Three quick touchdowns help Lansdale Catholic handle Archbishop Carroll
CONSHOHOCKEN >> Lansdale Catholic scored three touchdowns in a 1:56 stretch around halftime to take complete control of its Philadelphia Catholic League Blue Division matchup with Archbishop Carroll Friday night.
Two touchdowns on back-to-back plays late in the second quarter and a 73-yard strike on the first play from scrimmage in the third extended a six-point lead to 27 and the Crusaders never looked back, cruising to a 34-2 win over the Patriots on the Conshohocken A-Field.
“Special team touchdowns are huge for us,” LC quarterback Cole Meehan said of the second of the three touchdowns. “They can change a game. We got the momentum after that. After the first touchdown, we started off slow, it just took us a little bit to get into it.”
The first score of the game-changing sequence capped a seven-play LC drive. The Crusaders (5-1, 2-1 PCL Blue) took advantage of a nine-yard Carroll punt and started their drive on the plus side of midfield. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the Patriots (0-6, 0-3 PCL Blue) moved LC up to the 14-yard line and Ian Gramlich finished the possession with a two-yard touchdown run. Meehan hit Gio Zito for the two-point conversion and made it 14-0.
Carroll fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Zito was there to recover and take it into the endzone for another score. The extra point was blocked and the 20-0 lead held until halftime.
On the first play of the second half, Meehan launched a deep pass down the left sideline. Wide receiver Yeboa Cobbold pulled it in and raced the rest of the way for a 73-yard touchdown and 27-0 lead.
“We knew all halftime we were going to come out like that,” Meehan said. “If they’re going to man us up, we’re going to go deep on them.
“Boa had him beat. I’ll take my guy Boa all day over him. I liked that matchup.”
Meehan ran for a 17-yard score later in the third quarter to make it 34-0 and Carroll blocked a punt for a safety early in the fourth to get the 34-2 final score.
After a scoreless first quarter, LC took a 6-0 lead when Efrain Quiles ran for a five-yard touchdown.
Meehan went 12-for-18 for 239 yards and a touchdown and added 21 yards and a touchdown on the ground. The offense totaled 336 yards with Gramlich leading a balanced rushing attack with 25 yards.
“It really started up front,” Meehan said of the offensive success. “I had all the time in the backfield back there. It was just a team effort – our receivers running sharp routes, open. I just don’t think they could guard us tonight.
“We watched film, we studied them. It changes every week. We got guys that can just switch. We’ve got athletes on our team. Really, we just prepare, practice and went deep this week. At practice we knew we’d have no safety over the top, so we want to take it.”
Carroll quarterback James Wright went 12-for-24 for 74 yards and an interception through the air and ran for 31 yards on 12 carries.
With Carroll’s two points coming on a safety, it’s the second straight week the LC defense didn’t allow any points. They shutout Conwell-Egan, 10-0, in Week 5.
“Big team effort,” LC linebacker Bobby Lombardo said. “We got fast, big, athletic guys up front and we’ve got smart d-backs and linebackers. We all just flew to the ball. It’s a great team defense.”
LC held Carroll to 137 total yards of offense.
“They have a big, strong line,” Lombardo said. “We knew that coming in. We wanted to use our speed to our advantage, which I feel like we did. We wanted to make them do something they don’t normally do. They normally try to run the ball and they had to pass the ball and we saw what happened.”
Lansdale Catholic 34, Archbishop Carroll 2
Archbishop Carroll 0 0 0 2 – 2
Lansdale Catholic 0 20 14 0 – 34
Scoring
Second Quarter
LC – Efrain Quiles 5-yard run (kick failed) 8:08
LC – Ian Gramlich 2-yard run (Cole Meehan to Gio Zito for 2) 1:42
LC – Gio Zito 10-yard fumble return (kick blocked) 1:31
Third Quarter
LC – Yeboa Cobbold 73-yard reception from Cole Meehan (Logan Jeffery kick) 11:46
LC – Cole Meehan 17-yard run (Logan Jeffery kick) 4:17
Fourth Quarter
AC – Safety 9:04
Team Statistics
AC LC
First downs 9 17
Rushes-yards 20-63 32-97
Passing yards 74 239
Total yards 137 336
Passing 12-24-1 12-18-0
Punts 3 1
Fumbles-Lost 4-2 2-2
Penalties-Yards 2-18 6-50
Individual Statistics
Rushing
AC: Hasaan Bailey 5-28; Josh Jones 2-4; James Wright 12-31; Adam Moffitt 1-0.
LC: Jacahi Streeter 9-18; Efrain Quiles 5-21, TD; Cole Meehan 5-21, TD; Ian Gramlich 6-25, TD; JP Bayne 7-17.
Passing
AC: James Wright 12-24-74-0-1.
LC: Cole Meehan 12-18-239-1-0.
Receiving
AC: Mason Graham 1-0; Hasaan Bailey 1-13; Shane Bockrath 2-15; Vaughn Wheeler 2-7; Pat Liney 2-21; Mason Waller 1-(-2); Adam Moffitt 2-14; Luke Watson 1-6.
LC: Efrain Quiles 3-38; James Webb 3-64; Jack Trzeciak 2-34; Yeboa Cobbold 3-101, TD; Matt Daly 1-3.
Interceptions
LC: Matt Daly.
