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Victorious Lancers to tangle with Ursuline
(by Steve Novak - November 05, 2008)
Victorious Lancers to tangle with Ursuline
By STEVE NOVAK
The playoff road isn't always an easy route. Gilmour Academy won its Division V quarterfinal playoff game last Saturday against visiting Crestwood Norwayne, 48-21, and immediately the Lancers' next rung on the ladder became one that's much more precarious.
Fourth-seeded Gilmour (10-1) plays Youngstown Ursuline, 11-0 and the Associated Press' top-ranked team, at 7 p.m. Saturday at Stow-Munroe Falls Bulldog Stadium. Ursuline advanced with a 27-7 victory over Cuyahoga Heights.
Ursuline lost in the state championship game last year to undefeated Maria Stein Marion Local, 20-14.
Against Norwayne, Gilmour set the tone of the contest right from the opening whistle. D.J. Debick took the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown as he found a seam and outraced everyone down the left sideline. Bill Urban added the point-after-touchdown kick.
Norwayne made the score 7-7 a few minutes later in the first period.
But then Gilmour's offense began to click into gear and the Lancers' defense held the Bobcats in check throughout the half.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Gilmour put the cap on an eight-play drive with a three-yard run into the middle of the line by halfback Tom Hallal. Urban added the extra point to give Gilmour a 14-7 lead.
Gilmour added another touchdown after defensive back Lou Cangelosi recovered a fumble with about six minutes left in the first half. A few plays later, Hallal took a handoff behind the left side of his line at the 15-yard line, broke free from the initial tacklers at the line and raced into the end zone. Gilmour had a 21-7 lead at halftime.
The second half provided an opportunity for Hallal to show the running prowess that powered him into rushing for 1,000 yards last season. In plays involving straight handoffs from Urban, the quarterback, Hallal scored on runs of 52 and 90 yards in the second half.
Also in the second half, Hallal's running mate in the backfield, Ryan Teknipp, scored on runs of seven and 69 yards.
Norwayne fullback Kirk Gasser scored two touchdowns late in the fourth quarter.
Gilmour coach Bob Spicer said he was pleased that the Lancers' running game was working so well against Norwayne because it opened up the opportunity for Urban to throw several passes to keep scoring drives alive.
"We were able to stay balanced with the pass and the run. We didn't have to focus on just one area where we could go," he said. "We were able to mix it up."
Shortly after Gilmour's game was ended on Saturday afternoon, Spicer traveled to Youngstown to see Ursuline play its game against Mogadore Saturday evening. Spicer was very impressed by the performance of Ursuline.
"They're a very strong team. They're big and they're fast," he said. "We are going to have to contain their speed. But that's going to be difficult because they've got excellent size up front."
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