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| A game of almosts as Sr WR Brock Zollicoffer almost pulls done a deflected pass. |
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Freshman quarterback Elijah Shemory (Jersey Shore, Pa./Jersey Shore Area) threw for a fourth-quarter touchdown and rushed for another, but Stevenson University was able to hold off the late rally, posting a 33-32 Middle Atlantic Conference win at David Person Field on Saturday, Nov. 3.
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| Shemory finished with a career-best 24-of-37 passing for 313 yards with catches like this from his favorite target Sr WR Nick Costello |
Shemory finished with a career-best 24-of-37 passing for 313 yards and a touchdown and he ran 12 times for 24 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Lycoming offense, which rolled up 359 yards. Shemory’s 337 yards of total offense were seventh in program history.
His favorite target was senior Nick Costello (Havertown, Pa./Haverford), who had a career-best 10 catches, 11th-most in program history, for 149 yards and a touchdown. Senior Brock Zollicoffer (Owings Mills, Md./Owings Mills) caught a career-best six passes for 61 yards and sophomore Tyjah During (Accokeek, Md./Surrattsville) had three catches for 41 yards and he also racked up 91 yards on kick returns.
Stevenson (7-2 overall, 6-1 MAC) finished with 397 yards of total offense, posting 151 on the ground and 246 in the air, with Kevin Jopy leading the team with 13 rushes for 99 yards and a score. Ty Crabb finished 12-of-16 for 246 yards with three touchdowns. Chaz Lyles caught two passes for 77 yards and a score.
The Warriors (4-5 overall, 3-4 MAC) entered the fourth quarter down by 10 yards, but Stevenson drove inside the 10 yard line before penalties forced the Mustangs into a fourth-and-goal from the 28, where Crabb was able to get a pass past a Lycoming defender that fell into Ryan Stango’s arms to make it 33-16 with 11:25 to go.
The Warriors responded with a six-play, 70-yard drive, with Shemory completing 4-of-5 passing for 50 yards, finding Costello for an 18-yard, one-handed grab to get the ball inside the 10 before he outleapt a Stevenson defender for an eight-yard touchdown to make it 33-23 with 9:01 left.
After a 3-and-out, Stevenson’s Brady Coleman launched a 64-yard punt that was downed at the Lycoming five. Shemory went to work again, driving 95 yards on seven plays, starting with a 27-yard sideline pattern to Costello to get the ball out of the red zone. He finished the drive 4-of-4 for 76 yards, launching a 24-yard completion to During, who tried to leap over a defender at the four-yard line and fumbled the ball out at one. Shemory snuck into the endzone on the next play to make it 33-30 with 3:10 left.
Stevenson kept the ball on the ground and ran seven straight plays to run the clock down to 3.7 seconds before facing a 4-and-14 from the 28. Punter Brody Coleman ran the time off the clock by running through the back of the endzone for the safety to make it a 1-point game as time expired.
After Stevenson scored on its first drive, the Warriors stopped the Mustangs on fourth-and-goal after the Mustangs had converted an on-side kick. In response, Lycoming drove 14 times for 69 yards, setting up a 25-yard field goal from junior Jamie Fisher (Folsom, Pa./Ridley) for his 10th field goal of the season.
Lycoming took the lead in the second quarter, after senior Sam Romanofsky (Havertown, Pa./Haverford) scooped up a fumble recovery on the Stevenson 31. The Warriors scored eight plays later when junior Keith Batkowski (Montoursville, Pa./Montoursville) dove in from a yard out to make it 10-7.
Stevenson had touchdowns on its next three drives, though, taking a 26-10 lead before Lycoming embarked on a seven-play, 50-yard drive, with Shemory finding senior Mike Mulvihill (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) on a 3-and-10 for a 24-yard gain to prolong the drive. A roughing the passer penalty got the ball inside the 15, where Batkowski took over with a pair of rushes for 10 yards, helping to make it 26-16.
The Warrior defense was led by 10 tackles from sophomore Gianni Bryant-Lopez (Delran, N.J./Delran) and junior Trey Smith (Hughesville, Pa./Hughesville) added seven stops, 1.5 for loss, a breakup and a sack. Senior D.J. Boyd (Seat Pleasant, Md./District Heights) added seven tackles and a sack and Romanofsky finished with four tackles, three for loss, a sack, a fumble recovery and a breakup. Senior Ahmad Curtis (Effort, Pa./Pleasant Valley) posted 1.5 tackles for loss and senior Dominic Loffredo (Linden, Pa./Jersey Shore) had six tackles.
Bill Burton led the Mustangs with eight tackles and Brody Coleman added seven tackles, 1.0 for loss. Kobe Bolanos posted two breakups and forced a fumble.
The Warriors wrap up the 2018 season when they head to MAC-leading Misericordia for a 12 p.m. game on Saturday, Nov. 10.
