Kaleb Nicholas, Jackson Albright, Garrett Williams, Carter Robinson and Cayden Robinson provided 1,315 pounds of diesel-powered fuel for an offense which hummed all night at Loyalsock’s Kenneth Robbins Stadium. In a contest which played out like an old Tecmo Super Bowl video game, those five who often work in the shadows burst into the spotlight and paved the way for a thrilling win.

Denyn Beachel (180 yards, 2 touchdowns) and Tyler Ulrich (144 yards, 3 touchdowns) combined for 324 yards rushing and Warrior Run scored 19 fourth quarter points, turning a seven-point deficit into a 47-42 comeback win. James Keifer found Cohen Zechman for two long touchdowns, Warrior Run ran for 367 yards and the Defenders (6-1, 3-1) gave themselves a shot at winning their first league title since 2005 next week against Hughesville.

Loyalsock (4-3, 4-1) and Bloomsburg have each earned a share of the league crown and Warrior Run can join them if it defeats Hughesville.

“We are feeding off each other’s energy,” Nicholas said. “We’d get a good run play and that would hype everybody up and we’d do it again the next play.”

Jahki Brister of Loyalsock tries to tackle James Keifer of Warrior Run at Loyalsock High School. Warrior Run won, 47-42. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

“It was fun to show everyone what we could do,” Albright said. “It took us a couple games to get into the flow, but I think after a couple games everyone is playing as one.”

And their performance would have made the famous 1980s-90s Washington Redskins “Hogs” offensive lines envious. All five linemen consistently wiped out defenders and/or drove them well off the line. Beachel and Ulrich consistently were getting four or five yards downhill before anyone made contact. Both are tough running backs as it is, but them getting heads of steam made them especially hard to bring down.

Loyalsock often knew what was coming but seemed helpless to stop it, even after winning four straight games and holding Lewisburg to seven points a week ago.

Warrior Run scored on all three fourth quarter possessions and ate up both yards and clock. Beachel’s 2-yard touchdown run with 6 ½ minutes remaining put Warrior Run ahead to stay, 40-35 and his 1-yard score on fourth-and-goal pushed the lead to 12 with 1:28 left.

“The line just took over. I’m really happy with where our line is,” Warrior Run coach Derrick Zechman said after his team clinched its second straight winning season, something not achieved at Warrior Run since 2004-2006. “Our line had momentum with it and a lot of it was just running the same play. Just repeat it because they were blocking so well and the backs were running so well.”

Loyalsock take the field before the start of their game against Warrior Run at Loyalsock High School. Warrior Run won, 47-42. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

“We knew all week that we wanted to dominate up front and we were going to try and dominate their line. Our linemen are amazing up there. We can’t give them enough credit for how good of a job they do,” Ulrich said after joining Beachel with a career-high in yards. “We knew it was going to be a bloodbath, and we knew it was going to be a tough game. We wanted to run the ball down their throats and that’s what we did.”

Loyalsock also flourished offensively and Jalil Coates continued his spectacular season, running for 163 yards and three touchdowns. Danny Dowell threw for 227 yards and three scores, while Nahmir Thomas caught two long touchdowns, finishing with four catches for 153 yards.

It felt like a pin ball game most of the night as Warrior Run and Loyalsock scored touchdowns on seven straight series between the first and third quarters. The lead also changed hands four times from late in the second quarter to midway through the fourth. It felt like whoever had the ball last might win and Loyalsock did its best to give itself that possibility, making a furious, last-gasp rally.

Following Beachel’s second touchdown, Loyalsock had no timeouts, but Dowell completed a 10-yard pass to CJ Taylor, a 33-yarder to Carter Brown and fired a seven-yard touchdown to Coates. The Lancers needed just 35 seconds to close within, 47-42. Joey Ellis then bounced an onside kick which took a tricky hop and gave Loyalsock a shot at a recovery. Instead, sophomore Devante Mitchell corralled the ball and sealed this offensive lover’s delight.

“That was wild. That was a great game and I’m just so proud of our kids,” Derrick Zechman said. “We had a really good week of practice; one of our best weeks of practice with the scout team stepping up. This is big for our program. Loyalsock always has a good program and, hopefully, this sets us up for a run down the stretch.”

Warrior Run take the first before the start of their game against Loyalsock at Loyalsock High School. Warrior Run won, 47-42. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Warrior Run and Loyalsock combined for 89 points, 889 yards, 13 touchdowns and 38 first downs. Yet, ironically, the game started swinging Warrior Run’s way thanks to clutch special teams and defensive plays. The Lancers scored 14 straight third quarter points, erasing a seven-point halftime lead and taking a 35-28 advantage into the fourth. A Keifer Houdini like run on second-and-18 in which he avoided a sack at midfield and ran 18 yards led to an Ulrich 1-yard touchdown four plays later that made it, 35-34.

After Loyalsock stopped a 2-point try Carter McCormick placed a kickoff down the left sideline which bounced off the returner’s hands and led to Warrior Run pinning it at the 2-yard line. Zechman broke up a long pass intended for Thomas on first down and seconds later, he made the latest of his big plays, intercepting a pass across the middle at the 21-yard line.

Ulrich ripped off a 15-yard run on first down, a four yarder on the next play and Beachel put Warrior Run up with his 1-yard touchdown run. The Defenders then stopped Loyalsock at the its 47-yard line on the next series and went back to ground and pound, Beachel carrying seven straight times for 57 yards.

Even when penalties backed them up, the Defenders seemingly were still in strong position. Following a holding penalty which led to a first-and-20, Beachel gained nine, nine and 29 yards on the first three plays and Warrior Run forced Loyalsock to use all three timeouts before Beachel’s 1-yard run made it, 47-35. The Defenders averaged 7.3 yards per carry and scored on all but three possessions.

“We started believing in each other more,” Nicholas said. “We trust each other; trust the running backs and that won us the game.”

Jalil Coates of Loyalsock runs straight into the tackle of Tyler Ulrich of Warrior Run at Loyalsock High School. Warrior Run won, 47-42. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

“We got some bad calls but we never gave up. We just played for our brothers and played as a team,” Albright said. “We carried our team on our backs. They were preaching it all week, so that’s what we tried to do.”

That included in the first-half’s closing seconds. Loyalsock’s offensive line also shined and Coates looked like a player who spent his whole offseason working in the backfield instead of at wide receiver like he did. Coates gave Warrior Run fits with his power and jump and cut ability and his 10-yard touchdown had Loyalsock ahead for the first time, 21-20 with 22 seconds remaining before halftime.

Zechman originally planned on taking a knee and heading to the locker room but a short kickoff and field position at the 42 with 16 seconds left changed his mind. Keifer (7 of 9, 115 yards) quickly found Ulrich for 12 yards and Warrior Run called timeout with seven seconds left at the Loyalsock 46.

On the next play, Keifer stepped into a clean pocket, pump faked and unleashed a perfect deep ball. Zechman sprinted past the secondary and was wide open, hauling in the 46-yard touchdown in the middle of the end zone. Zechman (5 catches, 99 yards), who has turned five of his nine catches into touchdowns the last two weeks, then made a remarkable 2-point catch after the pass bounced off a teammate’s hands.

Instead of trailing by one with Loyalsock receiving the second-half kickoff, Warrior Run suddenly held a 28-21 advantage.

Tyler Ulrich of Warrior Run breaks the grasp of a Loyalsock defensemen at Loyalsock High School. Warrior Run won, 47-42. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

“That really got me going,” Nicholas said. “That really got me pumped.”

“That was a huge momentum shifter. Going into halftime down vs going in ahead is immeasurable,” Ulrich said. “That got our morale up and gave us that boost to finish the second half.”

Still, Loyalsock never flinched. Like a fighter who was rocked with an uppercut, the staggered Lancers came roaring back in the third quarter. Loyalsock went 70 yards on 10 plays and Coates tied the game when he made several players miss on a fourth-and-1, 10-yard touchdown run.

A series later, Dowell just missed a wide-open Thomas for a long touchdown. Unfazed, the resilient quarterback came back three plays later and dropped a dime to Thomas, hitting him in stride for a 51-yard touchdown as Loyalsock moved in front, 35-28. Thomas continued his big breakout senior year and jump-started Loyalsock in the first quarter’s closing seconds when he hauled in another Dowell deep ball, adjusted his route, made a super leaping catch, spun away and outraced the defense down the right sideline for an 88-yard score which tied it, 7-7.

That was the play which really ignited the fireworks and was the first of the seven straight touchdowns these rivals would produce. This became a track meet, but Warrior Run was more of a distance type scorer, while Loyalsock sprinted.

The Defenders countered with an eight-run, 61-yard drive capped by Ulrich’s nine-yard touchdown. Loyalsock needed just one play to answer, Coates bursting through a hole on the left and speeding away from multiple Defenders on a 63-yard touchdown. Loyalsock went back to the ground and pounded out 69 yards on nine runs before Coates’s 2-yard touchdown run put Loyalsock ahead for the first time.

This was the third straight game over the past two seasons in which the game’s winner has come from behind in the second half after Loyalsock did so in Turbotville a year ago before Warrior Run exacted revenge in the playoffs.

Warrior Run celebrated under the lights at Loyalsock that night, producing a performance it will not soon forget. Now it has another performance which it will always fondly remember there.

“I was thinking in our post-game huddle that this is a game I’m going to remember, especially being my senior year,” Ulrich said. “It’s giving us a great chance to finish the season out strong, too. This is a great win for us.”

Noah Soha of Loyalsock tackles Tyler Ulrich of Warrior Run at Loyalsock High School. Warrior Run won, 47-42. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Jahki Brister of Loyalsock tries to tackle James Keifer of Warrior Run at Loyalsock High School. Warrior Run won, 47-42. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Jalil Coates of Loyalsock scores a touchdown against Warrior Run at Loyalsock High School. Warrior Run won, 47-42. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Jalil Coates of Loyalsock scores a touchdown against Warrior Run at Loyalsock High School. Warrior Run won, 47-42. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Jalil Coates of Loyalsock scores a touchdown against Warrior Run at Loyalsock High School. Warrior Run won, 47-42. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Jalil Coates of Loyalsock celebrates a touchdown against Warrior Run at Loyalsock High School. Warrior Run won, 47-42. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Ivan Baker of Loyalsock knocks the ball away from Tyler Ulrich of Warrior Run in the endzone at Loyalsock High School. Warrior Run won, 47-42. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Tyler Ulrich of Warrior Run scores a touchdown against Loyalsock at Loyalsock High School. Warrior Run won, 47-42. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Tyler Ulrich of Warrior Run scores a touchdown against Loyalsock at Loyalsock High School. Warrior Run won, 47-42. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Jalil Coates of Loyalsock looks for running room against Warrior Run at Loyalsock High School. Warrior Run won, 47-42. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Cohen Zechman of Warrior Run scores a touchdown against Loyalsock at Loyalsock High School. Warrior Run won, 47-42. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Jalil Coates of Loyalsock looks for running room against Warrior Run at Loyalsock High School. Warrior Run won, 47-42. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette