BULLDOGS CRUISE PAST BURRS
Austin Smyth admittedly was surprised coach Joe Tout stuck to the game plan that called for Northern Lehigh to break away a bit from its pound-it playoff mentality despite frigid conditions and a strong wind throughout Friday night’s PIAA Class 2A quarterfinal.
Trevor Amorim was not.
“That was a risk Coach Tout was willing to take,” Amorim said. “Riverboat Joe, is that what you guys call him?”
Northern Lehigh executed what Tout and his staff laid out, especially in the
first half against District 12 champion West Catholic.
The Bulldogs scored four of the first five times they had the ball, with big pass plays on each series contributing.
Dylan Smoyer threw TD passes on consecutive attempts in the first half and Nick Frame executed a double pass to perfection by hitting Amorim for a 54-yarder to hit the Burrs in a blur.
By the time West Catholic found its offensive rhythm, the game was a two-point conversion away from the mercy rule.
The Bulldogs won their eighth game in a row 44-24 at Whitehall’s Zephyr Stadium to reach the state semifinals for the first time in 18 years.
Northern Lehigh (11-3) plays District 4 champion Southern Columbia (13-1) in next weekend’s PIAA semifinals at a site and time to be determined. Southern Columbia, the four-time defending state champion, picked up a 62-20 victory over District 6 champion Richland (11-3) in Friday’s other quarterfinal.
“You want to get them down early so they start arguing with each other,” Amorim said. “We did what we needed to do.”
Northern Lehigh’s defense set the tone by forcing a three-and-out on West
Catholic’s first offensive series.
On the Bulldogs’ second offensive series, Dylan Smoyer threw a lateral pass to Nick Frame, who then threw a strike to a wideopen Amorim for a 54-yard TD pass.
After another West Catholic three-and-out, Smoyer hit Amorim and Brett Misera with completions to keep the Burrs defense on its heels.
Amorim’s 29-yard burst around left end made it 14-0, and the Northern Lehigh was on its way.
“We saw that in their district final Conwell-Egan didn’t throw until they had to but went right down the field,” Tout said. “We knew that that’s what we were going to have to do to loosen up their defense.
“We couldn’t just come out and run right at them. York Catholic tried to do that last week. We told our kids that that was our game plan, to come in a spread and throw a little bit. We’ll have some things that I don’t think they are going to pick up on.”
One of those things came after the teams exchanged interceptions. Faced with a third-and-7 from the Burrs’ 22, Smoyer hit an open Smyth for a touchdown.
“We ran an unbalanced line and I ran a quick four route,” Smyth said of his second TD catch this year. “It was either me or the fullback. Coach gave me a chance and I made a play.”
Northern Lehigh’s bulldozing fullback Matt Frame made a play on Northern Lehigh’s next series. He took a screen pass, broke two tackles then burst 63 yards for a 28-0 lead early in the second quarter.
It was the second time the last few weeks when Frame turned a short gain on a screen pass into a long touchdown run.
“They came out very confident but after one drive I automatically saw heads go down,” Frame said. “They were fighting with each other from start.
“The screen was open. They definitely should have made the tackle there. I broke a few tackles and it was open field from there.”
Northern Lehigh’s defense did a tremendous job limiting the open-field opportunities for West Catholic’s K’saan and Jiare Greene plus elusive quarterback Zymeen Howell.
The Burrs needed five series before picking up a first down, then scored on their sixth series when Howell avoided the rush and hit Naidir Hilliard with a 54-yard touchdown pass with 8 minutes, 30 seconds left in the first half.
The teams traded lost fumbles to start the second half before Northern Lehigh scored on Amorim’s two-yard TD run. It was set up by Matt Frame’s runs of 17 and 15 yards on back-to-back plays.
After another West Catholic punt, Northern Lehigh cashed in again on another Amorim two-yard TD run for a 41-8 lead. A two-point run came up inches short of putting the mercy rule in effect.
Frame had a 23-yard run and Amorim a 29-yarder on that drive.
The Burrs scored the next two
times they had the ball, but the Bulldogs iced the game on Smoyer’s one-yard run with 2:55 left. Smoyer’s 29-yard pass to Amorim set up the final score.
“Playing as a team right now,” Matt Frame said. “Guys at the beginning of the year were having problems getting to the ball. I feel like everyone is coming together now.”
In memory
West Catholic continued its season-long memoriam to junior Ivan Hicks, who collapsed and died during a July 14 7-on-7 scrimmage. The Burrs took a delay-of-game penalty on their first offensive play as a moment of silence. The Bulldogs declined the penalty.
The 6-foot-4, 300-pound Hicks was 16.
Game notes
Nick Frame’s 54-yard TD pass to Amorim was the second time Frame and Amorim connected on that play this season. The other, a 74-yard TD, came in Week 6, the last time Northern Lehigh lost.
That pass play gave Northern Lehigh a touchdown on its first series for the 13th time in 14 games this season. Salisbury was the only opponent to stop Northern Lehigh on its opening possession.
Smyth had two sacks for Northern Lehigh. Matt Frame had one and a forced fumble. Amorim had that fumble recovery. Jayden Krempasky also had a sack. Izaiah Ramos and Aiden Parvel had interceptions.
Smoyer threw for 155 yards to give him 2,040 for the season.