November 1-3

The eleventh month of the year began on Wednesday, had my usual lunch visit with Jenny in Quarryville. On Thursday I stopped by the rink after lunch and did some prelim work for the evening. This is the time of year for it although for us falling leaves is not just an autumn phenomenon, it is a year-round thing. On this night we finished week #5 with each team playing its twelfth game, winners included the Hammerheads over the Pub Dawgs, the UniLords over the Owls, the Steamers over the Kings and the Misfits over the Riot. On Friday high school football's regular season ended, I was at brand-new Crusader Stadium for the second time in 2017. Lancaster Catholic hosted Northern Lebanon, before the game we did the usual Senior Night recognitions. The Crusaders started out with four non-league games and lost them all but in league play they rebounded with a 5-0 mark. NL entered the night also unbeaten in league play (8-1 overall) making this game a de facto division championship game. The first quarter was scoreless as both teams struggled offensively, in the second Northern Lebanon broke through with a TD to lead 7-0 at the half. NL got the kickoff to start the second half and wasted no time extending the lead to 14-0, at that point the alarm bell rang on the Crusader side of the field. A seven-run TD run by Malkam Lawrence and Conner Engle's PAT made it 14-7 after three, in the final quarter C.J. Zimmerman scored on a ten-yard run, Engle's XP kick tied the game at 14-up. It all set the stage for a fantastic finish but for LCHS it turned into a disaster. The Crusaders had possession deep in their own territory in the final two minutes when a lost fumble gave NL a first-and-goal at the ten-yard line, they cashed in to go up 21-14 with a minute left. On their next possession the Crusaders were able to advance to the NL 26-yard line with four seconds left, the would-be game-tying pass attempt fell incomplete in the end zone as time expired. For LCHS it is a heartbreaking loss made all the more so because it signals the end of head coach Bruce Harbach's career. Earlier in the fall he announced his retirement after sixteen year as the head man at LCHS (and forty-one years in the business), under his watch the Crusader program won seven division titles, four district championships and the state title twice (2009 and 2011). Saw on the Internet where McCaskey lost their finale to finish at 2-8. There are other schools in the area who will participate in district playoffs but for me the season is OVER. Take care, thanks for reading.