Fast starts donโ€™t guarantee strong finishes. But they sure do increase their likelihood.

The Palmyra football team enjoyed a great first night. Now the Cougars are charged with the task of making sure it wasnโ€™t the highlight of their season.

On a steamy Friday evening at Lebanon Alumni Stadium, Palmyra registered a promising and encouraging 51-7 season-opening victory over the hometown Cedars. The Cougars enjoyed contributions from up and down their roster and in every phase of the game, as exemplified by six different players scoring touchdowns.

After opening last yearโ€™s campaign with a triumph over Lebanon, Palmyra finished its 2022 campaign with a 1-9 overall mark. For the Cedars, the setback was their 23rd consecutive loss dating back to the 2020 season.

Read More: Lebanon Cedars seek turnaround: Unity and new strategies amidst winless streak

โ€œIโ€™m extremely pleased with the result,โ€ said Palmyra head coach Chris Pavone. โ€œItโ€™s been a long 364 days between wins. Itโ€™s something that drove them (his players) in the off season. We told them, โ€˜If you stay with the process, good things are going to happen.

โ€œA year ago, we were 1-0 and the result was 1-9,โ€ added Pavone. โ€œWe have to keep steadily improving. We havenโ€™t fully tapped our potential.โ€

โ€œWe have to find success,โ€ said Lebanon head coach Frank Isenberg. โ€œOffensively, we have to put points on the board, we have to sustain drives. Kareem (starting quarterback Stoner) will get it. It was just his first start. But as the game wore on, it slowed down for him.โ€

The key moment in the contest came late in the second half, with Palmyra ahead 26-7. The Cedars had just scored on a pretty 14-yard touchdown hook-up between Stoner and Malachi Briddell and appeared to have the momentum necessary to mount a comeback.

Lebanon junior Malachi Briddell makes a cut to find running room. Briddell was a bright spot for the Cedars on Friday night. (Jeff Falk)

But Palmyraโ€™s Eli Rose stepped in front of a Stoner aerial and returned it 43 yards for the touchdown that pushed the Cougarsโ€™ advantage to 26 points. Palmyra added a 22-yard field goal from Matt Bordner on the final play of the half to take a 36-7 bulge to the locker room.

Palmyra’s Eli Rose has his sights set on Lebanon quarterback Kareem Stoner. Rose’s second-quarter pick-six gave the Cougars an insurmountable 33-7 lead. (Jeff Falk)

Lebanon was guilty of four turnovers on the evening.

โ€œI probably felt good about the outcome halfway through the third quarter,โ€ said Pavone. โ€œWe felt comfortable at halftime, but we stressed to our guys that we had to finish.

โ€œEveryone is always optimistic at this point,โ€ added Pavone. โ€œEveryone is 0-0. Our kids were confident. Our staff has done a heck of a job of coaching these guys up. With the all-around effort, the kids were comfortable and with comfort comes confidence.โ€

The Lebanon offense looks to the sidelines for the next play call. The Cedars were plagued by four turnovers on Friday night. (Jeff Falk)

โ€œFootball is a team game,โ€ said Isenberg. โ€œIf the offense stumbles, the defense has got to pick us up. Itโ€™s complementary football. We beat ourselves on offense. I think the backbreaker was the pick-six right before halftime.

โ€œWe couldnโ€™t punch it in a few times,โ€ Isenberg added. โ€œWeโ€™ve got to put points on the board when weโ€™re in the red zone.โ€

Palmyra wasted little time getting off to a good start, scoring on Braxtin Risserโ€™s 53-yard touchdown jaunt on its second snap of the season. On their second possession, the Cougars marched 65 yards on nine plays to get a 14-yard Ryan Kowalski-to-Keagen Kleinfelter scoring strike and a 13-0 lead.

Then Palmyra struck twice in a span of 2:33 early in the second stanza to push its advantage to 20-0. First, Justin Kaplan ripped off an 83-yard sprint to paydirt, and then Nate Eisenhooth hauled in a 32-yard touchdown pass from Kowalski.

Palmyra quarterback Ryan Kowalski lofts a pass over the defensive pressure of Lebanon’s Josiah Wright during action in last night’s game. Kowalski tossed a pair of touchdowns to help the Cougars get past Lebanon in their season opener. (Jeff Falk)

โ€œWeโ€™ve been stressing starting fast,โ€ said Pavone. โ€œOn our first possession we got a two-play drive and a score, and that took the pressure off. Before that I felt we were a little tight.

โ€œLebanon is a hungry football program,โ€ Pavone continued. โ€œThey have athletes, and they have size. We knew if we started fast, we could eventually wear them down.โ€

โ€œThe start was crucial,โ€ said Isenberg. โ€œI thought we had some momentum in our first drive, but we couldnโ€™t score. They (the Cougars) scored right off the bat, and we couldnโ€™t get our footing.

โ€œTheyโ€™re (the Cougars) pretty good up front,โ€ added Isenberg. โ€œTheyโ€™re physical. They did some very good things against us.โ€

With 3:30 remaining in the third quarter, Kaplan scored his second touchdown on an 18-yard run to evoke the mercy rule.

Palmyra rushed for 304 yards and outgained the Cedars 390 total yards to 185.

A Cougar defense spearheaded by linebacker Kadin Jones (52) was active all night. Palmyra limited Lebanon to 185 total yards. (Jeff Falk)

โ€œWhen we installed this offense, we told our team that multiple guys were going to get touches,โ€ said Pavone. โ€œWe just pushed that on our guys. We saw that Kaplan was going to be a physical runner.

โ€œThe goal is to improve every single day,โ€ continued Pavone. โ€œIโ€™m not one to make predictions, but we want to push the program in a different direction. They (his players) have a chip on their shoulders. Our kids take everything to heart.โ€

Kaplan, a junior bruiser, carried the ball 10 times for 181 yards. Defensively, Kleinfelter and Kyle Koennecke led the Cougars with six tackles apiece.

โ€œI thought there were some positives, even though the score was what it was,โ€ said Isenberg. โ€œI thought the score would be close. Their defensive line gave us some trouble, and we couldnโ€™t get off blocks.โ€

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Jeff Falk is a seasoned journalist based in Lebanon, PA. He's a graduate of Cedar Crest High School, Penn State University, and a lifelong resident of Lebanon, born and raised. Currently, he is a feature writer for Engle Publishing in Lancaster, the editor of LebCoSports.com, sports director at WLBR...

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