The Northern Lebanon football squad turned big plays into a big season. And no one epitomized the Vikings’ big-play capabilities more than Christian Trader.

On a Week Eleven Friday night at Fred Gahres Stadium, Trader continued to show off his big-play, big-game skills, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Northern Lebanon from falling to Lampeter-Strasburg, 34-19 in the opening round of the PIAA District Three Class AAAA playoffs.  It was two long Trader pass receptions in the first half that had the Vikings smelling upset.

First, Trader hauled in a 63-yard touchdown toss from quarterback Michigan Daub to stake the Vikings to a 6-0 lead in the first quarter. Then Trader scored on a 53-yard catch-and-run collaboration with Daub in the second period to put Northern Lebanon ahead 19-14.

For the game, Trader caught five balls for 182 yards.

Trader tallied 13 touchdowns this fall, only one of which came from less than 25 yards way. Three of those touchdowns covered distances of 80 yards or more.

Trader’s explosiveness helped the Vikings to the Lancaster-Lebanon Section Three championship, their third in four seasons.

 – Jeff Falk