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Loyalsock beats Lewisburg in Monday night game 48-24

By Chris Masse 9 min read

Rian Glunk grew up playing quarterback. He figured when Chase Cavanaugh graduated, he would become Loyalsock’s 2021 starter.

But a funny thing happened along the way — Glunk became a dynamic wide receiver. He also started developing into one of the district’s most explosive athletes.

Now Glunk is at home playing wide receiver as Tyler Gee dissects defenses at quarterback. Monday night, Glunk felt right at home in the endzone, visiting it four times.

Glunk displayed all the tools which have him generating Division I interest in a rare Monday night game against Lewisburg, catching two touchdowns, returning a kickoff and punt for scores while adding a key interception as Loyalsock defeated Lewisburg, 48-24 at Kenneth M. Robbins Stadium. Glunk caught 6 passes for 87 yards, returned his kickoff 99 yards and seemingly eluded every Green Dragon during his electrifying 68-yard punt return score in the fourth quarter.

“At the beginning of the season someone asked, ‘Where do you think he ranks against your receivers (in the past) and I said, ‘pretty darn high compared to what we’ve had and we’ve had some pretty darn good ones,'” Loyalsock coach Justin Van Fleet said. “We’re really excited about what he brings to the table, that’s for sure.”

So do several other Lancers. Gee completed 14 of 16 passes for 273 yards and three touchdowns. Running back Davion Hill totaled 124 yards and two touchdowns and JerVal Weeks-Shuler caught a 60-yard touchdown. The offensive line played well, the defense made five stops inside the 40-yard line and Loyalsock (5-4) won its second straight game while snapping Lewisburg’s four-game winning streak.

Still, through all that explosiveness, Glunk’s fireworks stole the show. His diving 6-yard touchdown capped the opening drive and put Loyalsock ahead to stay. His interception at the 1-yard line ended Lewisburg’s promising ensuing drive. Glunk had four catches by halftime and provided the dagger when he made a super adjustment on an underthrown ball, dodged the tackler and went 56 yards for a touchdown that put Loyalsock up 35-10 late in the third quarter.

Possessing cheetah-like speed and standing 6-foot-1, Glunk has all the pieces and, following last year’s breakout sophomore campaign, the junior is putting it all together. He tied Danville’s Carson Persing for the District 4 touchdown catch lead (11) and Glunk has 44 catches for 821 yards through nine games. He sees the field like a quarterback and that is helping Glunk, who visited Penn State last Saturday, become an elite receiver.

“I definitely feel more comfortable playing receiver since I moved. It helped me a lot. I’m doing pretty well out there,” Glunk said. “Playing quarterback helped me learn the routes more. It taught me where to go as a receiver to get open to get the ball.”

“He was a really good quarterback, but he went to different camps and all I got were calls about him as a receiver. His 40 times were lightning and he’s jumping and catching everything,” Van Fleet said. “I told him we have three quarterbacks that are all very good, but as a wideout I think you’re a game-changer and if you’re not an all-state football player I’m not a football coach. He came in and said, ‘I’m in,’ and I said, ‘Let’s go do this thing and light up scoreboards and have a lot of fun.'”

Loyalsock is having a lot of fun right now, winning two games in the last four nights. Monday’s game was a makeup from a Week 7 contest which was postponed because of COVID issues. After catching two touchdowns in Friday’s win at Hughesville, Glunk took another opportunity to show he can impact a game in more ways than just catching passes.

After Lewisburg pulled within 14-10 on Cohen Hoover’s 34-yard field goal with 3 minutes, 34 seconds remaining in the first half, Glunk altered everything with one explosive return. Glunk fielded the kick at the 1, followed some excellent blocks up the middle, then beat contain to the outside, breaking free down the left sideline and completing the longest kick return in District 4 this season. The return seemed to stun Lewisburg and ignited a Loyalsock barrage as it scored 34 straight points to inflict the mercy rule against a team which had pummeled four straight opponents by a 182-30 margin.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen holes like that. Everyone was blocking on kick returns and punt returns, so there were big holes to get through,” Glunk said. “I feel like it energized us to go out and put it on him. It got us to play our hardest.”

Glunk was not finished. The next time he returned a kick he did so as a punt returner. On the kick return, Glunk followed his blocks and finished it by being an athlete. This time he basically was a dynamic athlete from the start. Weaving through a broken field like a pin ball, Glunk somehow kept dodging tacklers and refused to be tackle. Several Dragons had chances as Glunk sped down the left sideline but none could bring him down and the highlight reel 68-yard return made it 48-10.

“On that return once I got toward the end zone, I was doing everything I could to get in,” Glunk said. “It feels good to do that because I know kick returns like that get the team going. It gets us ready for the next drive and the next series on defense.”

Glunk was one of several Lancers making big plays against Lewisburg (4-4). Hill ran for 84 first-quarter yards and his 5-yard touchdown run made it 14-0. After Cy Cavanaugh made a huge stop on a fake punt attempt near midfield, Hill broke a series of tackles on a 27-yard pass completion before finishing the drive with a 6-yard touchdown. Glunk’s 56-yard score followed before Weeks-Shuler (3 catches, 88 yards) gained a step on a defender and caught a Gee dime in stride, making it 41-10 less than two minutes into the fourth quarter.

“If they’re focused on the receivers, Davion can run the ball. If they focus on Davion we can throw the ball,” Glunk said. “We have a lot of threats.”

Gee only misfired once with his other incompletion the result of a dropped pass. Brendan Clark added two key catches over the middle which converted third downs and Naz Smith’s 36-yard catch set up the game’s first touchdown. Loyalsock is showcasing so many threats, Cavanaugh has not had a chance to show his skills in the backfield yet, but Van Fleet is excited about that potential as well.

Making all those weapons fire is a surging offensive line. Carter Secora, Gavin Briggs, Ethan French, Ian Hornberger, Ryan Thompson and Tyrone Bolton gave Gee ample time to throw and imposed their will early when Loyalsock ran the ball so well. Each player is a well-rounded athlete and the chemistry is building at the perfect time.

“It really starts up front and those guys fight and work their tails off. They’re passionate about what they’re doing and they continue to get better,” Van Fleet said. “That’s what we’re always asking of individuals is commit totally, work on your craft and grow and they’ve done that throughout all the year. I’m very pleased with how they’ve come together and continue to work week to week.”

The defense did some impressive work when there was little margin for error. Lewisburg moved the ball well at times and gained 382 yards. Loyalsock bent but rarely broke and turned Lewisburg away five times after it crossed the 40-yard line, allowing no points on those series. David Boring slowed one drive with a timely sack, Smith had a big tackle for loss on another and Gavin Rice set the tone early when he knifed through the line and dropped standout Ethan Dominick for a three-yard loss on Lewisburg’s first play. Cavanaugh and Logan Bastian were among the game’s leading tacklers and Weeks-Shuler was a difference-maker up front.

Lewisburg, though, broke through on its second possession when Dominick lined up in the Wildcat, rolled right and threw a 15-yard pass to Owen Ordonez. The all-state defensive end also is quite a tight end and did the rest, bursting down the right sideline and going 85 yards for a touchdown which cut the deficit to 14-7. Dominick ran hard all night, topping 100 yards for a fourth straight game and finishing with 122 as well as a touchdown. Ordonez produced 99 yards on two catches and combined with Xander Walter to force a second-quarter fumble.

Cam Michaels was outstanding for Lewisburg, catching a career-high 10 passes for 121 yards and reeling in a 29-yard touchdown from Walter off a tipped pass. Wade Young threw for 124 yards and freshman Jeremiah Davis set up Dominick’s fourth-quarter 1-yard touchdown run with a dazzling 89-yard kick return. Lewisburg plays Mifflinburg Friday and needs a win there to have a shot at reaching the District 4 Class AAAA playoffs.

Loyalsock remains in the hunt for District 4 Class AAA’s top seed and a first-round bye. If Loyalsock does not get that seed, it will at least clinch a home quarterfinal if it wins its regular-season finale Friday against Warrior Run.

Loyalsock 48, Lewisburg 24

Lewisburg 7 3 0 14ä24

Loyalsock 14 7 14 13ä48

First Quarter

Loy-Rian Glunk 6 pass from Tyler Gee (Evan Anderson kick), 8:17

Loy-Davion Hill 5 run (Anderson kick), 1:24

Lew-Owen Ordonez 85 pass from Ethan Dominick (Cohen Hoover kick), 1:24

Second Quarter

Lew-Hoover 34-yard field goal, 3:34

Loy=Glunk 99-yard kick return (Anderson kick), 3:20

Third Quarter

Loy-Hill 6 run (Anderson kick), 2:08

Loy-Glunk 56 pass from Gee (Anderson kick), 2:08

Fourth Quarter

Loy-JerVal Weeks-Shuler 60 pass from Gee (kick failed), 10:21

Loy-Glunk 68-yard punt return (Anderson kick), 6:51

Lew-Dominick 1 run (Hoover kick), 5:41

Lew-Cam Michaels 29 pass from Xander Walter (Hoover kick), 3:02

TEAM STATISTICS Lew Loy

First Downs 14 15

Rushes-yards 33-127 26-92

Passing yards 259 273

Total yards 382 365

Comp-Att-Int 18-30-1 14-17-0

Fumbles-lost 2-1 2-2

Penalties-yards 9-65 3-15

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Lewisburg, Ethan Dominick 22-122, TD; Jeremiah Davis 3-12; Michael Casale 2-3; Logan Callison 2-0; Wade Young 3-(-2); Team 1-(-8). Loyalsock, Davion Hill 21-97, 2 TDs; Malachi Coleman 1-3; Nate Bauman 1-3; Rian Glunk 1-(-5); Tyler Gee 2-(-6).

PASSING: Lewisburg, Young 14-24-1, 124 yards; Dominick 1-1-0, 85 yards, TD; Xander Walter 3-5-0, 46 yards, TD. Loyalsock, Gee 14-16-0, 273 yards, 3 TDs; Bauman 0-1-0.

RECEIVING: Lewisburg, Cam Michaels 10-121, TD; Callison 3-11; Owen Ordonez 2-99, TD; Dominick 2-22; Charles Landis 1-2. Loyalsock, Glunk 6-87, 2 TDs; JerVal Weeks-Shuler 3-88, TD; Naz Smith 2-45; Brendan Clark 2-26; Hill 1-27.

INTERCEPTIONS: Loyalsock, Glunk.

SACKS: Lewisburg, Ordonez 1/2, Walter 1/2. Loyalsock, David Boring.

RECORDS: Loyalsock 5-4. Lewisburg 4-4.

Starting at /week.