Lancaster opens with impressive win over DeSales

LANCASTER – Lancaster couldn't have scripted Friday's season opener any better - except for the turnovers it committed against DeSales.

However, the Golden Gales were able to overcome those miscues, thanks to a bruising ground game and suffocating  defense.

Lancaster in the first quarter -- after huge defensive stand at its own 19-yard line -- put together an impressive 14-play, 82-yard drive that took 6:43 off the clock. The drive was capped off with another touchdown to seal a 13-3 nonconference win at Fulton Field.

"You usually can't get away with three turnovers against a good team like DeSales, but when our defense is playing lights out like they were -- getting multiple hits on every ball carrier every time -- I guess you can," Lancaster coach Rob Carpenter said. "It might have been one of the most complete games from the special teams and offense and defense of our type of football that we've had since I've been here."

The Golden Gales dominated throughout, but the turnovers kept the Stallions in the game until the game-clinching touchdown, which came after a huge stop on fourth-and-2.

"There was no place for them to run," Carpenter said. "They were getting multiple hits put on them on every play and that is what the defense is all about."

Lancaster's defense, led by linebackers Eric Deluse and Ryan Edwards and defensive linemen Dillon Denault and Ryan Roseberry, limited the Stallions to only 129 yards rushing, and just 51 yards and one first down in the second half.

"We stayed committed and didn't comfortable when we had the lead and us watching so much film, we knew who their key players were and we were able to make tight reads," Deluse said. "We were dialed in. We kept them off schedule as far as what they wanted to do."

Each time it looked as if the Gales were going to put some separation between themselves and the Stallions, Lancaster turned it over, but the defense only allowed a 33-yard field goal in late in the second quarter, which cut the deficit to 7-3 at halftime.

"There were a couple of sudden changes that put the defense in a bind, but again, they came out and played shutdown football," Carpenter said. "I don't know if we can play much better defense than we did."

Lancaster junior quarterback Noah Dryden, who was making his first varsity start, made several huge plays, especially on the game-clinching drive. He scrambled for a 17-yard gain on 3rd-and-10 to keep the drive alive. It would set up Goss' touchdown. Dryden also scored on a 1-yard run with 3:37 left in the first quarter to give the Gales a 7-0 lead.

"We've had some growing pains this week because we picked (Dryden) to be our quarterback," Carpenter said. "But when push came to shove in the second half and we had to have some plays made, he put his head down and found positive yards. You can't coach that. It is just something natural."

The Gales finished with 246 yards rushing on 58 carries and had 17 first downs. Goss led the way with 64 yards on 10 carries, Dryden had 59 yards on 15 rushes, Drew Smith totaled 57 yards and senior fullback Ryan Fitchpatrick bulled his way to 53 yards on 16 carries. Dryden also completed 3 of 4 passes for 50 yards.

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