BY JEFF FALK

PHOTOS BY LORI MESSERSMITH

LEBANON – It’s not like it could ever go away.

It is such a spectacle, such an important part of our community.

It may be the most meaningful sporting event in the entire calendar year.

But there are some real concerns about the competitive balance of the Cedar Bowl.

On Friday night at Lebanon Alumni Stadium, Cedar Crest registered its fifth straight decisive win over rival Lebanon, this time 26-14, during the 45th renewal of the annual season-opening contest for both sides. Senior wide receiver Tate Seyfert tallied all three Falcon touchdowns – including a pair less than three minutes apart late in the third quarter that all but sealed the deal – and kicker Chad Ryland connected on a pair of 22-yard Cedar Crest field goals.

The game followed a familiar script for the Falcons, as they opened their 26-7 lead. They jumped out to an early lead, they controlled the line of scrimmage and they effectively short-circuited just about everything the Cedars tried to do offensively.

With their five straight victories, Cedar Crest now leads the all-time Cedar Bowl series 29-15-1. And while the most recent one may be the most competitive, the Falcons have now outscored the Cedars by a combined total of 212-79 in those five meetings.

“I know it sounds silly, but I’m enjoying this one as much as the first one,” said Cedar Crest head coach Rob Wildasin, who’s never lost to Lebanon. “It’s a huge win. It’s our seniors’ last Cedar Bowl, and they haven’t lost one.

“We’ll be ready to go Monday morning,” continued Wildasin. “They’re (his charges) workmanlike. I’ll enjoy it until tomorrow night. I enjoy watching the kids enjoy it. I don’t know what they’re doing right now, and I’m not stepping in. It’s their moment.”

“The last four years, they really took it to us,” said Lebanon head coach Gerry Yonchiuk. “Tonight, I thought it was blow-for-blow for a while. It felt like 15 rounds to me.

“I told our guys after the game, ‘You’re at a crossroads’,” Yonchiuk. “It hurts. That’s five years in-a-row. When you lose your rivalry game, it’s really tough. If you win it, it builds a great deal of confidence. But if you lose it, now you’ve got to come back to play.”

Protecting a 13-7 halftime cushion, Cedar Crest drove the second-half kickoff 79 yards in 13 plays to get an eight-yard ‘counter’ from Seyfert that upped its advantage to 13 points. It was the tough running of Justice Belleman and A.J. Apple, inside and out, that set up Seyfert’s touchdown.

Then on the ensuing Falcon possession, sophomore quarterback Logan Horn located Seyfert behind the Cedar secondary, and hit him for the 38-yard scoring strike that made it 26-7.

“We needed that,” said Wildasin. “We needed that drive. It set the tone for the second half.

“They’re (Belleman and Apple) awesome, but it starts with the offensive line,” added Wildasin. “Those kids are tough, but they run with two different styles. We ran the ball. I love when we’re physical at the point of attack.”

“That was a back breaker,” said Yonchiuk of the Cedar Crest possession that started the third quarter. “We did some good things in the second quarter. They went 80 yards and that’s when they took it to us.

“I think they (the Falcons) do a really nice job offensively,” Yonchiuk added. “There were times they got off the ball and did the things they needed to do. I was impressed with their toughness. They will be a handful in Section Two (of the Lancaster-Lebanon League). They have a chance to have a very good year.”

Cedar Crest parlayed the running of Belleman and Apple into a 12-play, 61-yard march and an early 3-0 edge. Seyfert kept the drive alive by hauling in a 19-yard strike from Horn, and Ryland’s boot from 22 yards away was true.

Then 1:48 later, Horn and Seyfert connected on a 19-yard crossing route for Cedar Crest’s first touchdown of the season. Cedar Crest 10, Lebanon 0, with 2:27 left in the opening quarter.

The Cedars responded with their most impressive possession of the evening – a 15-play, 80-yard drive. It was the passing of Lebanon sophomore Zakee Sailsman that set the stage for the Josh Kauffman one-yard touchdown plunge that made it 10-7.

But it was the Falcons who carried momentum into the locker room, thanks to Zach Keffer’s interception and Ryland’s three-pointer, with ten seconds of the second quarter remaining.

“We are going to win as a team or lose as a team,” said Wildasin. “We were a little spotty, but we won as a team. I know we’re fighters. We’re together. We’re physical.

“That’s not our A-plus effort,” Wildasin continued. “We have more room to grow. We’re going to push to get better every week. We have a lot of work to do. Lebanon was a very good football team. We struggled at times with (Sailsman). But a win is a win, especially over your rival.”

“Apple’s a little quicker,” said Yonchiuk. “Belleman is a punishing back. He’s a load. When you have that, you’ve got to be physical. It’s a physical game.

“There’s some things I’m really happy with,” continued Yonchiuk. “But there were times we called particular plays and we had some breakdowns. But I think we have a good football team.”

The two-pronged attack of Belleman and Apple helped the Falcons churn out 336 yards of total offense. Belleman carried 23 times for 141 yards and Apple toted the pigskin 14 times for 96 yards.

Cedar Crest collected 20 first downs.

Sailsman completed 12 of 20 pass attempts for 95 yards and two interceptions. The Falcons held the Cedars to 182 yards of total offense.

“No, I’m pleased,” said Wildasin. “I just thought we missed some opportunities. No coach is going to like missing opportunities.

“It was just toughness,” added Wildasin. “Justice is a load. I wouldn’t want to tackle him all game.”

“We couldn’t establish the run enough in catch-up mode,” said Yonchiuk. “We’ve got to find ways to sustain drives. With experience, he’ll (Sailsman) throw the ball away. We didn’t execute as well as we should have. We know we’re going to have mistakes. We’re human. But we made too many mistakes.

“I thought the play of Sailsman  was a positive,” Yonchiuk added. “You can tell he’s going to be a great player. He’s electrifying when he has the ball. I thought we were physical in the first half, but in the second half we had lapses.”

The Cedars pulled to within two possessions of the lead, with 8:39 remaining, when Sailsman hit Luis Aquino-Rios with a strike in the right corner of the end zone, on a fourth-and-goal snap from the ten-yard line. Lebanon capitalized on a Falcon fumble.

The Cedars’ attempt at recovering an ensuing onside kick failed.

“I think I called a timeout at that point,” said Wildasin. “We got scattered. We just needed a reality check.

“He’s (Sailsman) tough,” Wildasin continued. “You can’t scheme for a guy that scrambles around like that. But they’re (the Cedars) going to win some games.”

“We were able to hold them, and then after we scored, we almost got the onside kick,” said Yonchiuk. “I thought it was the youth of our football team. We’ve got to step up. I’m disappointed with the substitutions and the game management, and that’s on me. It takes away opportunities. But I thought Josh Kauffman ran hard. He’s all over the field on defense. He’s the core of our football team, in terms of playing with energy.

“The thinking (adopting a more physical approach) really didn’t play into this game,” continued Yonchiuk. “This is just one game. It’s for the long haul. We’re doing it on the junior high level. We were definitely more physical (than they had been in the past). But it’s disappointing.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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2016 Cedar Crest Schedule

2016 Lebanon High Schedule