HARRISONBURG,
Va. –
Faced with the
daunting task of being the Division I-AA
National Champions’ opening opponent, the Lock
Haven University football squad (1-1) lost to
James Madison University (1-0) tonight (Sept. 3)
56-0.
Falling victim
to the big play, the Bald Eagles controlled the
first and third quarters, surrounded by some
breakdowns in both the second and fourth frames.
“I knew it would
be a tough task to come in here, playing the
defending champs at their home site,” said LHU
head coach
John Klacik. “Our main goal was to be a
better football team when we left this building
tonight, and I’m proud of our guys that we
accomplished that.”
LHU caught the
champs napping off the bat, recovering a
surprise on-side kick for the first possession
of the contest. The Bald Eagles were unable to
do anything with that possession, but the Dukes
would take the punt and march down the field on
a nine-play, 82-yard touchdown drive to go up
7-0.
LHU would take
over for the rest of the first quarter, getting
plenty of yardage on the ground and a couple of
completed passes as their best drive would stall
at the JMU 37-yardline. Freshman
Jason Eby (Ulster,
Pa./Athens)
looked poised in the first start of his career,
completing four passes during the first
quarter.
The Dukes would
waste no time scoring in the second quarter,
hitting a 36-yard scoring pass on the first
play.
Three more
scores later, the halftime mark stood at 35-0.
Junior
signal-caller
Rob
Kristiniak (Flourtown,
Pa./Springfield Township)
got the starting nod for the second half. After
seeing action on just one series in the first
two quarters, Kristiniak led the Bald Eagles on
their best potential scoring drive of the game,
getting positive rushes from both
Derek
Marshall (Luthersburg, Pa./DuBois) and
Chelstan C. Anderson II (Halifax,
Pa./Halifax), and a pair of lengthy
completions to junior wideout
Andrew
Breiner (Hummelstown, Pa./Hershey).
The 13-play
57-yard drive stalled deep in JMU territory,
allowing for a 35-yard field-goal attempt from
Dan
Hagerman (Scottdale,
Pa./Southmoreland) that was
partially blocked and sailed wide left.
The Dukes
finished out the scoring with one TD in the
third quarter and a pair more in the fourth for
the 56-0 win.
Anderson
finished with 10 carries for a team-best 26
yards, while Kristiniak finished 8-of-10 passing
for 73 yards. Breiner grabbed two passes for 31
yards.
On
the defensive side of the ball, reigning
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC)
West Defensive Player of the Week
Jonathan
Nalewak (Shamokin,
Pa./Shamokin)
led the way with eight tackles. Joining his
fellow linebacker,
Sean M.
Sanderson (Enola,
Pa./East Pennsboro)
made eight stops as well. Playing with extra
incentive back in his home state of Virginia,
freshman
Ali Malone (Springfield,
Va./Hayfield)
had six tackles, sharing leading defensive line
tackling honors with
Ryan Bickel
(Morrisdale,
Pa./West Branch).
“Obviously we
wanted to play better than this,” said junior
offensive lineman
Adam
Lanzendorfer (Roaring
Spring, Pa./Central).
“Hopefully we can learn from these mistakes and
come out fighting next week.”
Klacik and the
rest of the Bald Eagles are back in action
Saturday, Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. as they travel to
their second-straight Division I-AA opponent
Towson University.
#LHU#
