SPORTS

Lancaster falls in double overtime to Gahanna

Tom Wilson
Reporter

LANCASTER — After fighting from behind the entire first half against visiting Gahanna on Friday, Lancaster finally got its offense going in the third quarter.

The Golden Gales rallied from a 7-0 halftime deficit to take a 14-7 lead, but the Lions were able to tie it late in the third quarter and it stayed that way to force overtime.

Even though the Gales scored first in overtime, they couldn’t keep the Lions out of the end zone and failed to score themselves in a heartbreaking 28-21 Ohio Capital Conference-Ohio Division homecoming loss in front of a packed Fulton Field.

It was Lancaster’s first loss of the season as the Gales fell to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the conference. The Lions (6-1) are the lone remaining team without a loss in the conference.

Dating back to last season, Lancaster had won nine consecutive games, including eight in a row at Fulton Field.

“It was a maturing experience for our guys,” Lancaster coach Rob Carpenter said. “We got beat, but I guarantee you we are a lot better football team right now than we were coming into this game. We needed this, obviously you want to come out with a win.

“We had a great effort in the second half, but we just didn’t quite finish it off. Losing in double overtime is tough, but again, we are a much better football team by going through this.”

At the start of the first overtime, Lancaster — which had the ball first — looked to be in big trouble, facing a third-and-13, but junior quarterback Noah Dryden hit tight end Isaac Goss on a throw-back pass for a 23-yard touchdown pass to give the Gales a 21-14 lead

The excitement of scoring didn’t last long. Gahanna scored on a 20-yard touchdown pass on the first play when it had the ball to tie it at 21-21. The Lions then scored on a nine-yard touchdown pass to start the second overtime.

Lancaster was unable to get a first down in the second overtime.

The Gales could not get anything going offensively in the first half, but Lancaster’s defense was also holding the Lions in check.

Gahanna put together a 13-play drive late in the second quarter and quarterback Mason Blancett capped it off with a 4-yard touchdown run with 3:07 left to give the Lions a 7-0 lead.

The Gales managed only 75 yards rushing in the first half.

However, in the second half, Lancaster’s defense forced consecutive three-and-outs, and the Gales scored the first two times it had the ball in the third quarter.

It took Lancaster only four plays to score its first touchdown. Shea Goss ran for 27 and 17 yards in the drive. Ryan Fitchpatrick capped it off with a 3-yard touchdown run with 9:13 left in the third quarter to tie at 7-7.

The next time the Gales had the ball, Fitchpatrick capped off a 5-play drive and scored on an 11-yard touchdown run to give Lancaster a 14-7 lead with 5:38 left in the third quarter.

Lancaster dodged a bullet late in the fourth quarter when the Gales fumbled, giving the Lions the ball at the 49--yard line. The Lions drove to Lancaster’s 9-yard line and after the Gales held, a 27-yard field goal was wide right with only 1:13 left in regulation.

The Gales finished with 233 yards rushing, led by Shea Goss, who had 84 yards on 13 carries. Tyler Carter had 62 yards on 12 carries and Fitchpatrick finished with 57 yards on 17 carries.

Lancaster’s defense held the Lions to only 68 yards rushing, marking the fifth time this season the Gales have held their opponents to under 100 yards rushing.

twilson@lancastereaglegazette.com

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