By T.J. Turrisi
Dec. 15, 2006
December 14, 2006 11:43 pm
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HERSHEY — Irony is a funny thing.
For just the second time since a Week 9 contest with the Meadville Bulldogs, the General McLane Lancers are favored to win today.
In other words, they were underdogs right up until the state finals. Now they are the No. 1 ranked Class AAA team.
“It’s pretty funny, because we started out at the beginning of the playoffs ranked third in the district, and after five weeks, now we’re No. 1 in the state,” head coach Jim Wells said earlier in the week. “Usually you look at those polls and you see seven WPIAL teams, and now you see us at the top. There’s two teams left, so I guess they must be 1 and 2.”
The Lancers (12-2) face the Pottsville Crimson Tide (13-2) of District 11 at 7 p.m. this evening.
The Tide are in the state finals for just the second time in school history. This trip is the first for McLane.
Following a tough 27-21 loss to Franklin Regional in last season’s West final, McLane was forced to watch the final from home, as Pottsville suffered a 23-13 defeat.
The Crimson Tide vowed to return, and made good on that promise.
McLane also set its sights on the next step, and they too have been successful.
Today, however, only one team can get the gold.
“It’s a great experience, and its one of those things that has been coming,” Wells said. “We got our first playoff win, then we had our first district title, then we beat a team in interdistricts, then we got to the Western Finals, and now we’re in the state championship.”
The final step has yet to be taken, but GM knows what it’s in for with Pottsville.
“They’re big up front; they’ve got a great running back, and I think they’re gonna be extra hungry because they were there last year and took a loss,” McLane senior captain Drew Astorino said. “It’s gonna be a dogfight.”
Tom McFarland leads all Tide rushers with 1,716 yards on the season.
Ryan Skelton is McLane’s top ground gainer with 1,133 stripes.
Pottsville brings the pride of the coal region into this championship. McLane, already having proven itself last week with a 28-7 win over D7’s Thomas Jefferson, will also be representing its own region.
“It’s great to be the first ECL (old Erie County League) team to make it to the state championship,” Astorino said. “We’ve been underdogs every single game, and I think we thrive off of proving people wrong. Hopefully, we represent District 10 well. I know everybody’s proud of us.”
Astorino is the second-leading rusher in a McLane offense which thrives on the ground attack.
Because he is just as modest as every player on his team, he was quick to give credit for their ability to gain 282.5 rush yards per game to everyone.
“We’ve been running real well, and I think that’s a tribute to our line and our backs just getting it done on all facets of the game,” Astorino said. “I think our defense helped us out, getting (the offense) good field position as well, so hopefully we can keep doing what we’ve been doing the past five weeks.”
In order to keep that pace, the O-line will no doubt be an integral part of the match-up.
“They’re disciplined to block the right guy, and that does a lot for our offense,” Wells said of the guys up front. “We’ve got to work on some things, but overall they use very good technique. They believe in each other, and they work together as a unit.”
Bill Frick, the McLane offensive line coach, also expressed his excitement for being able to give D10 a bigger name on the state level.
“It’s definitely a great feeling that we can represent District 10,” Frick said. “We have two teams in the finals, and that’s amazing. It shows we’re taking that next step in showing Pittsburgh that we can compete with them.”
The McLane defense has not allowed more than one touchdown so far in the playoffs.
Pottsville is averaging 16.6 points allowed per game in the postseason.
Coach Wells offered some extra insight on what Pottsville head coach Kevin Keating has come up with using his 81-player roster.
“They’re very, very strong and very big,” he said. “They’re offensive line is excellent. They’re a physical team on offense.
“Defensively, they use a little bit more speed than they do power. They like to slant everything defensively, and then use their speed to get to the ball.”
The Crimson Tide’s losses came against a Class AAAA team and a Class AAA team much like McLane.
In Week 6, the Governor Mifflin Mustangs took the Tide in a 20-16 final.
Mifflin went on to lose to State College in the Class AAAA West semifinal 21-0.
The Daniel Boone Blazers handed Pottsville its most lopsided loss of the season in Week 9, 48-26.
Boone was eliminated early in the second round of the District 3 playoffs by Manheim Central.
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