Wayne County Life

By John Addyman
johnaddyman@waynecountylife.com

MANCHESTER (Sep 11 10) – When the air is filled with footballs and your guys aren’t the ones catching them, it’s going to be a long afternoon.

RED JACK QUARTERBACK TREVOR SANDERS (18) got pressure from Lyons defenders for most of the game, but a quick release and athletic receivers -- plus a lot of Lyons mistakes in coverage assignments-- equalled a 364-yard day for Sanders

That was pretty much the bottom line from this afternoon’s game, where Lyons played adequate defense against the rush and on special teams, but went to Manchester in a handbasket on pass protection.

Red Jacket senior quarterback Trevor Sanders, a big kid with a very decent arm, found out early that Lyons defensive backs were neither slowing down his receivers not staying with them on their last cuts. He threw four touchdown passes in the first half of 64, 43, 13 and 70 yards, and every one of them added one more weight of desperation to a young Lyons team that was trying to stay in the game.

Sanders completed 12 passes, good for 364 yards, and ended the day with five scores.

As the points piled up, Lyons coach Dom Monacelli and his staff repeatedly called time-out to get the team back on the game plan pages and try to inject some confidence into a progressively dispirited team.

ALEX MUSOLINO (24) rushed for 266 yards on 26 carries but Lyons needed more -- Red Jacket minced the Lions, 52-18

There were glimmers of hope in the second half when Alex Musolino capped the opening Lyons drive with an 11-yard touchdown. When he hit the middle of the line, it moved, and he ended the day with 266 yards rushing on 28 carries, and the one score.

Red Jacket, which had a 30-0 first-half lead before Musolino scored, then scored five plays later, and it was the bad old first half all over again.

But not quite so bad. The defense stiffened, and when the Indians had to punt out of their own end of the field, sophomore Jacob Kehoe made an important play.

Red Jacket had been using a no-huddle offense most of the game, their up-tempo another dagger in the Lions’ efforts to control the game. When the Indians lined up for the punt, Lyons was still getting kids on the field – players who got to the line of scrimmage at almost a dead run. When the ball was snapped, the Lions – with maybe eight kids on the field – came storming through the gaps.

LYONS COACH DOM MONACELLI gathers his kids for a talk-to after they fell behind 30-0 in the first half

“It was a bad snap,” Kehoe explained. Hixson, the punter, picked up the ball, but Kehoe was already on top of him as Hixson tried to kick. “I blocked it with my side,” said Kehoe. “Then I saw it rolling around on the ground and dove on it.”

Kehoe dropped on the ball in the end zone, and Lyons had its second score. When Dillon Bornheimer caught a 36-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Lucas Aunkst, the Lions had scored 18 points in the second half; Red Jacket had scored 20.

“We left a lot to be desired in our pass coverage,” Monacelli said after the game. Hixson, for instance, caught seven passes for 209 yards and four touchdowns. “He’s a big target and a good athlete,” said Monacelli, “and the quarterback gets the ball out quick. We had a lot of breakdowns in our coverage and they took advantage of them.

LYONS RUNNING BACK STEPHON PETTY (3) tries to maneuver around left end, but Red Jacket defenders weren't having it

“A lot of times we were in the right spots but they just had athletic kids that made the plays. A couple of our kids got rattled, but they regrouped and came back in the second half. We’ve got young kids and they’re learning how to come back after momentum shifts.

‘We did some good things today – Alex Musolino rushed for more than 250 yards and our kids stopped the run well (Red Jacket had 51 yards rushing), but we’ve got to work on stopping the pass.”

Lyons is 0-2; the Indians are unbeaten.

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