BERWICK-Danville knew it would have its hands full against a Northwestern Lehigh team that was really challenged only once this season. Eli Zimmerman gashed the Ironmen defense for 230 rushing yards in the first half, and delivered a dagger with a defensive play early in the second half that helped land Northwestern Lehigh in the state championship game for a second consecutive season. Zimmerman intercepted a pass and returned it 81 yards for a touchdown on the opening possession in the third quarter to open up a three-possession lead, and Northwestern Lehigh earned a date with Avonworth next week in the PIAA Class 3A final thanks to a 31-14 win.
“We wanted to go up by two scores before going into half, and we were able to do that with a field goal,” Northwestern Lehigh coach Josh Snyder said. “I thought it was huge to get a stop, somehow, someway, in that first opening drive. Our defense is pretty good. I thought (a three-score lead) in the second half would be enough for us to win the football game, and that’s exactly what happened. Eli just coming up with big play after big play, he was an all-state DB last year, and we ask him to do a whole heck of a lot for us on offense. But coming up with that huge interception return for a touchdown might have closed the door on them early in that third quarter.”
Northwestern Lehigh (15-0) came out strong, as the Tigers took the opening kickoff and marched 64 yards for a touchdown on an eight-play drive. Quarterback Shane Leh found room off the right side and crossed the goal line from 17 yards out. After a Madden Patrick punt pinned the Tigers deep, Zimmerman made the biggest play on offense during his record-breaking night. The senior took a direct snap, made a cut, and was off to the races on a 95-yard touchdown run that gave his team a 14-0 lead just over five minutes into play. Zimmerman finished the night with 355 yards on 35 carries, and will most certainly be in consideration for Class 3A Player of the Year.
“Yeah, I think he did okay,” Snyder said. “He broke his own record for yards in a game. He broke my brother’s record from 1995 for yards in a season. He’s the fiercest competitor you could imagine out here. He refuses to quit, he refuses to go down. He plays with emotion, he never comes off the football field. You got a kid like that, your team is going to be pretty good.”
Danville (14-1) looked like it could get blown out based on the early results, but the Ironmen were able to hang in there. Patrick led a much-needed four-play drive that ended with Cole Duffy winning a one-on-one battle. Duffy has been an effective weapon in the passing game all season, and he worked his way into the end zone for a 43-yard touchdown catch late in the first quarter. The senior receiver finished with 112 yards on six catches and a pair of scores.
“I said earlier the winner of this game is going to be state champion, and it’s going to be that them there in my eyes,” Danville coach Carl Majer said. “It’s where we want to be and we’ve got to keep striving and work harder in the offseason, get back and reload. It always hurts to lose, but you’ve gotta take stuff away from it, make yourself a better team, make yourself a better player, and a better coach. We’ll learn from this experience and get better.”
The Ironmen did a better job on Zimmerman in the second quarter, and put up a late goal line stand right before halftime. Northwestern Lehigh had to settle for 19-yard field goal from Seth Kern, and take a 17-7 lead into the locker room. Even after the Zimmerman pick-six, Danville still had opportunities. Facing a 4th-and-goal from the 8, Danville opted for a fake field goal, and Patrick was forced out of bounds a yard short of the end zone. On the next Ironmen possession, a running play was blown up, and Brady Zimmerman recovered a fumble inside the five to halt another scoring threat.
“We had our opportunities,” Majer said. “You know, we were three inches shy going for a touchdown, and about half-a-yard short down there. Shoulda, coulda, woulda, it could always be this or that, but bottom line is we came up short.”
Zimmerman broke loose on a 45-yard run midway through the four quarter, and Kern closed out the drive with a two-yard run. Danville finished off the scoring when Patrick found Duffy on a 29-yard touchdown pass with 2:16 remaining. The victory not only ended a very successful year from Danville, but also continued amazing fall sports season at Northwestern Lehigh. The Tigers have put together undefeated, 28-0 seasons in both boys and girls soccer, as each team won Colonial League, District 11, and state championships. Now the football team is looking to pull off the trifecta in Mechanicsburg next week.
“We’re a small school, we’ve got to get along,” Snyder said. “We’ve gotta share the field, and the kids genuinely root for each other, that creates a culture of success, a culture of competitiveness. We’ve been calling ourselves Titletown for the last number of years because of league and districts, but maybe this year we can get a State Titletown going. We’re going to give it our best shot next week in Cumberland Valley.”
Scoring Summary:
Danville 7 0 0 7-14
Northwestern Lehigh 14 3 7 7-31
Individual Scoring
First Quarter
NL-Shane Leh 17 run (Seth Kern kick) 9:23
NL-Eli Zimmerman 95 run (Kern kick) 6:46
D-Cole Duffy 37 pass from Madden Patrick (Garrett Hoffman kick) :37
Second Quarter
NL-Kern 19 field goal :00
Third Quarter
NL-Zimmerman 81 interception return (Kern kick) 9:50
Fourth Quarter
NL-Kern 2 run (Kern kick) 4:35
D-Duffy 29 pass from Patrick (Hoffman kick) 2:16
Team Statistics
………………………..D…………………….NL
1st downs……….16……………………..22
rush-yds………26-145……………….57-422
comp-att-int..12-27-1………………..4-8-0
pass yds………..144……………………..40
total yds……….289………………………462
fumb-lost……..2-1………………………..1-1
pen-yds…………5-40…………………..9-70
Individual Statistics
Rushing-Danville: Bo Sheptock 19-121; Madden Patrick 5-18; Cameron Kiersch 2-6. Northwestern Lehigh: Eli Zimmerman 35-353, TD; Mason Bollinger 7-32; Shane Leh 5-27, TD; Seth Kern 5-18, TD; Landen Matson 1-5; Team 2-(-5); Shane Hulmes 2-(-8).
Passing-Danville: Patrick 12-27-1, 144 yds., 2 TDs. Northwestern Lehigh: Leh 4-7-0, 40 yds.; Team 0-1-0.
Receiving-Danville: Cole Duffy 6-112, 2 TDs; Carter Raup 3-18; Landon Kehoe 1-10; Kiersch 1-3; Kole Harvey 1-1. Northwestern Lehigh: Hulmes 2-37; Matson 1-5; Bollinger 1-(-2).
