Lebanon
“That’s what you call an old-fashioned butt-kicking,” said Childs, whose team dropped to 2-1. “They beat us in every aspect of the game. They out-played us and out-hit us and we got pushed around up front.
“We didn’t set a good tone at the start, and we just kind of laid down and rolled over.”
Here’s the thing, however: the Generals (3-0) are very good. Senior quarterback Drew McQuarrie is 6-foot-5 and tough and nimble. He throws the ball well, he runs the ball well and he showed in explicit detail why Boston College was thrilled to receive his commitment. He’s expected to play tight end for the Eagles in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
“He’s not only a great player, but he controls their whole offense,” said Childs, who watched McQuarrie carry nine times for 129 yards and three touchdowns. “He can move and we didn’t wrap him up. Everything we’d seen on film showed him running to the outside, but tonight he turned it up inside and we couldn’t stop him.”
John Stark led, 7-0, during the second minute and was ahead, 21-0 after a quarter. At that point, the visitors had 132 yards of offense and Lebanon had eight. The score was 42-0 at halftime, with the Generals having 372 yards and the Raiders 44.
The second half, played in running time, saw John Stark substitutes on the field, but even then, Lebanon couldn’t get fully untracked. Star running back Ryan Milliken carried 22 times for 62 yards and one touchdown and absorbed numerous hits. The senior at one point staggered off the field, but soon returned and even came close to connecting on a halfback option bomb into the end zone.
The contest went sour for Lebanon from the start. The Generals returned the opening kickoff 39 yards and needed only four plays to cover 31 yards and open the scoring on a 19-yard touchdown run.
“Five minutes before we went on the field, we talked about staying in our lanes on kickoff coverage,” Childs said. “Then they run a reverse on the opening one and get great field position and score. Then the first time we touch the football, we coughed it up.”
The coach was referring to Matt Eylander’s fumble on Lebanon’s initial play from scrimmage. John Stark recovered at its 47-yard line and scored again five plays later. This time it was a 9-yard touchdown run. The game was not yet three minutes old.
Lebanon’s next possession ended after three plays when the Generals intercepted a Caleb Broughton pass. John Stark punted this time, but soon forced the Raiders to do the same and needed only four plays and a third conversion kick to go up, 21-0. The rout was on.
McQuarrie completed 4-of-9 passes for 83 yards and a 21-yard touchdown. Several of his tosses were on target, but dropped. Kyle Booker carried 11 times for 99 yards and two touchdowns.
Lebanon, which suffered five fumbles, but recovered three of them, gets little time to lick its wounds. Arch-rival Hanover looms on the schedule next week and is likely to be undefeated after visiting struggling Pembroke today.
The Marauders have lost the schools’ annual clash the last three years, but are no doubt salivating at the prospect of snapping that streak.
“It’s going to be a real test for us,” Childs said. “We’ll find out if our kids can pick themselves up. We can’t let this define our season. We have to get ready for rivalry week.”