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Barlett, Zimmerman made impact in Lycoming’s 49-25 win vs. Catholic

By Chris Masse 8 min read

Aiden Barlett arrived at Lycoming as a wide receiver and Jared Zimmerman a quarterback. A lot has changed since.

And yet, both remain explosive playmakers. Just at different positions; Barlett now at cornerback and Zimmerman receiver.

Both have fit like gloves at those new spots, too. Just ask Catholic.

Barlett returned an interception 37 yards for a touchdown and Zimmerman caught three touchdowns as Lycoming thumped Catholic, 49-25 Saturday at Frank Girardi Stadium. Zimmerman and Barlett scored touchdowns 12 seconds apart during a 28-point second quarter; Joe Lyons threw for four scores and Terrence Oliver ran for 123 yards as Lycoming (2-3, 1-0) opened Landmark Conference play in impressive fashion.

"I can’t play offense, so I have to do it on defense," Barlett said. "Ever since I switched from offense going into my sophomore year, I’ve just been learning the defense. It’s really about confidence in myself. I believe that when I’m confident, nobody can stop me on the field."

Zimmerman looked unstoppable throughout the first half, catching five passes for 112 yards and those three scores. He also set up Elijah Jordan’s game-sealing fourth quarter touchdown with a 33-yard catch and run, finishing with 146 yards.

Lyons and Zimmerman connected on a 70-yard strike which ignited that 28-point eruption and gave Lycoming a 42-17 halftime lead.

"Jared has really matured. He came here as a quarterback, so it took some time but you saw it last year," Lycoming coach Mike Clark said. "Our bowl game last year, he played well and in the spring it was like this kid has a chance to be really good. I don’t know if he’s the best receiver in the conference, but he’s an all-conference wide receiver. I’ll say that."

Oliver is an all-conference running back and instantly gave Lycoming a shot of adrenaline following a 9-0 loss a week earlier, taking the game’s opening play 80 yards for a touchdown. From there, the teams started trading scores and it looked like a shootout might be developing.

Then, everything dramatically changed. And it took just 21 seconds.

Evan Woodward made a diving interception at the 30-yard line, preserving a 14-10 lead. Looking for instant momentum change, Lycoming dialed up the deep ball and Lyons and Zimmerman perfectly executed it. A surging offensive line gave Lyons a good pocket; Lyons hit Zimmerman in stride and 70 yards later, Lycoming led, 21-10.

"Right when we got the pick, we said we’re taking a shot," Lyons said after throwing for 225 yards. "We’ve practiced it so many times. I know exactly where he’s going to be, so I just have to throw it to the spot. We had to keep the momentum going and that’s what happened."

That fire soon became an inferno. Just a play later, Barlett intercepted a crossing pass and went back to his offensive roots.

Barlett made the pick going left, faked out a defender and went down the left sideline for the 37-yard pick 6. Just like that, Lycoming led, 28-10 and a close game started becoming a runaway.

"I saw the wide receiver break in and I knew I could under-cut the ball. I knew I had enough speed to get there," Barlett said. "As soon as I caught it, it was just like playing offense again. I made a move and got outside and followed my blockers and scored."

The Hughesville graduate continued his stellar junior season and scored his second defensive touchdown in four games this year. Barlett returned a fumble for a game-clinching score in the season opener before taking a kickoff 94 yards for another touchdown a week later.

Without playing offense, Barlett still has scored three times and he nearly busted loose on a punt return against Catholic, averaging 10 yards on two returns.

"He’s so selfless and is able to help us defensively which is big. He’s a great kid," Clark said. "I don’t know if he’s the best athlete on the team but he’s top three.

"It’s amazing. It’s right place, right time," Barlett said. "It’s just all our defense working together and the plays will be there."

After Catholic closed within 28-17, Lyons and Zimmerman continued making plays. Lamar Wilson returned the ensuing kickoff 31 yards and a face mask set up Lycoming at Catholic’s 21-yard line. Two plays later, Lyons found Zimmerman in the right flat. The senior receiver beat containment to the right sideline and went the rest of the way for the 21-yard score and Lycoming led, 35-17.

After making a late fourth-down stop at the 41, Lycoming had a chance to extend the lead and Catholic was not saved by the bell. Lyons ran for 16 yards; hit David Grayton for 28 and had Lycoming knocking on the door. Then, Lyons kicked it down, splitting the defense and connecting with Wesley Horsman on a 14-yard touchdown as Lycoming covered 59 yards in 46 seconds and built a 42-17 halftime advantage.

"That was pretty big because we haven’t had too many chances to do two-minute offense," Lyons said. "Doing that really gave us confidence that we can go downfield this entire game."

That confidence started growing one play into the game as Oliver made a triumphant return after missing last week’s game with an ankle injury. That injury had Clark thinking as late as Thursday that the two-time 1,000-yard rusher would not be available Saturday.

Oliver had other ideas and impressed the staff with his work during Friday’s practice. He impressed everyone at the game Saturday, taking the opening carry up the middle, bouncing off a defender, going right and exploding down the sideline for his 80-yard score. Oliver finished with 123 yards and showed no signs of the injury which he had suffered two weeks earlier.

"He wasn’t even taped (Friday) and ran around. I said let’s warm up him up and see how he goes. After that first play I was like, ‘I guess he’s OK,’" Clark said. "He was pretty adamant about playing and proving he could."

Oliver’s game-changing ability produces yards but it also creates opportunities for others. Teams often load the box to slow him and the immediate score had Catholic extra motivated to do so. That in mind, Lycoming attacked with the pass and Lyons shredded the Cardinals throughout the first half, completing 9 of 11 passes for 187 yards and four touchdowns.

With everything working, Lycoming piled up 307 yards on 25 first-half plays, averaging a whopping 12.3 yards per play.

"Even at the beginning of the year teams were putting so many people in the box because of T.O. to slow our run game," Lyons said. "I think with that (touchdown) run and that explosive play, that’s what really opened everything up."

As the offense opened up, the defense constricted. Lycoming stifled the run, allowing just 58 yards on 34 attempts. While quarterback Charles Gublin threw for 276 yards, Catholic rarely was able to create big plays and, after its second quarter touchdown, did not score again against the starters.

Lycoming stretched its lead to 49-17 early in the fourth quarter. Lyons and Zimmerman had connected for touchdowns on their two previous throws and the third straight essentially served as an assist, putting the ball inside the red zone. From there, Jordan (10 carries, 56 yards) churned out hard-earned yards and clinched victory with his 1-yard scoring plunge.

Lycoming broke out of a three-game streak in emphatic fashion and understands a new season is upon it. Sure, the Warriors wanted to win all their non-league games, but the biggest prize remains out there. It’s a long race to the prize, but Lycoming certainly has started it out well.

"We have a lot of good players but we haven’t played like a good team for a whole game. That really was the goal," Clark said. "I thought we played our best game, not a great game, but our most complete game all year."

Lycoming 49, Catholic 25

Catholic 10 7 0 8--25

Lycoming 14 28 0 7--49

First Quarter

L--Terrence Oliver 80 run (Vasco Granitto kick), 14:39

C--Bobby Hartman 9 pass from Charles Gublin (Maximo Machado kick), 9:32

L--Jared Zimmerman 9 pass from Joe Lyons (Granitto kick), 6:37

C--Machado 34-yard field goal, 1:14

Second Quarter

L--Zimmerman 70 pass from Lyons (Granitto kick), 12:10

L--Aiden Barlett 37-yard interception return (Granitto kick), 11:58

C--Keegan Eichert 2 run (Machado kick), 6:04

L--Zimmerman 21 pass from Lyons (Granitto kick), 5:48

L--Wesley Horsman 14 pass from Lyons (Granitto kick), :18

Fourth Quarter

L--Elijah Jordan 2 run (Granitto kick), 11:07

C--Gublin 1 run (Adrian Fresen pass from Gublin), 5:17

TEAM STATISTICS C L

First Downs 24 16

Rushes-yards 34-58 36-243

Passing yards 276 225

Total yards 334 468

Comp-Att-Int 31-50-2 11-16-1

Fumbles-lost 0-0 2-1

Penalties-yards 8-75 11-95

Punts-Avr. 6-30.7 4-36.5

Possession Time 35:50 24:10

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Catholic, Lamar West 8-43; Keegan Eichert 15-33, TD; Colin Brennan 4-(-4); Charles Gublin 7-(-14), TD. Lycoming, Terrence Oliver 13-123, TD; Elijah Jordan 10-56, TD; Spencer Ferguson 7-40; Joe Lyons 2-20.

PASSING: Catholic, Gublin 30-48-2, 273 yards, TD; Will Cranford 1-2-0, 3 yards. Lycoming, Lyons 11-16-1, 225 yards, 4 TD.

RECEIVING: Catholic, Adrien Fresen 10-100; Bobby Hartman 8-64, TD; Hunter Boyd 6-62; Diego Mouton 4-30. Lycoming, Jared Zimmerman 6-146, 3 TD; Isaiah Robinson 3-37; David Grayton 1-28; Wesley Horsman 1-14, TD.

RECORDS: Lycoming 2-3, 1-0 Landmark. Catholic 0-5, 0-1.

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