MAHANOY CITY — Hundreds of Mahanoy Area fans in Alumni Stadium collectively held their breath Friday as they watched starting quarterback Mason Ryan being carried off the field early in the third quarter against Schuylkill Haven.
The Golden Bears dealt with injuries all last season — Ryan included — and couldn’t afford to lose him again.
Though Ryan sat out the rest of the game, fans were relieved to discover it was only from severe cramps.
Ryan could afford to sit out with a two-score lead and a reliable backup in his place as Mahanoy pulled ahead early and never looked back in a 25-7 Anthracite League win over the Hurricanes.
“I figured it was cramps. Fortunately he’s OK,” Mahanoy Area coach Dave Holman said. “It was a tough, grind-out game. Our kids played tough against a good, young football team.”
The Golden Bears (1-1, 1-1 AFL) scored on their first three drives of the game, acquiring a 19-0 lead in the opening frame and holding Schuylkill Haven without a first down until the last play of the quarter.
Lenny Dulsky and Mike Wronski spun off runs of 12 and 16 yards on the Bears’ first drive to set up Ryan’s first score, an 8-yard option keeper to the right pylon less than four minutes into the game.
Wronski set up another big play from Ryan on the next drive with a 15-yard scamper up the middle. Ryan then made two defenders miss on a 46-yard dash to the Hurricanes’ 3-yard line before lunging in from the 1 two plays later for a 13-0 Bears’ lead.
A holding penalty negated a 22-yard touchdown pass from Ryan to Matt Yedsena on Mahanoy’s third drive. So the 6-foot senior quarterback simply ran in his final touchdown from 34 yards a couple plays later, giving the Golden Bears’ a 19-0 lead with 43 seconds left in the first quarter.
Ryan finished with 92 yards on seven rushes and gave the most credit to his line.
“The cutbacks were always there,” Ryan added. “Our offensive line opened up a lot of big holes for us, which got us 25 points on the board.”
Holman and Ryan both also credited backup quarterback Matt Lewandowski, who is a starter on both sides of the ball as a receiver and defensive back.
Lewandowski, a 6-2 sophomore, showed just as much poise in the pocket as Ryan. He guided the Bears to their final scoring drive of the game — showing his skill by spinning out of two tackles on a 25-yard run — that was capped by Dulsky’s 9-yard score.
“Give all the credit to Matt Lewandowski,” Holman said. “He plays a bunch of other positions for us on both sides of the ball. He came in, drove us down the field and got us a touchdown, so credit to him to step in there.”
Lewandowski also had the first of two Mahanoy interceptions in the second half. He picked off Schuylkill Haven quarterback Danny Lozada in the third quarter. Yedsena had the other against Josh Kalyan in the fourth to effectively end the game.
Lozada put his team on his back to put the Hurricanes on the board in the second quarter. He turned a broken play into a 48-yard run to the Mahanoy 12. Following a penalty, Lozada finished what he started with a 17-yard sprint up the middle to cut the Bears’ lead to 19-7.
Lozada put Haven (1-1, 1-1) in position to strike again before halftime by transforming another broken play into a 38-yard gain. But a sack and an intentional grounding call forced Schuylkill Haven to try a field goal, which missed wide left with 3 seconds left in the half.
While another score would’ve kept the Hurricanes within striking distance, head coach Mike Farr knew that wasn’t his team’s biggest problem Friday.
“The end of the first half really had nothing to do with it,” he said. “You can’t come out flat against a team that is executing its offense. That was my concern coming. Anytime you’re starting all these young kids, it’s assignment football. We missed assignments in the first half.
“We gutted it out and played tough,” Farr added. “So all the credit goes to Mahanoy. They executed their offense and then hung on.”
Lozada compiled 139 yards on 13 rushes. Dulsky also tallied 139 yards on 23 carries to lead Mahanoy’s ground attack.
The victory provided Mahanoy with a better vision of what to expect from itself this season. The Bears’ loss to Lehighton last week was one of many lopsided contests in the AFL during Week 1.
“Lehighton is a very good football team. That’s a tough barometer to see what kind of team you are,” Holman said. “We were excited to matchup against Schuylkill Haven. I was very happy with the effort and the execution of our schemes.”
Game Summary
SH (1-1, 1-1) 0 7 0 0 — 7
MA (1-1, 1-1) 19 0 6 0 — 25
MA — Ryan 8 run (Lewandowski kick)
MA — Ryan 1 run (kick failed)
MA — Ryan 34 run (pass failed)
SH — Lozada 17 run (Evitts kick)
MA — Dulsky 9 run (run failed)
Haven MA
First Downs 10 16
Rushes-Yards 32-184 46-343
Passes 4-20-2 1-2-0
Passing Yards 54 7
Total Yards 238 350
Fumbles-Lost 2-0 1-1
Penalties 5-40 5-45
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Schuylkill Haven — Lozada 13-139, Davis 8-33, Gehring 4-14, Kerschner 2-2, Team 1-1, Kalyan 2-(-2), Browne 1-(-3). Mahanoy Area — Dulsky 23-139, Ryan 7-92, Lewandowski 5-41, Yedsena 6-38, Wronski 4-33, Team 2-0.
PASSING: Schuylkill Haven — Kalyan 2-6-1, 29; Lozada 2-14-1 25. Mahanoy Area — Ryan 1-2-0, 7.
RECEIVING: Schuylkill Haven — Browne 1-21, Mills 1-14, Gehring 1-11, Batz 1-7. Mahanoy Area — Yedsena 1-7.
INTERCEPTIONS: Mahanoy Area — Lewandowski, Yedsena.