HERSHEY — The word of the day is grit.
Lower Dauphin football has made a habit of securing gritty victories this season. After an 0-2 start, the Falcons have two strong victories over Northern and Mechanicsburg. The latter giving Mechanicsburg its first regular season loss in two years.
The Falcons pulled off another comeback victory Friday night with a 27-24 overtime victory against Mid-Penn Conference Keystone Division rival Hershey.
“Grit is one of our core words,” said Lower Dauphin head coach Josh Borrelli. “I think that really describes this team. This is three second-half comeback victories in-a-row. I think they have a chip on their shoulders.”
The stars
Lower Dauphin’s Hunter Strohm continues his strong season with a three touchdown outing, including the game-winning one-yard touchdown run in overtime.
Hershey’s star quarterback Cam Sweeney got it done through the air and on the ground totaling two total touchdowns. Sweeney led the Trojans’ offensive turnaround in the second half
How it happened
It was all Lower Dauphin for the first 26 minutes of the game.
The Falcons offense scored 14 unanswered points thanks to a 71-yard touchdown run from Strohm and an eight-yard touchdown run from Falcons quarterback Braeden Heckard.
Lower Dauphin’s defense forced four three-and-outs on Hershey’s five first-half drives. It took the Trojans until the 1:28 mark in the second quarter to gain its first first down of the game.
Hershey scored on its fifth drive of the game after a Samir Edwards-Pace two-yard score right before halftime.
Hershey’s offense built off its final drive of the first half, scoring 14 points in the third quarter. Sweeney led the charge both on the ground and through the air. He connected with Grant Later for a 21-yard touchdown to open the third quarter and a 57-yard touchdown run on the Trojans’ next possession.
Strohm scored his second touchdown of the night on the Falcons ensuing possession.
All tied up at 21 with five minutes remaining in regulation, Hershey had an opportunity for the go-ahead score with the ball on the Falcons six.
Falcons’ defensive back Nick Hengst picked off a Sweeney pass after a scramble drill. Lower Dauphin then went on an 11-play drive to drain the rest of the clock, setting up Connor Kreiser for a long field goal attempt that was shanked wide right.
To overtime we go.
Lower Dauphin won the toss and deferred to Hershey.
The Trojans failed to score a touchdown, but kicker Carson Goodman nailed a 24-yard field goal to take a 24-21 lead.
It took the Falcons just three plays for Strohm to score his final touchdown of the night and secure a 27-24 victory.
Big picture
Lower Dauphin secures another big second-half comeback victory. The Falcons will face off against Shippensburg on Thursday, Sept. 25.
Hershey drops its second game of the season. It’ll travel to Gettysburg for a matchup with the Warriors on Friday, Sept. 26.
They said it
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