Coming off of back-to-back shutouts to open the YAIAA Division II season against Northeastern (42-0) and Kennard-Dale (21-0), the New Oxford Colonials returned back home to take on the Warriors of Susquehannock on homecoming evening. This game would prove to be very interesting in the first half as the Warriors looked to spoil the Colonials “Cinderella” season.
On the opening drive of the game, a little over a minute into the game, the Colonial offense struck, giving the ball to star running back Wes Beans who maneuvered his way through the Warrior defense on his way to a 56-yard rushing touchdown. On the ensuing possession by the Warriors, linebacker Hunter Ringrose of New Oxford intercepted a pass by Warrior QB Bryan Kerr and returned it to the Susquehannock 23-yard line. New Oxford would capitalize on the turnover by the Warriors as once again, Beans would find his way into the end zone on a 15-yard rush. On this carry, Beans went over 1,000 rushing yards on the season as the Colonials took an early 14-0 lead. Later in the quarter, the Warriors seemed to find a spark by running the ball on a groggy Colonial defense. Susquehannock running back Sammy Miller would lead the Warriors on a drive from deep in their own territory to score on a 39-yard rush after multiple missed tackles by the OX. At the end of the first quarter, the Colonials clung to a 14-7 lead.
Early in the second, Miller would once again prove to be a game changer, scoring again for the Warriors, this time on a 20-yard run, tying the game at 14. The Colonials fans were stunned as they watched their team’s hopes of a division slowly start slipping away to a motivated Warrior team. Following a three and out by the Colonial offense, the next defensive series for New Oxford turned very scary. On a tackle running out of bounds, Colonial corner back Corban Czap did not get up after a pile of players landed on top of him. He would remain on the ground for around 3 minutes before getting to his feet, with an apparent leg injury. He was taken off the field on a cart and did not return to the game. We hope that he will be okay and has a speedy recovery. After holding the Warriors on the same drive, the Colonials took over and drove down field and Beans would score his third TD of the night, this time on a 11-yard pass from quarterback Anthony Lippy. The Warriors looked to score before the half, and got down to the Colonial 6-yard line with under 10 second left in the half, but the clock expired on an incomplete pass to end the half. The Colonials went into the locker room with a narrow 21-14 lead.
The second half proved to be much more different for the Colonials as they seemed to find a new life coming out of the half. The opening Warrior possession had them again in Colonial territory, but back-to-back sacks forced Susquehannock to punt. The ball landed deep in Colonial territory, on the 4-yard line, putting the Colonials in a tight spot. On the first play for the drive, the second head of the Colonial rushing attack, Aaron Zinneman bolted down field, stiff-arming defenders on his way to a 68-yard run. Three plays later, running back Hunter Ringrose would pound the ball in on a 3-yard run bringing the Colonial lead to 27-14, after a missed extra point. New Oxford would strike again right at the end of the third quarter on a 15-yard TD pass from Lippy to senior tight-end Jacob Morningstar who made a diving catch along the sideline bringing the score to 34-14. Zinneman would add a final Colonial TD on an 8-yard run with 8:46 left in the game before Coach Thurston of New Oxford would put in his back-ups to finish the job. The game ended in a 41-14 decision for the OX.
Running back Wes Beans once again ran for over 100 yards in a game this season, and had multiple touchdowns in a game, and is look to make first-team offense in the York-Adams league. The Colonials played a very clean game, not giving the ball away once by way of the turnover. Anthony Lippy looked sharp at the QB spot tonight with his two touchdown passes, bringing his total to 7 on the season to only 2 INT’s. The defense came up big when the situation called for it forcing 3 sacks on the night, a goal-line stop, and the interception in the first, while kicker Try Parrish made 5 of 6 PAT’s and put the Warriors deep in their territory on kickoffs.
The Colonials (6-2, 3-0) now have secured their first winning season since 2006 and are in contention for the YAIAA Division II title, which would be their first division title since 2002 if they win it. Their date with destiny is next week as they travel to Dover to take on the Eagles (6-2, 3-0), a game that will decide the title, assuming both teams win in Week 10. Last year the Colonials pulled off a stunning win, scoring in the final minute of the game, on a Wes Beans TD to win 22-15. The Eagles will be looking for some payback, but the Colonial focus is unlike anything that the team has shown in years. The teams match-up nearly identical in every stat category, so this should be a game for the ages in the York-Adams League. Meanwhile, the Warriors (2-6, 1-2) will travel to Kennard-Dale to face the Rams.
