Lafayette rallies from 10-point second half deficit to stop York
York’s Jordin Lennon showed his credentials as the best player in the Bay Rivers District, but No. 6 Lafayette maintained its status as the league’s best football team.
The Rams, trailing by 10 points late in the third quarter, rallied to beat the Falcons 35-24 Friday at Wanner Stadium.
The Rams’ big second half included a long touchdown pass and a punt block that set up the go-ahead score. But it was their tried-and-true, ball-control, Wing-T attack — which generated 164 yards on 26 carries in the second half — that turned the tide.
The Falcons (2-1 overall, 1-1 district) led 24-14 with 8:16 to play in the third quarter on a spectacular 46-yard touchdown run by Lennon. He started right, cut back to his left after breaking a tackle and hurdled a would-be tackler at the 2-yard line on his way to the end zone.
Lennon, a Davidson recruit, ran for 146 yards and three touchdowns. He also kicked a 48-yard field goal and laid numerous hard hits on Lafayette ball-carriers at linebacker.
“He’s probably the best player in our district, hands down,” Lafayette coach Andy Linn said.
The Rams (2-0, 2-0) responded to Lennon’s third-quarter touchdown run with a scoring drive on which they ran for 62 yards on 12 attempts. Quarterback Luke Hanson’s 1-yard keeper capped the 14-play march, cutting the deficit to 24-21 with 3:15 left in the third quarter.
James Spencer blocked a Lennon punt on the Falcons’ next possession, giving the Rams the ball at the York 35. Four plays later, Adrian Warren ran 23 yards for a touchdown to give the Rams a 28-24 lead with 11:28 remaining.
After forcing another York punt, a short one of just 6 yards, Lafayette clinched the game with a 10-play, 41-yard touchdown drive. Spencer’s 9-yard halfback option pass to Jaylen Pretlow for a touchdown, which gave the Rams a 35-24 lead with 2:22 to play, provided Lafayette’s only yards in the air on that possession.
“We were determined at halftime to come out and run right at them, and the line blocked really well,” Linn said.
Lennon ran for touchdowns of 38 yards and 1 yard, the latter giving York a 14-7 lead with 1:51 left in the first half. In between, Warren ran for a 1-yard TD for Lafayette.
Immanuel Allen’s interception and Nathan Wagner’s 36-yard pass to Zacchaeus Maxfield — who had three first-half receptions for 102 yards — gave York a chance to extend the lead before intermission.
Lennon appeared to do so with his 42-yard field goal with no time left in the first half, but it was nullified by a penalty for illegal procedure. So Lennon converted a 48-yard field goal after the penalty, and York led 17-7 at halftime.
Hanson’s 53-yard touchdown pass to Warren on the fourth play of the second half put Lafayette back in contention. York ended Lafayette’s 60-game district winning streak with a 28-21 victory in 2019, but the Class 3 state champion Rams have won 13 consecutive district games since.
“It was a good game, entertaining like a prize fight,” York coach Doug Pereira said. “We tried to get after the champion and held them for a while.”
