BY JEFF FALK

 LITITZ – They’ve arrived.

 They belong.

 They’re legit.

 But for the Cedar Crest Falcons to take it to the next level – to go where they want to go – they need to pay closer attention to details, channel their energy in a more postive and efficient manner and limit the big plays against.

 On a comfortable Friday night at Joseph Grosh Field, the Falcons competed admirably, before falling to measuring stick Warwick, 34-14 in a Lancaster-Lebanon Section One clash of unbeatens. After Cedar Crest had taken a 14-7 halftime lead, the Warriors scored four unanswered touchdowns in the second half.

  On the strength of 243 total yards in the second half, Warwick outgained Cedar Crest 372 to 223. Falcon quarterback Chris Danz completed 14 of 22 pass attempts for 159 yards through the air.

  Cedar Crest had entered the fray with one of its best starts to a season in recent memory. But the outcome left the Falcons 5-1 on the fall and 2-1 in Section One of the Lancaster-Lebanon League.

 Cedar Crest was positioned fourth in the latest District Three Class AAAAAA power rankings.

 The triumph moved Warwick to 6-0 on the year and 3-0 in the section.

 “Warwick’s a very good team,” said Cedar Crest head coach Rob Wildasin. “They’re the number-three ranked Class AAAAA team in the state. But we think we’re pretty good too. It became a depth thing.

 “I think it’s a better game without a couple of our kids (injured) standing on the sidelines in t-shirts,” added Wildasin. “We ran out of steam. They were deeper than us.”

  For a time in the middle of the second quarter, the Falcons, with momentum on their side, had the home team on its heels. Cedar Crest notched a pair of touchdowns to erase a seven-point deficit and take a 14-7 lead.

 The Falcons scored with three seconds left in the second quarter, on a six-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Chris Danz to receiver Cole Miller. Earlier in the second period, Miller’s 76-yard catch-and-run had set up teammate Tyler Cruz’s one-yard touchdown plunge.

 “If you weren’t at the game, the final score might be misleading,” said Wildasin. “We were up 14-7 at halftime. But they (the Warriors) came out in the second half and drove the ball down the field. We couldn’t get off the field defensively.

 “Our goals are still right in front of us,” continued Wildasin. “We’ve got to get better. We were physical. We played well. We just ran out of gas.”

  The Warriors did drive the second-half kickoff 75 yards in seven plays to get the Colton Miller six-yard scoring run that tied the game at 14. But the turning point of the contest may have come on Cedar Crest’s ensuing possession, when a short punt and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty set up Warwick with a short field.

  From the Cedar Crest 32-yard line, the Warriors needed just six plays to cash in. Miller’s three-yard TD scamper gave Warwick a 21-14 lead it would never relinquish.

  “When it was 14-14, I thought momentum was still on our side,” said Wildasin. “But we got the ball and didn’t move it. That hurt us.

 “It’s a 14-14 game and you’re giving them the ball at the 30-yard line,” Wildasin added. “You just went from seven up to seven down. Bang, bang and we never bounced back. They’re (the Warriors) good. They’re a little better than us.” 

 Warwick put the game out of reach with two more Miller touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Cedar Crest managed only 50 yards of total offense in the second half.

 “I just think they made plays in the passing game,” said Wildasin of the Warriors. “That forces you to loosen up. Then they got chunks in the running game. Our defense was on the field constantly.

 “We definitely struggled offensively in the second half,” Wildasin continued. “Defensively, we had to get off the field. They’re quarterback (Joey McCracken) is good. He had to make plays, and he did.”

 Warwick had assumed a 7-0 edge on the first snap of the second quarter. On a fourth-down-and-14 snap, McCracken hit the elusive Conor Adams for a 34-yard touchdown strike.

 “We have some tough games coming up,” said Wildasin. “But we showed up tonight. We’ll be there. I still think we’re a playoff football team. I think we can make some noise. I wouldn’t want to play us. We’re moving forward.

 “Everybody needs to get better,” added Wildasin, “and we will.”

 Cruz, the Lancaster-Lebanon League’s leading runner, carried 20 times for 70 rushing yards. Cole Miller hauled in nine Danz aerials for 115 yards.

 In addition to his four touchdowns, Colton Miller gained 116 yards on the ground, with 24 rushing attempts. Adams caught seven balls for 196 receiving yards.

 McCracken finished 15 of 23 for 291 passing yards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To purchase images in this article email jkfalk2005@yahoo.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 2019 Cedar Crest Football Schedule

Date	Opponents	Outcomes
8/23 7:00 pm	Lebanon at Cedar Crest	6 28
8/30 7:00 pm	Hershey at Cedar Crest	13 42
9/06 7:00 pm	Cedar Crest at York High	17 14
9/13 7:00 pm	Cedar Crest at McCaskey	49 20
9/20 7:00 pm	Hempfield at Cedar Crest	21 34
9/27 7:00 pm	Cedar Crest at Warwick
10/04 7:00 pm	Penn Manor at Cedar Crest
10/11 7:00 pm	Cedar Crest at Manheim Township
10/18 7:00 pm	Wilson at Cedar Crest
10/25 7:00 pm	Cedar Crest at Garden Spot

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PIAA District Three

 Class AAAAAA Power Rankings

AAAAAA School  W  L  T  Rating  TWP  OWP  TWPW  OWPW  TWPL  OWPL 1 Wilson 5- 0- 0  0.846471  1.000000  0.658824  6.1  33.6  0.0  17.4 2 Manheim Township 5- 0- 0  0.837624  1.000000  0.639165  6.2  32.2  0.0  18.2 3 Harrisburg 4- 0- 0  0.826512  1.000000  0.614472  4.9  25.9  0.0  16.3 4 Cedar Crest 5- 0- 0  0.805455  1.000000  0.567677  6.1  28.1  0.0  21.4 5 Central Dauphin 3- 2- 0  0.713609  0.702970  0.726611  3.6  35.0  1.5  13.2 6 Central York 4- 1- 0  0.713460  0.862385  0.531440  4.7  26.2  0.8  23.1 7 Chambersburg Area 3- 2- 0  0.652213  0.696970  0.597510  3.5  28.8  1.5  19.4 8 Red Lion 3- 2- 0  0.648661  0.695238  0.591734  3.7  29.4  1.6  20.3 9 Cumberland Valley 2- 3- 0  0.579433  0.505495  0.669801  2.3  32.1  2.3  15.8 10 Reading 3- 1- 0  0.572789  0.797619  0.297998  3.4  12.7  0.9  29.8 11 Lebanon 3- 2- 0  0.568591  0.626374  0.497967  2.9  24.5  1.7  24.7 12 Central Dauphin East 2- 3- 0  0.567538  0.505263  0.643653  2.4  28.9  2.4  16.0 13 HEMPFIELD 1- 4- 0  0.497070  0.280899  0.761278  1.3  40.5  3.2  12.7 14 Carlisle 1- 4- 0  0.477524  0.264368  0.738048  1.2  37.1  3.2  13.2 15 Dallastown 1- 4- 0  0.456090  0.280899  0.670213  1.3  34.7  3.2  17.1 16 Penn Manor 1- 4- 0  0.454023  0.264368  0.685824  1.2  35.8  3.2  16.4 17 J P McCaskey 0- 5- 0  0.346813  0.000000  0.770695  0.0  40.5  4.0  12.1 18 York County School of Technology 0- 5- 0  0.179510  0.000000  0.398912  0.0  22.0  5.3  33.2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Lancaster-Lebanon League

 Section One Standings