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MILTON – After a 1-3 start to its season, Lewisburg had won three straight entering Friday's game against Bloomsburg, and the Green Dragons had an opportunity to make a statement against the Panthers, who entered the game undefeated and in the top spot in the District 4 Class AA standings.
And at times, it seemed like Lewisburg would be able to do just that. But an ill-timed late interception gave Bloomsburg the ball back in a back-and-forth game with under three minutes to play, and after picking up a pair of first downs, the Panthers were able to run out the clock and escape with a 36-32 win over the Green Dragons.
"We expected it to be a back-and-forth game," said Lewisburg coach Eric Wicks. "They got the ball last and they scored last and that last interception was tough. They fought their butts off, made some plays and I'm really proud of them. We had a tough start to the season, and we wanted to win tonight, but we're now in a good position so we need to prepare ourselves for the next two."
he Green Dragons fell despite a plus-four turnover differential and Bloomsburg turning the ball over six times, including four in the first half, and yet the Panthers led both at halftime and at the end of the game. Lewisburg only managed to score directly off one of those takeaways, and Bloomsburg didn't score off either of the Green Dragons' turnovers, both of which came in the second half.
But all eight combined turnovers in the contest did slow down the team that committed them. The only turnover for either team that directly led to a score was due to an interception return for touchdown by Jaylen Walker, who posted 254 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns for Lewisburg.
Bloomsburg's Shane Frey made a diving interception deep in Panther territory at his own 2-yard line with just under three minutes to play and his team clinging to a narrow four-point lead. Bloomsburg managed to pick up a pair of first downs to be able to run out the clock and improve to 8-0 for the first time since 1982 in a game that featured seven lead changes.
The end overshadowed a gutsy performance by the Green Dragons, who stuck with the undefeated Panthers for the entire game but had their three-game winning streak snapped. Xavier Carter threw for 206 yards and four touchdowns on 19-of-40 passing, although he was picked off twice in the second half, both times in Bloomsburg territory that killed promising drives. Freshman running back Ethan Coleman had 136 yards on 16 carries as the Green Dragons racked up 391 yards of their own offense.
Despite getting the six takeaways from the Panthers, they had difficulty stopping Bloomsburg when it wasn't turning the ball over. Bloomsburg racked up 528 yards of offense. Despite throwing three interceptions, Frey still completed 12-of-19 passes for 212 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Of those, seven went to Jharee Moore-Stewart, who had 158 receiving yards and also added 64 rushing yards on eight carries with a rushing touchdown to go with two touchdown catches.
"We couldn't stop them all day. They moved the ball, we did get some turnovers but we really couldn't stop them when they were moving and driving," said Wicks.
Moore-Stewart's 50-yard touchdown catch with 4:55 left in the game gave Bloomsburg the lead for good in what was a back-and-forth contest for most of the game. That marked the seventh and final lead change of the night. Under pressure, Frey let go a near-desperation heave on third-and-15 play from midfield, and the slightly underthrown pass was a jump ball that Moore-Stewart managed to win between a pair of defenders. He then turned around and dashed the remainder of the way to the end zone to give the Panthers the 36-32 lead.
Lewisburg then started its ensuing drive from its own 29 and advanced all the way down to the Bloomsburg 22 before Frey made a diving interception at his own 2-yard line to give the Panthers the ball deep in their own territory with 2:51 left. It was Bloomsburg's second pick of the second half, and although the Panthers didn't score on either of their two takeaways, those two stops were key in a close game. Bloomsburg then managed to pick up a pair of first downs and ran out the clock.
"Never I can remember being able to put up 36 points and have six turnovers," said Bloomsburg coach Mike Kogut. "The defense came up big in the second half. We asked them to get a couple back, they did and in the most opportune times. We made plays when we had to – big plays. They showed their athleticism and their will to win and I'm just super proud of them."
Walker's 52-yard interception return on Frey's second pick of the day, as he was picked off on Bloomsburg's first two possessions of the night, gave Lewisburg the first score of the game at the 5:42 mark of the first quarter.
The Panthers answered right back on their ensuing drive when Moore-Stewart capped an 11-play, 66-yard drive with an 18-yard touchdown run in which he went right, was stopped, broke a tackle behind the line of scrimmage, and then switch directions and went down the left sideline for the score.
The Green Dragons answered with Walker's second touchdown of the night, as he hauled in a pass in the front corner of the end zone from 14 yards out to cap a nine-play, 64-yard drive and give Lewisburg the lead back, 12-7.
That was answered immediately by Bloomsburg as on the first play from scrimmage of its ensuing drive, Julius Serrano burst through a hole for a 55-yard touchdown run. Serrano led the way for the Panthers on the ground with 139 yards on six carries and a pair of touchdowns and he also had two catches for 37 yards.
Later in the second quarter, Frey scrambled and found a wide-open Moore-Stewart, who outran Walker to the end zone for a 58-yard touchdown reception to give the Panthers a 22-12 lead.
That lead was cut to just four going into halftime as Carter connected with Walker in the back corner of the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown reception to cap a quick 73-yard drive in just :35 just before the half.
But Lewisburg took the lead back on its opening drive of the second half, as Carter hit Todd Dershem in the end zone from 11-yards out to cap a 72-yard drive and give the Green Dragons a 25-22 lead. A big 77-yard pickup by Ethan Coleman flipped the field for Lewisburg.
Later in the third quarter, Bloomsburg got a field-flipping play from Serrano once again. In a play similar to Moore-Stewart's touchdown run from the first quarter, Serrano was nearly tackled for a loss and hit a wall after going right, so he bounced left and found a bunch of space – enough to go all the way for a 74-yard touchdown run with 2:35 left in the third quarter.
Lewisburg retook the lead on a 41-yard touchdown pass from Carter to Drake Osunde at the 8:24 mark of the fourth quarter, before Moore-Stewart's third score of the night gave the Panthers the lead for good later in the fourth.