WAR OF THE ROSES GAME

By Bill Engelhardt

In the 17th annual War of the Roses game the Lancaster-Lebanon League (LLL) Red Rose Senior All Stars bested the York-Adams Interscholastic Athletic Association (YAIAA) White Rose Senior All Stars 28-18 on Thanksgiving Day. It was only the third victory in the last twelve years for the LLL and the YAIAA still leads the series 10 games to 7. ELCO quarterback Ethan Longenecker led the Red Rose team as he completed 13 passes to 9 different receivers for 170-yards and two touchdowns.

The White Rose team fumbled the opening kickoff and the Red Rose team returned the favor moments later by turning the ball over on a fumble at the White Rose 2-yard line. Defenses dominated until early in the second quarter when Ryan Little punched it in from the 3-yard line and Seth Miller’s extra point kick put the Red Roses up 7-0. That woke up the White Rose team and Susquehannock’s Andy McCoy led a 77-yard drive and scored on a 1-yard keeper. Tailback Shavelle Jones, who had a banner day rushing with 15 carries for 108-yards, ripped off a nifty 34-yard jaunt to the Red Rose 19-yard line. McCoy then connected with fullback Mike Sough of Dover for 18-yards to set up McCoy’s touchdown plunge. The extra point attempt was blocked and the Red Rose team still led 7-6.

The Red Rose team broke things wide open in the third quarter, starting with Longenecker’s 66-yard touchdown pass to Tobias Robinson of Cedar Crest. Miller’s kick upped the score to 14-6. The White Roses fumbled the ball on their own 34-yard line 2 plays later and The Red Roses capitalized quickly as Longenecker connected with Cody Dobson for a 15-yard touchdown pass 3 plays later. Miller’s kick made the score 21-6. The Red Roses scored again on their next possession as Joe Williams scored on a 2-yard run. Miller’s kick made the score 28-6 at the 4:24 mark of the third quarter and it looked like a route was on.

But somebody forgot to tell that to the White Rose team! Led by captains Matt Bosley of South Western, Ed Kiser of Red Lion, Matt Marshall of Spring Grove and Nick Weaver of New Oxford, the White Rose team stormed back in the final stanza. Ed Kiser, who caught one pass for 2-yards in the first half, came alive in the second half and caught 5 more passes for 108 more yards and 2 touchdowns. The White Rose team rotated quarterbacks, as Matt Marshall from Spring Grove, And McCoy from Susquehannock and Taylor Green from Red Lion took their turns at the helm. McCoy’s 20-yard touchdown strike to Kiser at 10:57 in the 4th quarter pulled the White Rose team to within 16 points with the score 28-12. West York’s Dakota Kessler intercepted the Red Roses opening pass on their next possession and the White Roses were back in business. Taylor Green connected with fellow Red Lion Kiser for a 40-yard touchdown to end the scoring at 28-18.

The Red Roses were forced to punt and the White Roses looked to be off to the races again, but within a 5-play span Jarod Odrick, Ceasar Westbrook and Shane Hess sacked Matt Marshall. Marshall overcame this inconvenience to complete 2 passes and get to the Red Rose 25-yard line. However, Westbrook and Seth Miler combined on another sack and that ended that.

The White Rose defense sparkled despite the defeat. Mark Bittinger and Matt Bosley from South Western and Nick Weaver from New Oxford all had fumble recoveries. Bryon Keyes from York (William Penn) and Dakota Kessler from West York each had a key interception for the White Rose team. And Justin Lane from Kennard-Dale and Dave Hertz from Delone Catholic were each in on 5 tackles.

The White Rose team out rushed the Red Rose team 109-yards to 72 and the Red Roses out passed the White Roses 239-yards to 156. The total offenses of 311-yards for the Red Rose team and 265-yards for the White Rose team indicated a pretty even match-up of a great bunch of senior all-stars. The individual statistics below are from the York Daily Record and the Hanover Evening Sun.

Terry Bupp closed out his 24-year coaching career at West York by coaching the White Rose team. He was proud of his team and happy with the way they bounced back in the 4th quarter. He said, “We got a couple of scores and then got the ball back. Our kids gave it all for 48 minutes.”

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing: LLL, Joe Williams 8-49, Tobias Robinson 4-8, Ryan Little 8-14, Derek Kline 4-1, Vinny LaSelva 1-0; YAIAA, Shavell Jones 15-108, Kyle O’Donnell 5-9, Lamar Hughes 3-6, Mike Stough 2-3, Matt Barshinger 2-4, Andy McCoy 4-(-1), Taylor Green 2-(-12), Matt Marshall 10-(-35).
Passing: LLL, Ethan Longenecker 13-18-0-170, Derek Kline 2-14-2-42, Maris Lockhart 1-1-0-27; YAIAA, Matt Marshall 4-12-0-38, Andy McCoy 5-9-0-68, Taylor Green 2-4-0-40.
Receiving: LLL, Kevin Aguilera 3-56, Kyle Sensenig 2-38, Joe Williams 2-22, Andy Miller 1-3, Ben Weaber 2-6, Ryan Little 2-10, Tobias Robinson 1-66, Vinny LaSelva 1-8, Cody Dodson 1-15, Chris Hull 1-15; YAIAA, Ed Kiser 6-110, Mike Stough 2-24, Lamar Hughes 2-9, Jayson Senft 1-13.