Late Sports

Lewisburg cruises by Milton for a win at Williamsport High School

Jeremiah Davis wanted a punt block more than anything.

The Lewisburg freshman could have slowed down with the Green Dragons prepared to field a Milton punt late in the first quarter but the Lewisburg freshman saw an opportunity.

The blocked punt was one of a pair of important plays from Davis as Lewisburg beat Milton, 52-14, at STA Stadium on Friday night.

Lewisburg had scored early but wanted more.

Lewisburg drifted back into a “punt safe” formation, willing to attempt and extend its lead in a more-traditional fashion. But Jeremiah Davis was a quick learner. After running into a Milton wall when trying to get pressure on the first punt from the Black Panthers, he tried something different. Slipping inside, he found his way to the ball with Shane Farmer collecting the bouncing ball and returning it into the red zone.

“I ran as fast as I could, put my hands up and before I knew it, I was there,” Davis said. “That’s all I wanted was to get a block.”

It may have also been all that Lewisburg coach Eric Wicks wanted.

“Jeremiah made an awesome play,” Wicks said. “He did an awesome job getting off the ball and getting around that edge.”

Two plays later, Ethan Dominick scored from three yards to give Lewisburg a 15-0 lead.

Davis stayed involved in the Lewisburg defensive gameplan in the middle quarters before coming out of the locker room and returning the opening kickoff 86 yards for a Lewisburg score. He later picked the offensive side of the ball to find the end zone for the second time. Davis caught a screen pass from Derek Asche, ricocheted off of what appeared to be a sure tackle for a loss before racing down the sideline and into the end zone. The touchdown proved to be the final score and bookended Davis’ night.

In between additions to Davis’ highlight tape, Lewisburg found open lanes offensively throughout, taking advantage of short fields, aided by a pair of sacks from Brayden Schreffler and Lafayette-bound Owen Ordonez. The Green Dragons (4-3) topped 100 yards on the ground and through the air in a crucial game given Lewisburg’s precarious standing in the District 4 AAAA playoff standings. Lewisburg entered the night in fifth place for a playoff race that accepts the top four teams, with the Green Dragons trailing Jersey Shore, Selinsgrove, Shamokin and Montoursville.

The Green Dragons close with games against Loyalsock and Mifflinburg, both in the playoff hunt for their respective classes.

“We knew how important these two next games are going to be,” Jeremiah Davis said. “We came out firing and played strong to the finish line.”

Ordonez and Jake Hernandez combined on a sack to open the second quarter that allowed Lewisburg to quickly pad its lead. Ethan Dominick burst forward into Milton territory before Wade Young connected with Logan Callison on a 28-yard score to push the lead to 22-0. Dominick finished with 100 yards and a pair of touchdowns while Young’s touchdown pass was his third score of the night, adding a pair of 1-yard quarterback keepers.

“(Lewisburg) dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and we never recovered from there,” Milton coach Phil Davis said.

Defensively, Lewisburg held Milton to 181 yards, preventing large gains until late in the second half.

“We always say ‘Defense wins championships’ and our defense has done a great job all year slowing teams down,” Wicks said.

Lewisburg held Milton out of the end zone until late in the third quarter when the Black Panthers’ own impact freshman scored with Chris Doyle adding a 37-yard touchdown run. Doyle finished with 53 yards on six carries with his touchdown cutting Lewisburg’s lead to 45-7. A 2-yard push from Ashton Canelo to open the fourth quarter cut the Lewisburg lead to 45-14 before Davis added his third score of the night.

With the win, Lewisburg improved to 4-3 while Milton fell to 5-4.