The Colonials (3-5, 2-1), now having a 2-game winning streak this season after starting out 1-5, looked to extend that to three games as they took on the Eagles of Dover (3-5, 1-2) Friday on pink out night in New Oxford, PA.
The Eagles started off rather fast, driving deep into Colonial territory on their first possession of the game, but would falter when quarterback, Jordan Wynegar fumbled the ball, while Colonial Wes Beans would recover. The Colonials would march their way down field before OX quarterback Anthony Lippy lobbed up an 8-yard pass t0 wide receiver Aaron Brown, who somehow grabbed the ball one-handed over a defender and got a foot down in the corner of the end zone to give the Colonials a 7-0 lead after a PAT by kicker Trey Parrish. Dover would make another mistake that would prove to be costly after they fumbled once again deep in Colonial territory. The Colonials would go 68 yards, 43 of which came on a run by Wes Beans, before Beans would punch the ball in from 1 yard out. The Colonials held a 14-0 lead at halftime, but soon would be in a very tight game.
In the third quarter, the Eagles showed their resistance as on their first possession were able to get a quick 71-yard touchdown pass from halfback Logan Ambrose to receiver Jacky Chen, cutting the Colonial lead to 14-6 after the PAT bounced off the uprights. The Eagles would find their way to the end zone again very soon after holding strong on defense, giving them great field position. Dover would cut the lead to 14-12 when Ambrose ran the ball in from 5 yards out, but the 2-pt. conversion would fail. Dover again would score in the third quarter, but not the kind they wanted. The OX defense kept the Eagles from getting in the end zone again, holding inside the 5-yard line, forcing Dover to kick a 20-yard field goal, giving them a 15-14 lead going into the 4th.
Most of the fourth quarter was quiet, until New Oxford had a chance to score the go-ahead points, choosing not to kick the field goal and try for a TD from the 3-yard line, but Beans was stopped short on the 1. Needing only a first down to run out the clock, Dover was unable to capitalize, giving New Oxford one last chance to win. The Colonials, this time, would not fail as on a 4th & 7 Lippy found Beans open back across the center of the field for the first down, and what would prove to be the game winning score as he danced his way through the Eagle defense and down the sideline, before diving into the end zone in celebration with 37 seconds remaining. The Colonials would get the 2-pt. conversion and take the 22-15 lead. Dover would try and make the game interesting, driving into Colonial territory. With 2 seconds left on the clock, the Hail Mary prayer wasn’t answered as New Oxford intercepted the ball, and won the game on Senior and Pink out Night, 22-15.
The Colonials once again lived by the turnover, forcing four in the game, while putting up 299 yards on offense. Beans led the offense with his 72 yards rushing, 45 yards receiving and a touchdown in each department, along with a fumble recovery on defense. Senior running-back Nick Slusser added 70 more yards on the ground and quarterback Anthony Lippy went 7-21 for 122 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception. Dover was led by Ambrose who had 41 yards rushing and his 71-yard TD pass as a running-back.
The Colonials moved to (4-5, 3-1) while Dover is having a disappointing season and fell to (3-6, 1-3). The Colonials have a chance to tie for the division title if they can somehow pull off what would be a huge upset next week over undefeated West York, with whom they would share the title with. The Colonials season has been a rebuilding one, but also very successful doubling their win total from last season, and maybe the momentum of a 3-game winning streak and the hunger for a title will propel them to victory.