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Danville wins thriller over Lewisburg to win District 4 3A Title

Tagged under: District 4, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

| November 16, 2024

DANVILLE – This year’s District 4 Title game for a fourth consecutive season brought us to Ironmen Stadium, the home of the undefeated Danville Ironmen. Coming off a strong 35-10 win over Montoursville last week, Danville entered the district title game with an undefeated record for the second time in three years. However this year unlike the past two years, they didn’t face off against their soon-to-be opponent in the regular season, that opponent being the Lewisburg Green Dragons. Lewisburg came into the matchup sitting with one lone loss and with only one goal in mind, to dethrone the defending District 4 champions who had earned that title four straight years.

“We feel pretty good, just understanding that this is business as usual, we want to come out here and make sure we’re 1-0 by the time we go home,” Lewisburg head coach Eric Wicks said before the game. “The biggest thing we’re gonna do is make sure we fight for our teammates and understand that we got a lot more banking on this game than just football. For us, we’re just gonna go out there and give it everything we got, with every chance and every play.”

For the Green Dragons the game plan was very simple, to control the clock and give the ball the senior running back Jeremiah Davis, which Wicks mentioned as well before the game. On the other side of the matchup are the favorites in this matchup, the Danville Ironmen who have their two big name seniors leading the charge in quarterback Madden Patrick and running back Bo Sheptock.

“We just gotta play our game, we gotta play up to our capability and play four quarters of football,” Danville head coach Carl Majer said before the game. “Our plan is just like any other plan, to control the line of scrimmage, limit the mistakes, limit turning the ball over, and to take the ball away from them.”

On the opening drive of the game, Lewisburg wanted to show the Ironmen why Jeremiah Davis was third in rushing yards among the running backs of District 4. Davis took 7 carries on the opening drive and turned it into 26 yards, including runs of 11 yards and 14 yards. Lewisburg’s 12 play, 45 yard drive didn’t contain a single pass, however it ultimately led to no points for the Green Dragons as Cohen Hoover’s 37 yard field goal attempt sailed wide left. They were able to grind a good amount of clock on that opening drive, holding onto the ball for almost 7 and a half minutes before Danville got their first possession.

Lewisburg’s defense, which had held opponents to just over 13 points per game this season, stood strong on Danville’s opening drive. The Ironmen went three and out on their opening possession and Bo Sheptock’s first two carries of the game went for a total of -7 yards. This was a great sign for Lewisburg and the drive that followed would be too. Lewisburg’s second possession began at Danville’s 48 yard line, and they needed just four plays to make it to the end zone and put the first points of the game on the board. Davis carried the ball twice on that drive, one carry being for 7 yards, and the other for 35 yards and the game’s first score. The missed extra point by Hoover kept the lead at 6-0 with just 49 seconds left in the first, and up to this point, Lewisburg has possessed the ball for 16 plays and just under 10 minutes compared to Danville’s 3 plays and barely over 1 minute.

The Ironmen’s second drive was better than their first, spanning 5 plays and 22 yards, however it also led to a punt and it left the coaches and players on the Danville sideline scratching their heads. Fortunately for Danville, the spark they needed was right around the corner. After forcing a three and out for Lewisburg, Sheptock returned the punt down the right sideline all the way to 6 yard line of Lewisburg, and not long after, Danville found the end zone. A holding penalty set the Ironmen back 10 yards but this did not phase their offense. Madden Patrick lofted a beautiful pass to the corner of the end zone for Cole Duffy, getting Danville on the board and putting them ahead 7-6 three and a half minutes into the second quarter.

Lewisburg saw their first big passing play on the next drive, a beautiful catch by sophomore receiver Jaylen Walker set up the Green Dragons close to midfield after just two plays. The next two plays were runs by none other Jeremiah Davis and just like that, Lewisburg was at the 44 yard line of Danville. Unfortunately for the Green Dragons, the drive came to an end on the next play as a deep pass down the right sideline was intercepted on a jump ball by Danville’s Cole Duffy at the 22 yard line. Bo Sheptock had yet to find his stride in this game as his stat line up to this point remained at 2 carries for -7 yards, this would change on the next possession though. Sheptock totaled 5 carries for 55 yards on the next drive, which included a 18 yard run which could’ve been much longer if a holding penalty wasn’t called. Mid-way through the possession, a 15 yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by Lewisburg set up Danville at the 29 yard line. Four plays later, Sheptock found his way to the end zone on a 17 yard run, increasing Danville’s lead to 14-6 with just over 3 minutes to go in the half.

Lewisburg was starting to lose their grip on the game that they seemed to have a grasp on in the early stages, however they weren’t going to back down yet. The opening drive began with another beautiful catch by Jaylen Walker, this time for 29 yards, already getting Lewisburg back up to midfield. After three straight runs by Jeremiah Davis, the Green Dragons found themselves staring at a 4th and 2 from the 43 yard line. Lewisburg tried a run to the right side with Davis, however he was tackled a yard short of the line to gain, giving Danville possession once again with under 2 minutes to play in the half.

With the Ironmen having deferred to the second half, Danville now had an opportunity to gain a huge advantage on Lewisburg by possibly doubling up. Danville began the drive at their own 42 and opened it up with a 23 yard completion to Carter Raup. Two plays later, Madden Patrick completed another nice pass to Cole Duffy for 12 yards, setting the Ironmen up at Lewisburg’s 23 yard line. The drive began to stall for Danville as two straight incompletions left them staring at a 3rd and 10 before an 8 yard run got them down to the 15 yard line. With just 6 seconds left in the half, Garrett Hoffman was lined up to attempt a 32 yard field goal which would put Danville up by 11 going into the half, however right before the kick Lewisburg called their final timeout to attempt to “ice the kicker” as they say. The strategy worked for Lewisburg as Hoffman’s kick sailed low and to the left, keeping it a one score game as both teams headed to the locker room.

“We gotta get back to playing our type of football, we were just making a little bit of mistakes but not only that we’re not playing team ball like we normally do,” coach Eric Wicks said at halftime. “It’s just a team thing, some guys are getting off their double teams too fast, trying to do their own thing, trying to win the one on one battles. Like we said we’re a team, we go eleven-on-eleven, so if we can get back to that and doing what we’ve been doing all year I think we’ll be fine.”

As mentioned earlier, Danville elected to defer to the second half so they had the opening possession of the third quarter. The Ironmen made their way up to their own 41 yard line before the drive stalled. On a 4th and 1 from inside their own territory, Danville opted to go for it rather than punting it and ultimately they were unsuccessful. Madden Patrick’s quarterback sneak came up just short of the line to gain, giving Lewisburg a much needed spark. That next drive for Lewisburg almost came to a quick end though, as after three plays they found themselves staring at another 4th and short, luckily a quarterback sneak by Chase Wenrich kept the drive alive. Six of the first seven plays on this drive were Jeremiah Davis runs, the only other play being that quarterback sneak. After a 2 yard run by Quin Micheals setting them up at the 5 yard line, an incomplete pass left the Green Dragons staring at yet another 4th and short. This time however, Lewisburg took the opportunity that was in front of them and settled for the 22 yard field goal by Cohen Hoover, cutting the deficit down to 5 halfway through the third quarter.

With Danville now only leading by 5, they went to work on offense once again from their own 20. Patrick completed a 10 yard pass to Carter Raup to begin the drive, followed up by three straight runs by Bo Sheptock, moving Danville up to the 42 yard line. After a 7 yard completion to Cole Duffy, Patrick looked his way again on 2nd down, however this pass was tipped in the air and grabbed by linebacker Danon Alabakoff and returned to the 43 yard line. The game had completely turned upside down, Danville was in shock and now all the sudden, Lewisburg was in control. Lewisburg went back to Davis on their next drive, the first five plays in fact which went for 25 more rushing yards which put Lewisburg inside Danville’s 20 yard line as the third quarter ended. Five more plays was all Lewisburg needed to cash in, and it was none other than Jeremiah Davis running it in from 5 yards out putting the Green Dragons back in the lead. Lewisburg ran a jet sweep to Quin Micheals on the two point conversion, and after just barely making it across the goal line, the Green Dragons were in the lead 17-14 just under 3 minutes into the fourth quarter.

As the Ironmen offense took the field once again, they found themselves trailing for the first time since early in the second quarter. A personal foul on the kickoff backed the Ironmen up all the way to their own 13, nevertheless, they had work to be done. The poor field position was no issue for Danville, as quarterback Madden Patrick executed a beautiful 13 play, 87 yard drive, that ended up in the end zone thanks to a four yard run by Bo Sheptock. The 87 yard drive took up close to 7 minutes, leaving just under 4 and a half to play in regulation.

Lewisburg’s offense took the field once again, now trailing by 3 and in control of their own destiny. By the way the game had been going, it was certainly possible for the Green Dragons to grind the clock with their rushing attack and either tie the game or go ahead with little time remaining. This ended up not being the case though, as on the second play of the drive, Davis took the handoff, found a lane, and sprinted 77 yards all the way to the end zone, giving Lewisburg the lead back at 24-21. The problem for Lewisburg now, was that there was still 3:42 left on the clock, that being more than enough time for the Ironmen to respond, and that’s exactly what happened. Quarterback Madden Patrick showed off his passing and rushing abilities on the 9 play drive, accounting for 46 of the 69 total yards on the drive, including the game winning touchdown pass to Carter Raup.

With Lewisburg down to their final gasp, trailing 28-24 with 47 seconds left, the Green Dragons went to work one final time. An incomplete pass, followed by a run for no gain by Davis, left the Green Dragons staring at a 3rd and long with little hope left. Wenrich gave it one last shot and heaved the ball down the middle, however it was picked off by Carter Raup, who also made the game winning touchdown catch. Raup now had that, along with the game sealing interception. One final kneel down by Patrick ended Lewisburg’s hopes and their season at a final score of 28-24.

“They played us very well that’s a great team there, they put together a bunch of seniors that fought and didn’t want to give up, but we have a real good football team like I told you in the beginning and the kids didn’t get down, they bend but they don’t break, they made the plays when we had to, they stuck together and they didn’t give up,” Danville head coach Carl Majer said after the win. “We got a great group of kids that have played a long time together that won’t give up, and they find a way to play and get it done, and that’s what they’ve been doing. Our first goal was winning the league, now we won the district title, now we gotta go back on Monday 0-0 and get ready for our next opponent.”

“I’m feeling nothing but joy right now, I’m proud of the way we handled adversity, I challenged the line with a couple minutes left that we need to dig deep, and this is what we’ve been working for since June,” quarterback Madden Patrick said after the game. “In the back of my head I was thinking about we as a team, you know big time players make big time plays in big time moments. When I throw the ball I know anybody can come down with it, and Carter Raup made one heck of a catch and secured it in bounds.”

For Danville, their pursuit of a state title continues as they improve to a perfect 12-0 and they secured their fifth consecutive district title. The Ironmen currently await for the location of their next matchup, which will be against the District 3 champion Bermudian Springs (11-1). With the loss, the Green Dragons season comes to a heartbreaking end, finishing the year with a record of 10-2, their best finish by far under fourth year head coach Eric Wicks.

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