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Warrior Run Outlasts Loyalsock in 47-42 Thriller

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

| October 4, 2025

WILLIAMSPORT – Coming into this matchup, Warrior Run hadn’t beaten Loyalsock since 2005. The last 12 meetings had all ended in losses for the Defenders, that was until tonight. In a game that featured plenty of offensive firepower, Warrior Run (6-1) emerged victorious in a 47-42 thriller over Loyalsock (4-3).

Warrior Run received the opening kickoff and it didn’t take them long to put the first points of the game on the board, as quarterback James Keifer was able to find Cohen Zechman down the sideline for a 52 yard strike just two minutes into the game.

Over the first two drives of the game, the Lancers had a grand total of -10 yards of offense. This included a drive where they started at the Defenders’ 35 yard line following a blocked punt where the offense did absolutely nothing. Now looking at their third possession of the game and starting at their own 10 yard line, Loyalsock finally found an answer on an 88 yard strike from Danny Dowell to Nahmir Thomas, tying the score up at seven on the final play of the first quarter.

The next drives featured back-to-back touchdowns from both Warrior Run and Loyalsock, with the Defenders executing a long and methodic drive while Loyalsock relied on the chunk plays. The chunk play that mattered the most for the Lancers was a 62 yard carry from Jalil Coates, his first of three touchdowns on the night.

Now back on offense again, Warrior Run needed more ball control which is something that head coach Derrick Zechman has been very high on all season long. Their following drive was able to chew up over four minutes of clock before getting into the end zone. This touchdown came from Tyler Ulrich, that being his second touchdown of the night up to that point, however the extra point doinked off the left upright, keeping the score at a six point game.

Loyalsock took full advantage of that missed extra point on their next drive, executing a beautiful seven play drive after beginning in Warrior Run territory. Their touchdown came once again from Jalil Coates, giving the Lancers the lead with just 22 seconds left.

Staring at a 21-20 score with just under 20 seconds left, as well as two timeouts in their back pocket, Warrior Run needed just two big plays to find the end zone once again, this one being another deep shot to Cohen Zechman who found his way behind the Lancers’ secondary. The two point conversion was a pass that went off the hands of Tyler Ulrich and somehow landed in the arms of Zechman, giving the Defenders a seven point lead heading into halftime.

“We’re in arena football right now, we’ve got to find a way to get a stop cause we keep going back and forth. I like where our offense is, but we need to make plays on defense and it’s gonna be a battle in the second half to say the least,” Warrior Run head coach Derrick Zechman said at halftime.

After such a disheartening way to end the first half for Loyalsock, they took the opening drive all the way down the field, scoring on a 10 yard carry from Coates that tied the game back up at 28 a piece. That touchdown was Coates’ third of the night, and was actually the second time this season that he’s scored three times in one game, the first time being on September 12th against Midd-West.

The next big play for the Lancers came on the following drive, after forcing back-to-back incompletions on second and third down, the Defenders were staring at a 4th and 10 from the Lancers’ 24 yard line. Instead of attempting a field goal, Warrior Run opted to go for it and on that attempt, Keifer’s pass intended Liam Moore fell to the ground incomplete. That play shifted momentum in Loyalsock’s favor, and not too long after the stop, the Lancers capitalized. Quarterback Danny Dowell connected with Nahmir Thomas for a second time, this one being from 51 yards out, giving Loyalsock a seven point lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter ended up featuring arguably the biggest momentum shift of the entire game. After driving down the field and answering with a touchdown of their own, Warrior Run attempted a two point conversion thanks to a penalty on the PAT attempt. This conversion attempt ultimately failed and kept the Defenders behind by one with under eight minutes to go. The ensuing kickoff was a disaster for the Lancers, as it took an awkward bounce and clipped the fingertips of the return man Jalil Coates before rolling out of bounds at their own two yard line.

This play gave the Defenders just what they needed to steal the momentum back, as on just the second play of the ensuing drive, Dowell’s pass was intercepted by Cohen Zechman, setting the Defenders up inside the red zone.

Warrior Run took the lead on a touchdown carry from Denyn Beachel, however a second failed two point conversion meant they were only ahead by five points. The Defenders were able to take the wind out of the Lancers sails after stopping them on a 4th and 15 at midfield with just over four minutes left, and the drive that followed was really the final nail in the coffin. A second touchdown carry from Beachel put the Defenders ahead 47-35 leaving just over a minute left on the clock, as well as Loyalsock being out of timeouts.

Loyalsock was able to score once more to give them a glimmer of hope, but they were unable to recover the onside kick, sealing the victory for Warrior Run who improves to 6-1 for the first time since 2005, which coincidentally was the last time Warrior Run had beaten Loyalsock.

“It was an offensive showcase for both teams, we’re very happy and fortunate and so proud of our guys to find a way to come out with the win,” Warrior Run head coach Derrick Zechman said after the game. “It feels great to be able to walk out of here with a win against a really good team that’s been playing really good football. Hats off to Loyalsock such a hard fought game, a lot of points on the board.”

“We’re exceeding what I thought we would play coming into this year, exceeding expectations in my opinion,” Cohen Zechman said after the game. “I think deep down inside we knew we could be this good, it’s just a matter of believing in ourselves, and overcoming that adversity, and we showed that tonight.”

Warrior Run improves to 6-1 on the season with the victory and they’ll be back at home next week to face Hughesville. Loyalsock drops to 4-3 on the season with the loss and they’ll be on the road next week against Danville.

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