Fast starts donโt 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 wasnโt 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 yearโs 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
โIโm extremely pleased with the result,โ said Palmyra head coach Chris Pavone. โItโs been a long 364 days between wins. Itโs something that drove them (his players) in the off season. We told them, โIf you stay with the process, good things are going to happen.
โA year ago, we were 1-0 and the result was 1-9,โ added Pavone. โWe have to keep steadily improving. We havenโt fully tapped our potential.โ
โWe have to find success,โ said Lebanon head coach Frank Isenberg. โOffensively, 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.
But Palmyraโs 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.
Lebanon was guilty of four turnovers on the evening.
โI probably felt good about the outcome halfway through the third quarter,โ said Pavone. โWe felt comfortable at halftime, but we stressed to our guys that we had to finish.
โEveryone is always optimistic at this point,โ added Pavone. โEveryone 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
โFootball is a team game,โ said Isenberg. โIf the offense stumbles, the defense has got to pick us up. Itโs complementary football. We beat ourselves on offense. I think the backbreaker was the pick-six right before halftime.
โWe couldnโt punch it in a few times,โ Isenberg added. โWeโve got to put points on the board when weโre in the red zone.โ
Palmyra wasted little time getting off to a good start, scoring on Braxtin Risserโs 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.
โWeโve been stressing starting fast,โ said Pavone. โOn 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.
โLebanon is a hungry football program,โ Pavone continued. โThey have athletes, and they have size. We knew if we started fast, we could eventually wear them down.โ
โThe start was crucial,โ said Isenberg. โI thought we had some momentum in our first drive, but we couldnโt score. They (the Cougars) scored right off the bat, and we couldnโt get our footing.
โTheyโre (the Cougars) pretty good up front,โ added Isenberg. โTheyโre 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.
โWhen we installed this offense, we told our team that multiple guys were going to get touches,โ said Pavone. โWe just pushed that on our guys. We saw that Kaplan was going to be a physical runner.
โThe goal is to improve every single day,โ continued Pavone. โIโm 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.
โI thought there were some positives, even though the score was what it was,โ said Isenberg. โI thought the score would be close. Their defensive line gave us some trouble, and we couldnโt get off blocks.โ
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