LEWISBURG - Lewisburg senior Brandon Smith stands over 6 feet tall and weighs more than 200 pounds. He doesn't need the odds to be in his favor in order to gain yards. He can run around defenders with his speed or through them with his power.
Smith didn't need to do either on a third-quarter screen pass against rival Mifflinburg on Friday night at Bucknell's Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
He received an escort service from his offensive linemen and wide receivers down the field and he turned the short pass from Nick Costagliola into a 35-yard touchdown.
It was one of four Smith touchdowns as the Green Dragons prepped for the District 4 Class AA playoffs with a convincing 38-6 win over the decimated Wildcats.
"They sent the house and coach did a good job of anticipating that," said Smith. "Our blockers got on them and I just had to make a few cuts and it was off the races there."
Lewisburg was already around the final turn and led 31-0 when Costagliola invited the Mifflinburg blitz into the backfield and dumped the ball to Smith, who turned his shoulders and looked downfield as four green shirts were in line to block two smaller Wildcats. It was the perfect play call and perfect execution - something the Green Dragons (8-2) know they will need as they move forward next week in what should be a highly-competitive District 4 Class AA playoff.
"We remember that loss last year and we've been hungry ever since then," said Smith. "Every game is going to be a fight for us."
Lewisburg will open those playoffs with a home game against Montoursville. The Green Dragons defeated the Warriors 27-22 earlier this year.
"District 4 AA is loaded from top to bottom, so every game is going to be a tough game," said Lewisburg coach Jeremy Winn.
Lewisburg didn't allow itself to look ahead on Friday night. The Green Dragons jumped out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead on a pair of Smith touchdown runs - one from a yard out and another from 47 yards away.
He finished with 205 rushing yards and three touchdowns and added 50 receiving yards and a score.
Andrew Nash contributed a 7-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and Max Reed kicked a 35-yard field before the half. Reed's kick gave the Green Dragons a 24-0 lead over the Wildcats (2-8) at the half.
Smith scored on a 62-yard run in the third quarter before breaking loose on the screen play for a 38-0 lead.
The one area Lewisburg did struggle a bit was with its passing game. Costagliola finished 7 of 21, but several of his incompletions were on the mark but dropped by Lewisburg receivers who seemed to have trouble with the blustery cold weather.
The Lewisburg defense had little trouble and held Mifflinburg to 38 rushing yards on 34 attempts. That number was skewed a little because Mifflinburg lost 35 yards on a bad snap in the first quarter. The Wildcats, who have dealt with several injuries this season after they were expected to compete for district and HAC-I titles, totaled just 129 yards.
More than 100 of those yards came in Mifflinburg's final two possessions, including a 61-yard scoring drive that ended with an Oakley Whitesel touchdown with 7:09 left in the fourth quarter.
"We came out with some intensity and our first group did a great job and really limited them to any kind of offense," said Winn.
