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A lonely yellow flag rested on the vibrant new turf of Loyalsock's Kenneth M. Robbins Stadium. The Lancers continued to celebrate. There was no way it was against them.
Jaiden Cioffi had just fought through contact from a Selinsgrove defensive back to haul in a critical touchdown pass in the second quarter Friday night. All of a sudden, a cluster of Loyalsock players began walking backward as the officials discussed the call.
The points were taken off the board as Cioffi was hit with a questionable-at-best offensive pass interference call. Instead of having a seven-point lead against the Seals, Loyalsock's offense was forced to go back to work, this time 15 yards farther back than they were previously.
And four plays later the lonely yellow flag loomed large as Selinsgrove's Josh Nylund galloped down the far sideline 95 yards for a touchdown after intercepting a third-down pass. The 14-point swing stole all the momentum from a marching Loyalsock offense and handed it to a Selinsgrove team on its way to a 34-7 win.
Loyalsock's offense never threatened again after Nylund's touchdown, gaining just three more first downs over the final 30 minutes. The Lancers lost for the third consecutive time last night thanks to two Selinsgrove first-half defensive touchdowns, and an offense which stalled after such a promising start.
"Momentum is a heck of a thing," Lancers head coach Justin Van Fleet said. "When it's with you, it’s really nice. When it's against you, it’s difficult."
"I think, emotionally, it was gigantic," said Selinsgrove coach Derek Hicks, decked out in shorts and a T-shirt on the first crisp fall night of the season. "We're getting ready to give up a touchdown there, and instead we get a pick-six. I think that's what got everybody geared up and got us going."
Nylund had gotten burned by the athleticism of Cioffi earlier in the game on three passes which totaled 81 yards for the Loyalsock senior receiver. So the Selinsgrove coaches talked to he and his teammates in the secondary about being more physical against Cioffi and Gerald Ross, who was double-covered all night.
So on that fateful third-down pass just four plays after Cioffi’s touchdown was taken off the board, Nylund put a shoulder into Cioffi as he got to the top of his route and knocked him off his spot. As Nylund looked up, Chase Cavanaugh's pass hit him in the chest. And in a split-second, basketball-like change of direction on the field, Nylund found running room and a lead blocker to carry the football 95 yards for a pivotal touchdown.
"I was just being physical and pushed the receiver off his route," Nylund said. "The ball happened to go right in my arms. I looked for my blocked Nicholas Sheaffer and he pulled away and got a key block at the 50."
The defensive touchdown was the second of the first half for the Seals. With and offense which was struggling to find its footing thanks to a pair of turnovers, the scores couldn’t have had better timing.
Nylund's return and Ben Swineford’s 30-yard fumble return for a touchdown gave the Seals a 14-7 lead despite an offense which had run more than three plays in a series just once through the first 18 minutes of the game. But those two scores allowed the Seals the opportunity to be patient and find its way offensively. And after forcing a punt on Loyalsock's ensuing possession, Selinsgrove finally got the production it thought it could get on the ground.
Finding ample running room off the edge, Joe Kahn carried six times on a seven-play drive late in the second quarter. The final of those carries was a 10-yard touchdown run – his first of two – which gave the Seals a 21-7 halftime lead. Selinsgrove had taken the momentum with Nylund’s interception. It took the game with the emergence of Kahn behind a physical offensive line.
A week after giving up eight sacks in a lopsided loss to Berwick, the line paved the way for 238 rushing yards. Kahn ran for 170 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 24 carries. His fourth-quarter, 7-yard scoring run put the game to bed and moved the Seals’ record back to even at 3-3.
"We challenged our O-line because last week against Berwick we kind of got manhandled," Hicks said. "We challenged them to get a push and take over. It was a brutal week at practice, a very physical week. I told them at halftime and at the end of the third quarter that it was time to take over. Those guys did a nice job getting a push."
Loyalsock controlled the game early thanks to an efficient passing game which forced Hicks and his staff to completely abandon their defensive gameplan. Cavanaugh completed his first nine passes, and 11 of his first 12 on his way to a career-high 171 passing yards.
Cavanaugh responded to Selinsgrove’s first defensive touchdown by leading a seven-play, 54-yard drive in which he completed all four of his passes for 44 yards. Cavanaugh capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. Cavanaugh completed 15 of 21 passes last night.
“We’ve changed some things to meet what his strengths are,” Van Fleet said. “Obviously this offense, compared to what we had Week 1, is drastically different in terms of what we’re trying to do. But we’re still trying to maximize our players’ abilities.”