High School Football:
Holy Cross Survives Battle With Bears

Saturday, October 3, 1998

By Gary Steiner
SJSports Staff Writer

The Holy Cross Lancers survived an impressive battle with the Delran Bears to remain undefeated and stay on top of the Burlington County Liberty Division. The lead in the game changed six times, as both teams put on an offensive display, highlighted by a fast paced third quarter in which 30 points were scored.

The Lancers opened up the scoring in the first quarter with a 29-yard pass from quarterback Brian Obuchowski to Isaac Irby at 7:24. The point after attempt was wide right, leaving the score at 6-0. The were forced to punt on the next possession, giving Holy Cross the ball back on their own 26-yard line. The drive culminated in an 11-yard run by Anthony Koehl for the Lancer's second touchdown. This time Brett Peters' kick was good, giving the Lancers a 13-0 lead with 2:22 left in the first quarter. Again the Bears drive was stalled by the lancers, this time with the help of a sack by Robert Hoey. The ensuing punt gave the Holy Cross the ball at their own 43-yard line.

At the start of the second quarter, a Holy Cross fumble was recoverd by the Bears' Alexander Lewis at the Holy Cross 13-yard line. A pass from Ted Trump to Manny Mahan put the Bears on the board, and Ryan Molinaro's point after made the score 13-7. A Holy Cross fumble recovered by Justin DeJoseph gave the Bears the ball on the 50-yard line, but the Lancer's defense stopped them on a 4th and 5 at the 25-yard line. Holy Cross again turned the ball over when Manny Mahan intercepted a pass at the Holy Cross 35-yard line. With a 4th and goal at the 4, Delran Coach Miles elected to go with the field goal. Ryan Molinaro's kick was good, closing the gap to 13-10 with 2:29 left in the half. Delran's defense kept the Lancers away from the red zone as the half ended.

Delran opened up the third quarter with a 78-yard touchdown pass from Ted Trump to Vinnie Marino. The point after put the score at 17-13, giving the Bears the lead for the first time with 10:18 left in the quarter. But Holy Cross did not sit still, responding immediately with a 84-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Issac Irby. The point after jumped the Lancers back ahead to 20-17. The Bears then replied by scoring on their possession, with a 55-yard touchdown pass to Vinnie Marino. The point after attempt was wide left, leaving the score at 23-20. Holy Cross' next drive was highlighted by a 42-yard pass from junior quarterback Jason Amer (who had taken over from Obuchowski in the first half when he left with an injury) to Isaac Irby, followed by 21-yard touchdown pass again to Irby. Brett Peters' point after attempt bounced off the left upright, but still went through, putting the Lancers back ahead 27-23 with 6:34 left in the quarter. On the Bears next possession, they managed to get down to a 4th and goal on the Holy Cross 3-yard line, but went for the field goal to bring the score to 27-26 with 2:37 left in the third.

The Bears defense forced the Lancers to punt on their next possession, giving Delran the ball back at the 50-yard line. A sack by Holy Cross' Chris Green put the Bears on a 4th and 17 at their own 41-yard line, but a pass to Manny Mahan brought the Bears down to the Lancer's 20. On a 4th and 5 at the 15-yard line, Molinaro kicked his third field goal of the game, putting the Bears back ahead at 9:43 in the 4th quarter. The Lancers' next drive was stopped by the Bears' Alexander Lewis, with an almost-sack that caused the quarterback to fumble, but Amer was able to recover the ball. Lewis then got his sack, putting the Lancers in a 4th and 20 situation at their own 46. Holy Cross punted, forcing the Bears back to their own 17. The Bears began to drive the ball when a bad pitch was recovered by the Lancer's Mike Shea at the Holy Cross 38-yard line with 4:23 left in the game. The Lancers' drive was helped by an 18-yard run by Julius Davis to Delran's 44, followed by a pass interference penalty which gave them a 1st and 10 at the Bears' 30-yard line. Anthony Koehl then scored his second touchdown of the game with a 14-yard run at 2:48, with a failed two point conversion putting Holy Cross in front at 33-29. The Lancers' Chris Stafford then broke up the Bears' next drive with an interception at the Holy Cross 45-yard line. The Bears' defense forced the Lancer's to punt, but were unable to score as time ran out.

Photos by Art Redd