Southern Lehigh uses big plays to beat Bangor
Good teams sometimes find good fortune. That was the case Friday night for Southern Lehigh.
A buster first-down play led to Jack Inglis’ electrifying, 25-yard touchdown catch late in the first quarter against Bangor.
A penalty was followed on the last series of the first half by a 46-yard scoring pass from Avery Koser to Andrew Olesh.
And, a third-down completion from Koser to Olesh late in the game was followed by Koser’s clinching 32-yard TD run.
It all added up to a 29-12 Spartans victory at Southern Lehigh Middle School in Center Valley.
“Couple things went our way tonight,” coach Phil Sams said. “After a penalty, we took a shot on a fade and pretty good coverage but [Inglis] made a heckuva play. I can’t wait to actually watch it on film. It was something you see in the NFL.”
Southern Lehigh didn’t re-invent the wheel in what it drew up to beat Bangor.
The Spartans ran their two bread-andbutter running plays with Cade Sawyer (166 rushing yards) and Koser and were efficient in the passing game when they needed to be.
“They ran formations where they were able to isolate [two of our inexperienced players],” Bangor coach Paul Reduzzi said. “That’s a credit to their staff.
“We got some stops in the second half, but in the end they were able to run power and able to run counter trey. We knew what they were going to run. I thought we’d be in better position to stop it. We’ll work on that.”
Southern Lehigh scored on its first two possessions, the second on the highlight catch by Inglis, who pinned the ball against the back of a Bangor defensive back before gaining control as he came down to the ground in the back corner of the end zone.
“[Koser] put the ball where I could make a play on it,” Inglis said. “I got that ball on the defender’s back, but my gloves being slippery and the sweat on the defender’s back created less than ideal conditions.
“I just had to hold onto the ball. As I was backing out of bounds, I looked over at the referee and he was shaking his head yes. I knew I just made the catch of my life.”
The Spartans then converted on fourth down near midfield in the final minute of the first half before Koser hit Olesh in stride down the left sideline for a 46-yard TD pass with five seconds left for a 21-6 cushion at the break.
Bangor scored on its first series, a 21-yard shuffle pass from Eric Striba to Greg Campbell, but had its second drive stalled after four first downs thanks to incompletions on third and fourth downs.
Campbell recovered a Southern Lehigh fumble, but the Spartans forced a three-and-out late in the second quarter. That led to the backbreaking score from Koser to Olesh.
Sawyer got it started with a 47-yard burst on his first carry for a touchdown less than two minute into the game for Southern Lehigh. He broke free from a would-be tackler after a few yards, then outran the secondary for the score.
“I always keep moving my feet and broke through,” Sawyer said. “I saw the open and said that I have to score this touchdown, and I did.”
The Spartans had 235 yards and 11 first downs in the first two quarters before getting conservative in the third quarter.
The Slaters got within 21-12 on Noah Hillis’ 1-yard TD run with 9:33 left, but the Spartans answered with a 77-yard drive capped by Koser’s 32-yard run around the left side.
Koser then recovered a Bangor fumble on the next drive.
Southern Lehigh continued building momentum after recovering after last season’s 0-6 start to win the final four in the regular season and now is 2-1 early in 2022.
“We’re trying to keep it humble here,” Koser said. “We’ve had two great wins over Notre Dame and Bangor. We’re just looking forward to playing Palisades next week.
“We knew Notre Dame was a great team. Beating them showed we could compete with any team in this league. We just want to keep moving forward and hope for the best.”
Up next
Bangor (2-1) travels to Saucon Valley at 7 p.m. Friday. Southern Lehigh (2-1) visits Palisades, also at 7 Friday.