Linsly Overcomes 21-Point Deficit
DiLorenzo INT Seals Cadets’ Victory
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WEST LIBERTY -- With seven and a half minutes in the second quarter Friday night, the Linsly Cadets found themselves trailing the McGuffey Highlanders 21-0 at West Family Stadium.
The Cadets started the season with three impressive victories, but with two straight losses and now facing a three-touchdown deficit, that great start seemed like it was a lifetime ago.
A touchdown just before halftime got Linsly within two scores and a touchdown on their opening drive in the second half had the Cadets firmly back in contention.
"The kids had to make the decision," Linsly coach BJ Depew said. "We had coaches at halftime making adjustments but ultimately, the adjustment that had to be made came from within these boys. Thankfully they did it, we played much better defensively in the second half and we were able to score just enough to beat a really good football team tonight."
Linsly (4-2) held McGuffey (3-3) scoreless in the second half and scored 12 points in the fourth quarter to pull off the improbable comeback.
"Since the program started, the program's built on the dog inside of us," Linsly quarterback Luca DiLorenzo said. "We all had that coming into the locker room, we had that at the end of the second quarter as we scored at the end of the half. We just came out and we brought the dog out of us."
The Highlanders, from Claysville, Pa., used their potent triple-option offense and aggressive defense to get up early on the Cadets. McGuffey got a short touchdown run from Eric Donnelly and a touchdown pass from Logan Carlisle to Sheldon George to build an early 14-0 lead.
The Highlanders should have had another touchdown when a pass from Carlisle was deflected high into the air and caught by Ethan Janovich in the endzone, but the referee inadvertently whistled the play dead too soon. McGuffey instead had first-and-goal from the 10-yard line and scored two plays on another run from Donnelly.
Following a failed fake punt by the Highlanders on their next drive, Linsly was finally able to move down the field and sneak in a touchdown just before halftime. Adam Dolata muscled the ball into the endzone from a yard out with four seconds left in the half to make the score 21-7. Depew said that score was a turning point in the game.
"Those are huge momentum plays," he said. "We've had it done to us and it really sucks the wind out of you. That was a critical, critical moment."
"It was huge," DiLorenzo added. "Some of our guys were really iffy if we really had it (in us) but that score right there let them know that we could do it.
The Cadets received the ball to start the second half and scored again quickly when DiLorenzo broke off a 40-yard scamper into the endzone.
Trailing but just one score now, the Linsly defense continued to stonewall the Highlander offense in the second half. McGuffey rushed for 161 yards in the first half but just 31 yards total in the second.
"The defensive set that we started the game in we ended up not liking at all, they were really exploiting some weaknesses," Depew explained. "Give our coaches credit for being able to see the changes and, more importantly, give our kids credit for being able to execute those changes. Once we started to tackle them and the enthusiasm mounted, I knew we had a shot."
The Cadets got the ball back and drove right down the field once again, this time capping the drive with a four-yard scoring run by Aiden Sanders. The point-after kick clanked off the right upright, however, and Linsly still trailed 21-20.
Not wanting to lose momentum, Depew dipped into his bag of tricks and called for an onside kick attempt on the ensuing kickoff. Linsly tried the same thing earlier in the game and it failed, but Depew said he was not nervous about going back to it.
"That call came from the booth," Depew said. "The philosophy was that we didn't want to give them a long field if they were going to drive the ball on us (and run clock). So I bought into the short field philosophy and they convinced me to try it again. We just practiced that this week for this team and thankfully it paid off."
Sophomore Martle Feil recovered his own kick at midfield and the Cadets kept possession. As if that was not enough, Feil scored the go-ahead touchdown a few plays later when DiLorenzo lobbed a 25-yard pass his way near the goal line. The ball was slightly underthrown but Feil high-pointed the ball perfectly, wrestled it away from a McGuffey defender and landed in the endzone to give the Cadets their first lead of the night.
"(Feil) made huge plays for us tonight, I couldn't be happier for him to have those moments," Depew said. "It was a total team effort but you've got to make some big plays to win tough games."
After a failed two-point attempt, Linsly led 26-21 with six minutes left to play. Given the nature of their run-first offense, it was quite possible that the Highlanders could have driven the length of the field to score a go-ahead touchdown all while draining the rest of time off the clock.
The Highlanders moved the ball some on their drive, but a holding penalty, a sack and a delay of game put them way behind the sticks facing a fourth-and-30 at their own 31-yard line. They failed and gave the ball back to Linsly with 1:47 remaining.
The Cadets kneeled twice, draining the clock to under a minute, but on third down DiLorenzo inadvertently ran out of bounds, stopping the clock at 0:49 and giving McGuffey one last chance. DiLorenzo immediately redeemed himself, however, intercepting McGuffey's second pass attempt of the drive and sealing the game for the Cadets
"I was on the sideline talking to the trainer and I called it," DiLorenzo said. "I told them if they threw it my way, I was intercepting the ball and I was getting down. I was very confident on that defensive play."
DiLorenzo finished 13-of-17 passing for 149 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also ran 18 times for 73 yards and a score. Sanders (10-48) and Alex Taylor (11-49) also contributed on the ground. Feil caught four passes for 69 yards and a touchdown and Jy'Leil Johnson made six receptions for 57 yards. Taylor and Alco Smith had sacks on defense.
McGuffey ran the ball 41 times as a team, rushing for 192 yards and two scores. Philip McCuen ran for 77 yards, Donnelly carried four times for 11 yards and two touchdowns and Jeremiah Johnson ran six times for 66 yards. Carlisle completed 4-of-7 passes for 71 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
The Highlanders committed 13 penalties for 89 yards and Linsly was able to draw McGuffey into seven defensive encroachment penalties using DiLorenzo's cadence.
Linsly will travel to Canton Central Catholic for their next game on Oct. 8.