LYCOMING FOOTBALL DEFEATS WIDENER

WILLIAMSPORT, PA – Freshman Ryan Repko (Perkiomenville, Pa.; Boyertown) scored a pair of defensive touchdowns to lead the Lycoming College football team to a 45-22 victory over Widener University. The Warriors jumped out to a 24-7 halftime lead and then added two touchdowns in the first three minutes of the second half to put the game out of reach. Lycoming improves to 7-1 on the season, while the Pioneers fall to 5-4.

Repko, who had a total of six tackles on the season entering the game, came up with big plays for the Warriors late in each half. In the final seconds of the second quarter he blocked a Widener punt and recovered it in the endzone to extend Lycoming’s lead to 17 at the intermission. Then late in the fourth quarter with the Pioneers threatening to pull within one score of the Warriors, Repko intercepted a pass at the goal-line and raced 100 yards down the sideline for a touchdown.

Phil Mann (Jr./Mill Hall, Pa.; Central Mountain) led Lycoming’s offense with 367 total yards – 293 passing and 74 rushing. He completed 19-of-28 passes for two touchdowns and only one interception. He also ran for two scores. John Moor (Jr./Hawley, Pa.; Wallenpaupack) led the team in receiving yards with 117 on just two catches. Ricky Lannetti (Sr./Philadelphia, Pa.; Father Judge) recorded nine receptions for 60 yards and Sean Hennigar (Sr./Philadelphia, Pa.; Father Judge) added seven catches for 75 yards.

Defensively, Kevin LeSage (So./Darby, Pa.; Monsignor Bonner) led the Warriors with 11 tackles – all solo efforts. Tim Schmidt (Sr./Philadelphia, Pa.; Roman Catholic) also recorded 11 tackles, including two behind the line-of-scrimmage. Nick Pinto (Jr./Philadelphia, Pa.; Archbishop Ryan) intercepted two passes for Lycoming’s secondary.

Mike Lomas (Jr./Broomall, Pa.; Cardinal O’Hara) led Widener’s offense by completing 37-of-67 passes for 379 yards and one touchdown. He was intercepted three times. Both Tyreak Saviour (Jr./Sharon Hill, Pa.; Academy Park) and Jeff Chick (So./Glenside, Pa.; Abington) posted 100-yards receiving in the game. Saviour caught 13 passes for 155 yards, and Chick caught nine passes for 131 yards and a touchdown. Raymond Keshel (Fr./New Tripoli, Pa.; Northwestern Lehigh) was the Pioneers’ leading rusher with 37 yards on six carries.

The Widener defense was led by Nick Rubino (Jr./Dover, Del.; Dover) with nine tackles. B.J. Hogan (Jr./Drexel Hill, Pa.; Cardinal O’Hara) added seven stops and an interception.

The Warriors opened the scoring midway through the first quarter. Mann found Hennigar for a 15-yard touchdown pass to cap a five-play, 51-yard drive. Chris Schrader (Fr./Glenolden, Pa.; Monsignor Bonner) added the extra point for a 7-0 lead.

Lycoming extended their lead to 14-0 early in the second quarter. After taking over on downs on their own 18-yardline, the Warriors mounted a 12-play drive that took 5:07 off the clock and perfectly mixed the run and the pass with six plays each. Lannetti caught a nine-yard pass from Mann to record the touchdown after a rougher the passer penalty had give Lycoming a first-and-goal from the nine. Schrader connected on the point-after.

The Pioneers cut the deficit in half on their ensuing possession. A 34-yard pass from Lomas to Chick keyed the drive. Michael Gandy (Sr./Wilmington, Del. Newark) finished the drive with a four-yard touchdown run. Frank Vinci (Jr./Chester Heights, Pa.; Cardinal O’Hara) was successful on the extra point.

Schrader gave the Warriors a 10-point edge with just a minute to play in the opening half when he connected on a 23-yard field goal. The three points capped an 11-play, 74-yard drive that stalled at the Widener three-yard line.

The Pioneers took over on their on 27 with 54 seconds in the half, but three plays resulting in no gain or negative yardage and two timeouts by Lycoming forced Widener to punt from their 15 with seven seconds to play. Repko and the Warriors took advantage, blocking and recovering the punt in the endzone to push their lead to 17 at the half.

Lycoming seemed to gain momentum from the play as they added two quick scored in the second half to build a 38-7 advantage. On their first possession the Warriors needed just four plays to find the endzone. After two rushing plays for three yards, Mann found Moor for a 56-yard completion to the Pioneer 12-yardline. Mann then took it into the endzone himself, sprinting 12 yards for the score on the next play.

Lycoming’s defense then forced Widener’s punt team back on the field after a three-and-out series. Lannetti stepped up and returned the punt 56 yards to the Pioneer 14-yardline, setting the offense up again. Mann responded by again running the ball in from 14 yards out after a pair of incompletions.

Widener was not ready to roll over, however. The Pioneer offense got back on track on their next possession, moving 61 yard on nine plays to score their second touchdown of the game. Chick capped the drive with a one-yard run.

Chick added another score as the third quarter ended on a 19-yard pass from Lomas. Chick then added a successful run for the two-point conversion to pull Widener within two scores of the Warriors.

The Pioneers threatened to score one more time, but Repko intercepted the pass at the goal-line and returned it for his second touchdown of the game.

Lycoming will complete the regular season on Saturday, November 15, when they host rival Susquehanna University. Widener will host Delaware Valley College in their season finale.  

**photo by Dick Hostrander