EasternPAFootball.com

Ryan Wallen

  • Bulldogs Bite Colonials, Play Spoiler for Ox’s Playoff Dreams

    ryanweek102013After coming off of a tough Division II loss in the title game in Dover last week, the New Oxford Colonials (6-3, 3-1) returned home to face the Bulldogs of West York (3-6, 3-1) for Senior Pink Out Night. The Ox, with a win would solidify their spot in the District 3 AAA playoffs, while having their best season since 2006.

    On the opening drive of the game, the Colonial offense came out very strong in a new offensive formation, a variation on the Wing-T offense. Running back Wesley Beans led the team down field on the drive, picking up 40+ yards on the ground and 11 receiving yards. The drive was capped off on a 32-yard field goal by junior kicker Trey Parrish. On West York’s ensuing drive, the Colonials gave up yardage, but held the Bulldogs on 4th down to turn the ball over on downs. The seniors on the offense stepped up to the plate again: Beans rushed for 23 yards, followed by a 30 yard pass from senior quarterback Anthony Lippy to senior Jacob Morningstar. The Colonials would face a 4th and 4 from the 5-yard line on the drive, but Beans gained just enough to keep the drive alive. On the next play, Beans punched the ball in from 1-yard out to give the Colonials an early 10-0 lead at the end of the first.

    In the second quarter, the Bulldogs came out of the doghouse as the drove quickly down field using the hurry-up offense and would score on a 6-yard TD catch by wide-out Cash Gladfelter from QB Ross Campbell, cutting the Colonial lead to 10-7. On the ensuing drive by New Oxford, Beans would lose the handle on the ball in a mosh pit, which would be recovered by West York. Running back Noah Bowers of West York would rush for 32 yards on the drive and score on a 2-yard TD run giving the Bulldogs a surprising 14-10 lead. The Colonials would go three and out and punt to West York. The Bulldogs got their bark back once again after Campbell completed a short screen pass to Isaiah Toomey who would break multiple tackles and not stop until he was in the end zone 66-yards later. The next Colonial possession looked promising until Noah Townsley picked off Lippy, giving West York a chance to extend their lead. The Bulldogs would in fact end up doing so, on a 10-yard run by Campbell. West York now led 28-10 after being down 10-0. The Colonials looked to gain momentum going into the half by driving down field and scoring a TD with 43 seconds remaining in the half on a 6-yard run by Beans. West York however would make a statement by kicking a 40 yard field goal as time expired in the half, due to a defensive holding call by the Ox. The Bulldogs held an impressive 31-17 lead at halftime

    During the 3rd quarter, West York controlled possession by the constant rushing attack of Campbell and Bowers.  Wes Beans however came to play for the Colonials “D” stepping in front of a Ross Campbell pass, intercepting the ball and returning it to mid-field before being pushed out of bounds. New Oxford could not capitalize on the great field position after Lippy threw his second INT of the game, the third Colonial turnover. The Ox defense would hold tough once again, keeping them in the game on a second goal-line stand of the game. The 3rd quarter ended with the score remaining unchanged, 31-17.

    The Bulldogs would attack early in the 4th, scoring on a 14-yard TD run by Campbell, his 2nd of the game. Through the remainder of the game, the Colonials were unable to get the offense in gear, in addition to having questionable calls from the referees. Late in the game, the Colonials went to the air and managed to score their final TD of the season, on a 5-yard pass from Lippy to junior receiver, Jordan Gardner. The final score ended 38-24 in favor of the visiting Bulldogs.

    Despite starting 6-2, the Colonials fell down the stretch in the final two games of the season, being outscored 83-41 in those games. They finish still 6-4, 3-2 which is their best mark since the 11-2, 2006 season. The Colonials now have to hope and pray that their valiant effort will pay off, if they have any chance of making the District 3 playoffs. The PIAA Rankings will reveal the Top 16 teams that will make the AAA playoffs, and as of tonight before the game, the Ox was ranked #13. Only time will tell the fate of the Colonials. West York on the flip side finished a disappointing 4-6, 4-1 following an undefeated season and trip to the District 3 title game against Bishop McDevitt last season. The Colonials can take a lot away from this season, the offense scored over 300 points, the defense won the turnover battle for the season, and the team is you, losing only 9 seniors. Challenges that face the Ox next season are finding replacements for the rushing duo of Beans and Aaron Zinneman and quarterback Anthony Lippy. Beans rushed for over 1,300 yards and had 20 rushing touchdowns on the season, while Zinneman had 500+ yards on the season and 7 TD’s of his own. The Colonials will continue to re-build: brick-by-brick in the off season, and will be gunning for their new opportunity of moving back to Division I next season to re-new old rivalries.

  • Colonials Wallop Warriors, Set up Division II Title Date with Dover Next Week

    ryanweek82013Coming 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.

  • Wildcats Whip Colonials

    ryanweek52013After both coming off of nail-biting games last week, the Dallastown Wildcats traveled to New Oxford to take on the Colonials in a match-up of 3-1 teams in the York-Adams league.  The Colonials were coming off of a 24-17 OT win at The Corral versus Southwestern, as Dallastown survived a 19-17 scare from Dover.

    On the opening drive of the game, the Colonials went to the air against a very strong Dallastown secondary, and managed to move the ball down the field on three straight completions from quarterback Anthony Lippy to three different receivers. Running back Wesley Beans capped off the drive by punching the ball in from 14 yards out to give the Colonials an early 7-0 lead.  The Wildcats would respond back very quickly scoring two minutes later on a 4-yard touchdown run by quarterback Andrew Henry. This would not be the only time Henry found the end zone on the night. At the beginning of the 2nd quarter, Colonial kicker Trey Parrish hit a 41 yard field goal to put the Colonials up 10-7. On the next Wildcat possession, the Colonial defense managed to get it’s second fumble recovery of the night. It seemed as if all the momentum was in favor of the OX, but after the fumble, Lippy threw an interception giving the ball right back to D-town. Henry and running back Robert Catchings would lead the Cats prowl down the field on a various set of designed runs before Henry kept the ball himself and ran for the 14-yard TD. The Colonial offense stalled and Dallastown took advantage of the Colonials multiple failed 4th down conversions. They would add another TD with 40.4 seconds remaining in the half, this time on a 5-yard run by Henry, his 3rd of the night. This gave the Wildcats a 21-10 lead going into the half.

    Dallastown came out of the half just as strong as they went in. A 4-play, 80 yard drive included a 31-yard run by Henry, a 22 yarder by Dezmond Jones, and a drive-capping 23-yard TD run by Catchings, increasing the Cats lead to 27-10 after a botched extra point. It seemed as if the Colonials were determined to get back in the game mid-way through the 3rd as they responded to the Wildcat rushing attack by handing the ball to star-running back Beans. Beans broke multiple tackles and ran over two defenders on his way to breaking a 38- yard TD run. At the end of the 3rd, the score stood at 27-17.

    Early in the 4th, the Colonials were driving once again, facing a 4th and 7 as Beans took the hand-off and appeared to get the 1st down, but a horrible spot by the referee turned the ball over on downs to Dallastown. The Wildcats would capitalize and score on Catchings 2nd TD of the night, this time an 8-yard run. Dallastown took a 34-17 lead after the PAT. The Colonials attempted to gain some momentum before time ran out in the game, and appeared once again to do so on a 12-yard TD pass from Lippy to wide-out Aaron Reichert, but the referee called offensive pass interference after the defender’s feet got tangled up with that of Reichert’s. These two questionable calls may have cost the Colonials a shot at the game, but in the end, the Dallastown rushing attack clawed up the Colonials defense with a final score of 34-17. The Colonials can take positives out of this game however; they managed three fumble recoveries on the night, while only having one turnover and at times the offense had very successful drives against the D-town defense that had only given up 36 points on the season.

    Next week, the Colonials (3-2, 0-0) open up YAIAA Division II play on the road against the 0-5 Northeastern Bobcats before traveling to Kennard-Dale to take on the Rams. The next Colonial home game will be the homecoming game on October 18th against the Susquehannock Warriors. The Colonials should have it pretty easy from here on out, but they still have areas of need to focus on before a possible playoff appearance, their first since 2006. Dallastown (4-1, 0-0) will also open up YAIAA Division I play next week as they travel to The Corral to take on the ailing Southwestern Mustangs.

    This has nothing to do with football, but I feel this is an appropriate time and way to say this: to my amazing and gorgeous girlfriend of 18 1/2 months, I told you that you would find out soon enough how I would do this: Will you go to homecoming with me? I love you so very much, and I can’t thank you enough for your continued support through everything in accomplishing my dreams of being a sports broadcaster for ESPN!! 🙂 <3

     

  • Colonials Clobber Indians behind Beans’ 4 TD’s

    ryanweek32013After coming off of an impressive 55-14 win last week over the Rockets of James Buchanan,  the New Oxford Colonials kept pouring on the offense by clobbering the Waynesboro Indians 51-14 Friday night in New Oxford.

    The Colonials did not take long to get on the scoreboard, scoring 12 seconds into the game after Hunter Ringrose knocked the ball out of the Indians returner’s hands. The ball was scooped up by Keegan Romanoff and returned for the touchdown. The extra point bounced off of the left up-right, but early on, the Colonials took a 6-0 lead. The result would be repetitive all night, the Colonial offense scoring on the ground. Colonial running back Wesley Beans scored on a 55-yard rush a few minutes after the opening kickoff score to boost the Colonials to a 13-0 lead. Later in the quarter, Beans added a 50-yard rushing touchdown to his stats. The Colonials held a 20-0 lead after the first quarter alone behind Beans 120+ yard performance, and it would not stop there. Waynesboro did appear to score a touchdown late in the quarter on a 79-yard TD pass, but was called back due to receiver Matt Peck stepping out of bounds and coming back on the field of play.

    Waynesboro would get on the scoreboard early in the 2nd quarter on a 3-yard touchdown rush by back Brett Mohn. The TD was set up due to a big reception by Austin Hanshew from quarterback Nathan Toney. Beans however would not be outdone in this game, answering by running 68 yards for the touchdown this time, and propelling the OX to a 27-7 lead at the half.

    The Colonials would come out of the gates hot again in the second half, marching right down the field and scoring on a 33-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Anthony Lippy to Romanoff. Wanyesboro would score later int he quarter on a 1-yard TD rush by Toney bringing the score to 34-14 at the end of the 3rd. Ultimately, the star of the night was Wes Beans, who would tack on his 4th TD of the night, this time on a 10-yard rush early in the fourth quarter. An interception by safety Jake Massicot would stop the Indians’ push for pride. The INT would set up a 19 yard touchdown run by third-string running back Josh Shultz, bringing the score to 48-14 with 9:36 remaining in the game. The final Colonial score would come by way of field goal, a 37-yard kick by Trey Parrish, who also was 6 of 7 on extra points. The game ended with the Colonials prevailing, 51-14.

    Despite some sloppy penalties by the Colonials, the managed to poor on the offense for the second straight week. Beans ran for over 200 yards in this game and had four touchdowns. The passing game never seemed to get going for the OX tonight, completing only a single-digit number of passes between Lippy and back-up Corban Czap, but who needs to pass when you have a running back like Beans. The defense was led by Hunter Ringrose who seemed to be everywhere on the field tonight, making key stops behind the line of scrimmage and have both a forced fumble and fumble recovery. Shultz also had a fumble recovery late in the 4th quarter. The secondary did a very good job against the shotgun prominent offense run by the Indians. Leading the Indians on offense was wide-receiver Matt Peck who had a few big catches on the night, including a 45-yard reception. Defensively, the Indians had a few chances to capitalize on bad throws from Colonial QB’s, but never managed to force a turnover on the night.

    The Colonials (2-1, 0-0) have scored 106 points in the past two weeks, while managing to only give up 28 points. This shows how dominant the Colonials have been early in the season. They will travel to The Corral next Friday night to take on former Division I rival Southwestern (1-2) in a tough head-to-head match-up. This game should be a challenge for the Colonials, but could show the York-Adams league that there is a new threat in the league if able to pull off the victory. Meanwhile, the Indians of Waynesboro fall to 0-3 on the season and will take on James Buchanan next week.

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  • Colonials Dismantle Rockets

    ryanweek22013

    The New Oxford Colonials are off to a fast start this season. After only losing to District 3 finalist Bermudian Springs by a score of 34-27, the Colonials rebounded by pounding the James Buchanan Rockets, 55-14, in the home-opener Friday night at New Oxford High School.

    The Colonials got off to a quick start, scoring within the first three minutes of the game on a Wesley Beans rushing touchdown. A few minutes later, the Colonials would tack on another touchdown, this time coming from the air on a 14-yard pass from Colonial quarterback Anthony Lippy to wide-out Aaron Reichert. Reichert made an outstanding one-handed grab while diving into the end zone for the score giving the Colonials a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Colonials would pick right up where they left off at the beginning of the 2nd quarter. Full back Aaron Zinneman had a 25-yard receiving touchdown from Colonial back-up quarterback, Corban Czap. Running back Wes Beans had another touchdown in the quarter, a 21-yard run  giving New Oxford a commanding 28-0 lead. Hunter Ringrose added a final Colonial touchdown in the quarter on a 5-yard rush to give the Ox a 35-0 lead. With the Colonials pitching a shut-out, Buchanan got on the scoreboard with .8 of a second left in the half from quarterback Dillon Sanders to Peter Hughey. At the half, the Colonials held a 35-7 lead.

    The Rocket offense continued its’ momentum early in the 3rd quarter, scoring a touchdown 28 seconds into the second half on an 85-yard touchdown pass from Sanders to receiver Shamar Pates. Pates led the Rockets offense over the night, racking up 118 receiving yards and 13 rushing yards. After a quick turnover by the Colonials, it appeared as if the Rockets could make this game a nail-biter, but they would not be able to manage to get any closer to the dominating Ox offense. Beans added on his third touchdown of the night on a 27-yard rush. Cornerback Keegan Romanoff came up with a loose ball and returned it to the house 24 yards for the seventh Colonial touchdown of the night. Late in the 4th quarter, the Colonials would tack on a final touchdown on a 1-yard rush by Josh Shultz. Kicker Trey Parrish would miss the PAT on the final TD, but still would go 7 of 8 on the night on PAT’s, in addition to doing an outstanding job on kick-offs and making a touchdown saving tackle in the first half. The final score on the night would end up being 55-14 in favor of the Colonials.

    New OxfordThe Colonial defense stood strong as the held James Buchanan to single-digit first downs and forced four turnovers on the night, including a late game interception by cornerback Trevon Brown. Zinneman split the rushing duties with Beans, both of which were very impressive. All in all, the Colonial offense dismantled the Rocket defense racking up 426 yards on the night. Beans led the Colonial offense with 146 total yards while Lippy was 8 of 17  for 106 yards and a touchdown on the night. The Colonial QB’s have managed not to throw an interception in the first two games, while only turning the ball over twice.

    Through the first two games this season, the Colonials (1-1, 0-0) have scored more than they did through five games last season. James Buchanan on the other hand fell to 0-2, 0-0 on the season.

    In seeing the numbers and style of play, I wonder if this season could be the re-birth of the Colonials who have not had a winning season since 2006? Looking ahead, the Colonials have very good possibilities in the coming weeks to prove themselves as they host the Waynesboro Indians next week in New Oxford before having two tough games against Southwestern and Dallastown respectively to close out the non-division part of the season. With teams such as West York and Northeastern struggling so far this year, the Colonials could make some noise this year in Division II of the YAIAA as division play opens up in Week 6.

  • Colonials Get Last Minute Touchdown, Downs Dover

    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.

  • Colonials Rock Rams on Homecoming Night

    It was a packed house on homecoming night in New Oxford, PA as the New Oxford Colonials (1-5, 0-1) faced off against the Rams of Kennard-Dale (0-6, 0-1) , in a battle of two teams with only one win combined this season.

    The Colonials got off to a fast start, moving swiftly down the field on the opening drive of the game, leading to a 12-yard rushing touchdown by junior quarterback, Anthony Lippy. New Oxford led 6-0 after a blocked PAT. Later in the first quarter, the Colonials found themselves driving once again before running back Wes Beans scored on a 4-yard rush. Beans failed to convert on the 2-point conversion though, so the Colonials led 12-0. The score would remain that through the rest of the first half.

    At the start of the third quarter, the Rams took their first possession down-field and scored on a tough 8-yard run by Phil Herndon, cutting the Colonial lead to 12-6. The Ox responded though on the ensuing possession as senior running back, Nick Slusser  ran the ball in from 10 yards out for yet another Colonial touchdown, which was set up by a nice 27-yard completion from Lippy to tight end, Marc O’Brien. The Colonials led 19-6 at the end of the third quarter.

    In the fourth, the Colonials sealed the win when Slusser had his second rushing touchdown of the night, this time from 3 yards out, giving the Colonials a 26-6 lead with 8 minutes to play. With under a minute to play, the Rams added a final touchdown on a 40-yard pass from back-up quarterback Kyle Amrhiem to Dan Hare, followed by a 2 pt. conversion to make the score 26-14, but it was too late. New Oxford would recover the onside kick attempted by Kennard-Dale, and take a knee to end the game, 26-14.

    Slusser led the Colonials with 115 yards on the ground and his 2 touchdowns, while Beans added another 48 yards, and a touchdown of his own. Beans also had an interception, and a circus-like catch along the sideline towards the end of the first half. Lippy went 6-14 passing for 130 yards with no interceptions, and his rushing TD. The Colonials also played a very clean game, having no turnovers. Leading the way for the Rams was running back Mike Young who had 57 yards rushing in the losing effort.

    With the win, the Colonials move to 2-5, and 1-1 in Division II play, while the Rams are still looking for their first win and are now 0-7, and 0-2 in division play.  New Oxford will travel to Susquehannock next week, looking to capitalize on yet another team that has no wins, before facing the two power-house teams in their division, Dover and West York.

  • Bobcats Bash Colonials

    The New Oxford Colonials (1-4) opened up Division II play at home Friday night facing off against the Northeastern Bobcats (3-2) on Band Night. With a win, either team could get a leg up going down the road and possibly be competing for a division title.

    The Colonials got off to a fast start, intercepting Northeastern quarterback Alec Miller’s pass on the Bobcats opening drive of the game. New Oxford would capitalize on the turnover, going to the ground game, and eventually the ball was punched into the end zone by running back Wes Beans on a three-yard run. On the ensuing possession by Northeastern, the Bobcats marched their way down field,  also relying on the run game to eventually have running back Daniel Adams break a 25-yard touchdown run, but the extra point was missed, giving the Colonials a 7-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.

    Early in the second, Adams found zone nod zone once again, this time with a 9-yard rushing touchdown. The Bobcats added a two-point conversion, to take a 14-7 lead. On the ensuing kickoff, the ball landed between a load of Colonial players causing one player to muff the kick, allowing Northeastern to recover with great field position. On the first play after the muffed kick, Northeastern QB Alec Miller found wide receiver Braheem Riley on a pretty 27-yard lob for yet another touchdown, which was followed by another two-point conversion. In a matter of nine seconds, the Bobcats had taken the lead 22-7.

    Both teams remained silent for the rest of the half and all the way through the third quarter with nobody scoring. Early in the fourth, the Colonials found the end zone again on a fourth and three, when quarterback Anthony Lippy connected with running back Aaron Zinneman on a 13-yard touchdown pass, cutting the Northeastern lead to 22-14. The Bobcats responded on their next drive, moving right down the field and scoring on a six-yard touchdown run by Miller. The Bobcats held on defense, and would end up winning by a final score of 28-14.

    The Bobcats put up almost 300 yards on the Colonial defense, while the OX were only able to manage 149 total yards. Northeastern’s, Daniel Adams led the Bobcat offense with 141 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns, while quarterback Alec Miller went 4-11 passing for 40 yards, a touchdown and an interception. The Colonials were paced by junior running back, Wes Beans, who had 87 yards on the ground while senior RB Nick Slusser added another 49 yards rushing.

    With the loss, the Colonials fall to (1-5) and (0-1) in Division II play. The OX will look to rebound and snap their 4-game losing streak next week at their homecoming game, taking on the Rams of Kennard-Dale who have not won a game this season.

  • Colonials Fall Victim to the Strong Mustang Offense

    After coming off  a heartbreaking 9-0 loss to the Waynesboro Indians last week, the New Oxford Colonials played host to their longtime rivals, the Southwestern Mustangs.  The Mustangs are also coming off a tough loss to the defending state champions from Central Dauphin. Surprisingly both teams had a 1-2 record coming into this week’s game, and both were looking to get back to the .500 mark. The Colonials were 21-point underdogs coming into the match up, but still had hope that they could pull the upset, too bad the Mustangs had other ideas.

    The Mustangs did not take long to jump out ahead of the Colonials, scoring within the first three minutes of the game on a 32-yard TD pass from quarterback Mike Duffy to Brady Shultz. Later in the quarter, Southwest running back Dakotah Moses added another touchdown from four yards out to extend the Mustangs lead to 13-0 at the end of the first quarter. Thirteen seconds into the second quarter, Southwestern added another touchdown, this time running back Dillon Thomas ran one in from 14 yards to brings Southwestern’s lead to 19-0 at the half. Though the Colonials didn’t score in the half, they ran a couple of really well executed fake punt plays, that got the Colonials much needed first downs, but one was negated by a holding penalty.

    Coming out of the half, New Oxford was looking for something, just anything to move the ball against the tough Southwestern defense. Southwestern stood strong forcing back-to-back defensive touchdowns early in the quarter, one a fumble recovery in the end zone, the other a 62-yard pick six. A few minutes later, Dillon Thomas had his second rushing touchdown of the night on a three yard run extending the Mustang lead to 39-0. The Mustangs were not done yet. They added two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter with their second team offense now on the field, a 7-yard run by back-up quarterback Ryan Lane, and then a 46-yard TD pass from Lane to Brendan Fahs. The final score ended up being Southwestern 52, New Oxford 0. This is the third time the Colonials have been shut out this season in four weeks, only scoring in their 56-19 blowout of James Buchanan.

    The Colonials were able to put up only 91 total yards of offense, while the Mustangs had almost 500 yards. Another big factor was the turnover margin. Southwest forced four Colonial turnovers, while New Oxford had none. Colonial starting quarterback Anthony Lippy also went 0-8 passing, before being benched in the second half, while his back-up Jordan Gardner went 1-3 passing for 11 yards. Running back Wesley Beans led the Colonial rushing attack with 49 yards.

    While falling to 1-3, the Colonials will travel to take on the surprisingly struggling Dallastown Wildcats who are also 1-3, but all their losses have been very close, so it will remain a challenge for the young Colonials. The New Oxford offense needs to figure out how to better move the ball sooner rather than later, before opening division play at home in two weeks against the Bobcats of Northeastern, and then following up by playing Kennard-Dale, Susquehannock, Dover, and West York.

  • Colonials Get Run Over By Eagles

    By: Ryan Wallen

    High-school football is back, and it looks very promising for the New Oxford Colonials in 2012, who are coming off of a 2-8 season last year, but many players are hungry for a winning season. The Colonials have a new man at the helm this season, Jason Thurston, who has never been a head coach before, but has a lot of experience coaching as an offensive coordinator and the mindset to lead the Colonials to their first winning since the Colonials went 11-2 back in 2006. Thurston brings with him, a whole new style of play to the Colonials, in which the Wing-T offense, will replace the Triple-Option, and on the other side of the ball, the Colonials will switch from a 5-2 Defense to a 4-3. Even though all the changes may seem beneficial, it still will be a tough road for the Ox, having to play six playoff teams from last year this season, and their youth.

    The Colonials are only returning one starter from last year on the offensive side of the ball, running back Nick Slusser. The Colonials new starting quarterback, junior Anthony Lippy, will have a heavy load to carry this season, learning and executing a whole new offense, and attempting to lead the Colonials to victory every week. New Oxford seemed prepared and was ready to kick off the season. Too bad their opponent was an 11-1, District 3 qualifier from one season ago, the Bermudian Springs Eagles.

    The Eagles and the Colonials both are looking to build a new identity in this new season of high school football, with the Eagles trying to replace two, one-thousand yard backs from last year, and the Colonials just trying to get a winning record. This meeting was the first time the Ox and their neighbors from up route 94 have met in thirteen years, last playing in 1999.

    Prior to that, the Colonials and Eagles had played each other in every season for 25 years, dating back to the old Blue Mountain League. As the teams took the field, you could feel the sense that this would be a fantastic game, despite the records from a year ago, and it did not disappoint.

    The teams took the field at New Oxford High School around 7 o’clock PM, the stadium, packed full of both Colonial and Eagle fans ready to renew a longtime rivalry. The Colonials won the coin toss at mid-field and elected to receive the opening kickoff of the 2012 season. Both teams lined up in their positions, the New Oxford Marching Band playing the schools’ fight song. Bermudian’s kicker put his arm up into the air, ran towards the ball and boom the ball sailed into the arms of New Oxford player, Cory Gartrell.

    Gartrell had a nice return out to the 40-yard line, but the Colonials could not capitalize on the good field position, and went three and out on their opening drive. After a Colonial punt, it was Bermudian’s turn, starting at their own 29-yard line. Bermudian stormed down the field behind their two new running backs, Tristan Sponseller and Zach Stroup, going 71 yards on 11 plays, before punching the ball into the endzone on a six-yard run by Sponseller. At the end of the first quarter though, the score was only 7-0 in favor of the Eagles.

    Early in the second quarter, the Colonials had their backs against the wall as Bermudian once again was driving downfield behind the dynamic duo of Stroup and Sponseller, but that would soon change. Bermudian quarterback, Michael Moore dropped back to pass, released the ball, which looked to be an easy completion, but New Oxford Senior safety, Aaron Brown, dove in front of the pass, and picked off the ball to halt the Eagles.

    Once again the Colonials could not capitalize on Bermudian’s mistake, and were forced to punt. Late in the second quarter, the Eagles were driving again into the Colonials’ red zone, but running back, Tristan Sponseller was shaken up with an apparent right leg injury, but was able to leave the field under his own power. Two plays later, Bermudian quarterback Michael Moore punched the ball into the endzone from the two-yard line to give Bermudian a 14-0 lead. The Colonials got the ball back and ended up going backwards before having to punt again. But the punt was blocked deep in Colonial territory, giving the Eagles another great chance to score before the half. With less than 30 seconds left, Moore threw up a high ball to one of his receivers, but the ball once again was picked off, this time by Colonial Senior cornerback, Matt Staub, bringing an end to the first half. Bermudian had piled up ten first downs in the half mostly behind their running backs who combined, ran for 146 yards, while New Oxford only managed to get two first downs.

    In the third quarter, neither team had much going for them, mainly because of the intense game of defense that was being played. The Eagles did have a mini drive going for them, but were stopped on fourth down thanks to Colonial cornerback Aaron Reichert, who deflected a ball in the endzone, intended for a Bermudian receiver.

    Going into the fourth quarter, Bermudian held its’ lead, 14-0. About halfway through the fourth quarter, the Colonials were once again backed up into their endzone, and forced to punt. On the punt, Bermudian returner, Ryan Markle returned the 25-yard punt from the endzone to the Colonial 5-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, Bermudian fullback Landon Mohney ran the ball, almost untouched into the endzone to put the icing on the cake for the Eagles, giving them a 21-0 victory on opening night. The Colonials played very well despite the score, even though the numbers do not show it.

    New Oxford managed to force three turnovers off the Eagles, two interceptions and a fumble recovery, and held Bermudian under 50 yards of passing. The downfall was the Eagles run game, which ran for 261 yards, and the defense shut down the Colonials offense, giving them minus ten yards total for the night. New Oxford has to figure out how to move the ball on offense and shut down the run game of opponents, but other than that, playing a team that went 11-1 last year, and only losing by three touchdowns isn’t really that bad.

    There were positives and negatives, which will need to be worked on this week by the Ox before traveling to James Buchanan next week to face off with the Rockets, who are coming off of a 56-26 loss to Biglerville. New Oxford remains optimistic now having back-to-back games against teams that finished with losing records last year, and feeling that they can move their record to 2-1 before another tough game with South Western in week 4. All is not lost with the Colonials, they gave 110% last night, and look to continue that attitude throughout the season, along with developing as a whole unit.