2002 In Review

Week 11

Friday November 11, 2005

Versus

Lower Dauphin

District 3 AAA Quarterfinals

They Said We Couldn't Do It………

What, upstart Northern go into Hershey Park Stadium and knock off the #5 Team in the state, impossible. You mean the team from Northern York County who wears purple and white; the #8 seed from Dillsburg has a shot to beat the #1 seed powerhouse Lower Dauphin Falcons, unthinkable. We should just be honored to be on the same field with those guys.

WRONG!

From the opening kickoff, the Polar Bears played with a determination that would not end with just earning respect. They were there to win. Lower Dauphin is a great football team and program. Coach Rob Klock had the Falcons running on all cylinders coming in to the stadium. They had run the table during the regular season but for a 6 point loss to AAAA Carlisle last Friday night, a game Carlisle had to have to secure a playoff berth. They had earned the #1 seed in the playoff bracket before they even took the field for their last game and, they were ranked number 5 in the state. They have a terrific tandem in QB Zack Umberger and prolific RB Tucker Berry. They had just never faced a team like Northern before.

Coach Mauck's team came ready. Coach Tom Wise had designed a game plan that would attack- attack-attack. Northern blitzed, shot and filled all the gaps, all night long. They got after Umberger with a reckless abandon sacking him four times but chasing and hitting him from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. But for a breakout run late in the game, they shut down All-Star Tucker Berry who had come into the game with 1771 rushing yards and 29 touch downs. The Bears Defense savaged Lower Dauphin forcing 6 fumbles and completely dominating the line of scrimmage. Brandon Adams, Scott Albright, and Jake Scott, played on LD's side of the ball the entire game. Craig Moose and Jimmy Miller blitzed, backed off, and blitzed again. Moose batted down two passes while Jimmy made eight tackles and recovered a Berry fumble. Chad Halterman had 3 sacks and a fumble recovery. It seemed that every time Berry touched the ball, he was immediately hit by a Polar Bear. The secondary provided blanket coverage led by Ryan Stephenson and Bret Seik. Gerald Anderson flew all over the field providing one of the best hits of the night on punt coverage burying LD's return man just seconds after fielding a Corey Betz punt.

Offensively, the balanced attack of running and passing kept the Falcons on their heels, particularly in the second half when Colby Betz really got it going. His accuracy and touch was dead-on as he completed 9 passes for 184 yards and 3 touchdowns. Corey Betz led all receivers with 4 catches for 84 yards and the pivotal 1st touchdown of the game. Mike Romagnoli pounded for 78 tough yards on 18 carries and had a touch down called back on a holding call. Chad Halterman added 2 big catches for 44 yards. Speaking of big catches, Ryan Stephenson's 24 yard 3rd down, touchdown, was a thing of beauty as he was draped by 3 Falcons. Digger Morret's 35 yard touchdown across the middle essentially sealed the deal for the Lancaster County bound Polar Bears.

Special praise goes to the Northern offensive line that stood their ground and protected Colby when it really counted.

Coulson-Wicker-Watson-Adams-Siefert-Hopkins

Congratulations to the players and coaches who will travel to Manheim Central next week to play the defending District 3 Champion Barons in a rematch of last year's District semi-final. The pundits will say that we have no chance, that we're playing on borrowed time, and that we're not in the same league with the Barons.

But we know better!

Next Week Vs. Manheim Central at Manheim Central

Re-Match

District 3 AAA Semi-Finals

Date and Time TBD.