries and scored three times. Running back Raymond Maples, the bruiser of the Burrs’ backfield, added 112 yards on eight rushes. And Rob Hollomon, the other Division I prospect in the West Catholic backfield, scored on a 30-yard shovel pass from Drake. The Burrs racked up 427 total yards last night, while their defense held the Crusaders to 243 yards, sacked quarterback Kyle Smith five times and forced a crucial interception late in the game.
Watching the game last night, it looked like West Catholic was playing at a different speed — and it was. I lost count of the times that Lancaster Catholic seemed to have Drake, Maples or Hollomon wrapped up in the backfield, only to watch them slither away for a big gain. The Crusader defense is good, but speed like West Catholic reduces the margin of error down to near zero. If you miss one assignment, or are a half-step late getting to your lane, the Burrs will make you pay.
Yet Lancaster Catholic still had its chances in this one. Penalties helped scuttle their first drive of the game, a marathon 16-play march that died on downs at the West Catholic 33. A holding call late in the drive proved to be fatal. The Crusaders have had their issues with the flag all season long, and this time it finally came up to bite them.
But the biggest turning point came early in the fourth quarter, with the Crusaders trailing 29-14 but driving inside the West Catholic 10. But Smithcommitted the Cardinal sin of scrambling one way and throwing back across the field in the opposite direction. The Burrs’ Haleem Hayward intercepted him at the goal line and returned it to the 8.
On the very next play, Drake called his own number on an option run, broke through a hole in the Crusader line and raced to the opposite end zone, outrunning Travis Jankowski along the way. It was a back-breaking touchdown that essentially settled the issue for West Catholic. There was no coming back from that kind of swing.
And, really, even if the Crusaders had scored on their drive to cut the lead to seven, asking their defense to stop the Burrs would have been a tall order anyway.
So the Crusaders’ season ends, just two wins short of the ultimate goal. But the healing will quickly begin. In time, they’ll come to savor the District 3 championship they captured this year and appreciate the magnitude of this postseason run. And with 16 key players returning next year – including Smith, wideout Tyler Purvis and running back Jordan Stewart — the preparations for next season will begin.
You can go ahead and pencil the Crusaders in as District 3 title contenders for 2009 right now.
