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L-S is a Bear to handle

By Bruce Morgan on October 21, 2015

With the Pioneers deep in their own territory, Baron linebacker Tyler Lutz (25) applies the initial hit at the 10-yard line in an attempt to stop L-S tight end Kyle Mertz (9) from making first down yardage late in the first half at Elden Rettew Field. (Photo by Mike Shull)

Manheim Central coach Dave Hahn described Friday night as being the best outing of the year for Lampeter-Strasburg QB Collin “Bear” Shank.

Unfortunately for the Barons, it came at their expense in a key Section Two showdown.

The Pioneers’ senior signal-caller threw for five TD’s and ran for another, as L-S knocked the Barons out of a tie for first-place with a 40-27 win at chilly Elden Rettew Field in Manheim.

Solanco (4-0 L-L) took over sole possession of the top spot with a 31-14 conquest of Garden Spot, while MC fell into a tie for second with Cocalico and L-S, all with 3-1 records.

Shank, of course, had a lot to do with Friday’s outcome. He was hurt in the Pioneers’ 41-21 loss to Hempfield in week one and was hobbled for a few weeks, but showed no ill effects against Central, completing 19-of-30 passes for 379 yards.

Not a bad way to celebrate his 18th birthday.

“Great present for me,” Shank smiled.

“Collin Shank is back,” Hahn said. “He did a heck of a job. He picked us apart early and often, and we had trouble getting to him. If you can’t get to him and you give him that much time, he’s going to do that.”

The Barons (5-2 overall) led just one time in the game at 21-19 on a two-yard TD run by Damon Camacho with 8:27 left in the first half. L-S took a 26-21 edge into the half thanks to Shank’s two-yard TD plunge off of left tackle just over four minutes later. But then the Barons’ defense got a key stop to start the second half and MC was on the move with a first down at the L-S 30 when Shank, from his linebacker position, recovered a costly fumble.

Instead of Manheim Central potentially regaining the lead, the Pioneers went up 33-21 on Shank’s 29-yard TD pass to junior Caleb Lopez.

“We had all the confidence in the world, we’re moving the ball eight to 10 yards at a clip, and we just let the ball go on the ground and that cost us,” Hahn said. “I think that was a big momentum changer for us. It was definitely a big swing.”

It marked the second time in the game that Central found itself trailing by two possessions. After the Barons failed to gain a first down on their first two series, L-S capitalized, first when Shank found J.B. Boynton for a 62-yard TD strike and then again as running back Shane Lawler took a fourth-down screen pass 28 yards to the house, putting the Pioneers in front 13-0 with 6:29 to go in the first quarter.

“It all comes down to we’ve got the kid that can get the ball in a lot of their hands and everybody out there did their job tonight,” L-S skipper John Manion said. “Last week, we saw the first signs of (Shank) being himself and we threw the whole game plan his way. He obviously came through.”

Manheim Central finally got on track on its next possession, aided by a key roughing the passer penalty against L-S. In the end, QB Kody Kegarise capped a 10-play, 49-yard scoring drive with a seven-yard TD run with 1:58 left in the quarter, cutting the Pioneers’ lead to 13-7.

L-S, though, needed just 36 seconds to reply. Lawler returned the ensuing kickoff 53 yards, and two plays later, Shank hit Andrew Hay for a 38-yard TD pass. The two-point try was no good, but the Pioneers went back up 19-7. Overall, Shank connected with six different receivers in the game.

“I was just making my reads, the line gave me time, and guys made plays for me,” Shank remarked. “All I have to do is put the ball near them and they’ll catch it.”

After the two teams traded turnovers, the Barons got the ball back at the L-S 20. Camacho, who ran for 118 yards and three TD’s on 27 carries, scored on a two-yard run with 10:09 left in the half to get Central within 19-14.

The momentum didn’t stop there. Moments later, Lowen Hanselman picked off a pass from Shank and returned it 12 yards to the Pioneer 28. Central needed just four plays to convert, with Camacho’s two-yard TD run up the gut and Derek Adams’ PAT giving the Barons a 21-19 advantage.

“We kinda got a rhythm and we knew, ‘Alright, we’re going to pound it, we’re going to go at them,’ and that’s what we did,” Hahn said. “At that time, I felt like, ‘OK, we got our feet under us, let’s get this thing going.’ And we struggling stopping them.”

Although MC was missing two of its leading tacklers in linebackers Brock Fittery and Craig McKee, Hahn refused to use that as an excuse.

“We were a little bit outgunned. Our kids gave their best effort,” he said. “I never doubt our kids and their effort. We got out there and we were trying to make plays, we were trying to tackle, we were trying to hit, we were trying to strip the ball. We just didn’t get it done tonight as a team and that team includes the players and the coaches.”

Lawler, who had 101 rushing yards on 18 carries along with 79 receiving yards on five receptions, delivered a big blow with a 37-yard carry down the right sideline.

“He’s a beast,” Shank said of Lawler. “It’s comforting to have a kid behind me that can run the ball like that.”

The Pioneers were 2-for-2 on third on that drive, and 7-for-13 for the game.

“They were just making plays and we weren’t,” Hahn said.

Finally, with 4:06 left in the half, Shank’s two-yard TD run gave the Pioneers a lead they never lost.

“That was a huge drive for us,” Shank said. “Coach said before we came out that if we score here, it’s going to be a ball game, and we did that.”

After L-S capitalized on the Barons’ fumble early in the third on Shank’s 29-yard TD pass to Lopez, the hole became deeper for Central after the Shank-to-Boynton connection struck again, this time for a 21-yard TD strike with 1:24 left in the third which extended the Pioneers’ advantage to 40-21. Boynton finished with five catches for 159 yards.

“Boynton had a cast on for the whole year until this game and he was a huge weapon for us,” Shank said. “Great game plan … guys made plays for me.”

With that, Central made a change under center, replacing Kegarise at QB with Trevor Hosler.

“I just felt like we needed a change,” Hahn said. “Kody’s a great kid, he gives a great effort. Kody’s going to be back in there. There’s no controversy or anything like that. I just felt like we needed a change. When we got down by that two (possession) score, we needed to pass and it wasn’t working for us.”

Hosler hit Gunnar Royer for 36 yards and then on the next play, Camacho scored his third TD of the game on a three-yard run to pull Central to 40-27 with 11:45 left in the fourth.

From there, the Barons had two more possessions, but couldn’t move the chains and L-S held on for the win.

Manheim Central will now prepare for another test this Friday night when they travel to Denver to face Cocalico.

“We’ve still got three games to play, we still have opportunities to make things happen,” Hahn said. “Last year, L-S was able to shake things up (in the Section Two race) and who knows? Maybe we shake things up a little bit, I don’t know. I know this &tstr; we’re much better than we were tonight. I can’t necessarily explain tonight. I just know that we’re much better than we were tonight.”

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