By PETE NAKOS
Valley News Staff Writer
WOODSTOCK — Matthew Lazzaro jumped up in the air and celebrated with his teammates with the football still in his arms.
Lazzaro had just busted into the Woodstock High end zone on a 4-yard touchdown run, his second of the evening. Woodstock struggled to bring him down on Friday night, as the 6-foot, 220-pound running back powered Lyndon Institute to a 52-16 win over the Wasps at James T. McLaughlin Field.
“He’s a big kid and a tough runner, and I have a bunch of young guys out there trying to tackle him,” said seventh-year Woodstock coach Ramsey Worrell of Lazzaro. “In a game like this, you’re going to start off all gung-ho and excited. All of a sudden, reality sets in and you realize you have to tackle this kid for four quarters.”
A season after a 2-7 finish and a 34-12 loss to the Wasps, the Vikings had their way with their hosts. Lazzaro bruised Woodstock for 126 yards on 20 carries for two touchdowns.
The loss for Woodstock was its first in more than a year after it finished 10-0 and brought home its first VPA Division III state title since 2013. Even with senior quarterback Trevor White back, the Wasps showed some growing pains after graduating a dozen seniors.
Lyndon scored its first touchdown on a 14-yard run from senior Luke Dudas, but the Wasps answered quickly with a 15-yard pass from Trevor White to Corey White to make it an 8-7 game. Corey White ran back a 70-yard punt return in the first seconds of the second quarter to put Woodstock on top, 16-7.
“We did some things to hurt ourselves, and when you’re in a position when you can’t afford to do that, things can snowball certainly quick,” Worrell said “and they certainly did.”
From there, the Vikings took over and scored 45 unanswered points. Dudas also contributed to the Vikings’ rushing attack with a 12-yard touchdown run with 4:50 left in the second quarter to make it a 16-15 game. Lyndon took advantage of a botched punt — the snap went sailing over the Woodstock’s punter into the back of the end zone — for a safety with 3:33 left in the second quarter to give Lyndon a 17-16 lead, an advantage upon which they would build for the rest of the game.
Trevor White finished 3-of-16 for 40 yards and a touchdown with an interception late in the fourth quarter. Wyatt Begin led the ground game for the Wasps with 16 carries for 49 yards.
The Wasps only had 14 players ready to go for varsity on Friday night, but 13 played due to an injury in warmups. For Worrell, he needs to make sure that his team stays healthy, but that it learns from the loss. He was proud that the Wasps stuck with the Vikings, a Division II team, for almost two full quarters. Most Wasps played on both sides of the ball, and Woodstock lined up in a shotgun formation multiple times throughout the night, which isn’t the norm for the Wasps.
“We need to keep teaching,” Worrell said. “We got to keep teaching and coaching. Working on our techniques and skill.”
Notes: Woodstock heads to Otter Valley on Sept. 7. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.