Lenape stuns Allentown with late TD after blocked kick
ALLENTOWN >> All night long, the opportunity for the Allentown football program to have another signature moment was there for the taking.
The Redbirds came tantalizingly close to beating an outof-area Group V school.
But Lenape, the reigning sectional champion in South Jersey, stunned Allentown on Friday, 27-24, when the Indians blocked a 37-yard field goal and Brandon Carter returned it 90 yards for a game-winning touchdown with 1:51 left.
The Redbirds drove into borderline field goal range once again with nine seconds left, but a 44-yard try went nowhere on the muddy turf.
“We have a lot of confidence in our kicker. He’s kicking 50 to 55 (yards) in practice, so the thought of it getting blocked didn’t really cross my mind,” head coach Jay Graber said. “They made a great play on the block and they made an even better play on the return. … I thought at the end of the day we did what we could to get back in after a great play by them.”
What made the defeat so difficult to swallow was that Allentown (3-1) felt it mostly outplayed Lenape, which is now 2-3 but plays a grueling schedule.
Quarterback Dan Merkel went berserk for the Redbirds, completing 15-of-28 passes for 330 yards with one touchdown to Chris McCrea.
Merkel added 60 rushing yards on 13 carries and Rahsaan Emory ran for 70 yards and two touchdowns.
“It feels bad to lose, but we really feel like we dominated on the offensive line,” Merkel said. “All my guys, they created holes, they gave me time and I was able to make some plays. Our defense shut them down. I feel like we beat them on offense and defense, but today we lost special teams and that’s kind of just what killed us. The field conditions at the end kind of hurt.”
Allentown surprisingly came out with a game plan to throw early and often, passing on six of its first nine plays including an 87-yard touchdown by McCrea. The junior hauled in five catches for 175 yards and also converted a 22-yard field goal and three extra points.
“We did see on film that their linebackers and guys in their secondary like to read our guards,” Merkel said. “So what we did was, the line would do power blocking stuff and we’d pull and they would read, so we’d fake the handoff there and boot out. And the guys were open, they were 1 on 1 and they went up to make plays for me today.”
The Redbirds responded from an early 13-0 hole after Lenape returned the first punt of the game 55 yards for a touchdown. The Indians scored again on their next possession when they had prime field position starting at the Redbirds’ 36-yard line following a personal foul.
“We started slow, we spotted them 13 points in the first four minutes, and that’s on me as a coach,” Graber said. “We have to do a better job of getting them excited for the start of the game. For us to spot them 13 points was tough, but I thought our kids played great. They were very resilient, got back into the game.”
After McCrea’s touchdown, Allentown’s defense generated a stop and Emory capped an eight-play, 71-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown to give the Redbirds a 14-13 lead. McCrea’s field goal extended it to 17-13 going into halftime.
Jha’Quel Brown added a fumble recovery and tacklefor-loss during a first half in which Allentown totaled more than 200 yards and limited Lenape to fewer than 100 yards.
The Indians regained the lead when Dasan Craig ran a 65-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter.
Emory’s 5-yard touchdown capped another impressive, 85yard Allentown drive with 11:52 remaining in the fourth quarter. Lenape (2-3) 13 0 7 7 – 27 Allentown (3-1) 7 10 0 7 – 24
L – Rice 55 punt return (kick failed)
L – Coleman 2 run (Mulville kick)
A – McCrea 87 pass from Merkel (McCrea kick)
A – Emory 7 run (McCrea kick)
A – McCrea 22 field goal
Third Quarter
L – Craig 65 run (Mulville kick)
A – Emory 5 run (McCrea kick)
L – Carter 90 return on blocked kick (Mulville kick)