Danville downs Dragons
DANVILLE — With Lewisburg taking momentum into the locker room at halftime and receiving the second-half kickoff, Danville was in need of a spark.
Ian Persing delivered it in the third quarter, helping the Ironmen take down the Green Dragons, 35-14, in PHAC-II football action Friday night.
“(Lewisburg) came into the game 0-2 and I thought they were a much better football team than that,” Danville coach Mike Brennan said. “They have good athletes, guys who can run. I expected quite a game, much like tonight.”
With the score at 14-7 in favor of Danville to open the third quarter and the Green Dragons fresh off their first points of the night, Persing shifted matters quickly. The senior intercepted Lewisburg quarterback Ethan Dominick and returned it 48 yards for the back-breaking touchdown.
“We needed a play. We needed something exciting,” Persing said. “We needed to get the energy going so we can keep making plays and keep scoring.”
Persing wasn’t done, bringing the energy with him on offense.
On Danville’s next possession, it showed it can move the chains by not doing too much, running the ball well and throwing short routes. It worked as the Green Dragons struggled to make initial tackles all game.
The Ironmen went 76 yards on the drive, finishing it off with a 14-yard touchdown pass from K.J. Riley to Persing on an in-route.
“I don’t want our kids to play passive. I want them to play aggressive,” Brennan said. “I thought it was a workman’s like effort. It was the first time we had to compete the full four quarters, but I was happy with the way we rallied and the way we played together.”
After the Ironmen struck for 14 quick points on a passing and rushing touchdown by Riley, the Green Dragons were able to settle down defensively. They showed they can keep up with receivers deep, and apply pressure on Riley to disrupt the Ironmen’s potent passing game.
That helped set up Lewisburg’s lone scoring drive in the first quarter. It marched 55 yards on seven plays — six of them on the ground. It was capped off with a 4-yard jet sweep by Cam Michaels.
“They switched gears on us tonight,” Brennan said of Lewisburg’s offense. “They went out of the option the first two weeks, and then did something completely different. We weren’t prepared for it at first.
“We adjusted, did a good job and made it work out there tonight.”
That kind of defensive success was on display at stretches, but Riley and the offense ultimately had a leg up. Riley accounted for 272 yards and four scores — recording two passing and two rushing touchdowns.
His contributions helped the Ironmen finish with 385 total yards.
The Green Dragons had a tough go of things offensively as the Ironmen held them to 1 or fewer yards on 12 plays. Danville also forced five incompletions in Lewisburg’s limited passing game.
They ultimately finished with less total yards (213) than Danville had passing (219).
“We wanted to be smart with the lead, especially after the pick-six,” Brennan said. “We challenged our guys and they answered tonight.”
Lewisburg 0 7 0 7 — 14
Danville 7 7 14 7 — 35
First quarter
D — K.J. Riley 11 run (Riley kick), 8:46
Second quarter
D — Jagger Dressler 14 pass from Riley (Riley kick), 10:34
L — Cam Michaels 4 run (Ben Liscum kick), 0:38.5
Third quarter
D — Ian Persing 48 interception (Riley kick), 11:01
D — Persing 14 pass from Riley (Riley kick), 1:06
Fourth quarter
D — Riley 9 run (Riley kick), 6:51
L — Max Moyers 9 run (Liscum kick), 0:52.9
L D
First downs 11 21
Rushing-yds. 38-155 33-166
Passing 5-10-1 18-27-0
Passing yds. 58 219
Total yds. 213 385
Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-1
Penalties-yds. 5-40 5-35
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Lewisburg: Max Moyers 19-91, TD; Ethan Dominick 17-63, Cam Michaels 2-1, TD. Danville: Ty Stauffer 10-58; K.J. Riley 10-56, 2 TDs; Carson Persing 1-16; Zach Gordon 1-10; Jagger Dressler 6-9; Mason Raup 2-7; Brandon Zimmerman 1-7; Ian Persing 1-5; Team 2-(-2).
PASSING — Lewisburg: Dominick 5-10-1, 58 yds. Danville: Riley 17-26-0, 216 yds, 2 TDs; Gordon 1-1-0, 3 yds.
RECEIVING — Lewisburg: Michaels 3-55; Jack Landis 1-6; Moyers 1-(-3). Danville: C. Persing 7-66; Dressler 4-50, TD; I. Persing 4-41, TD; Zimmerman 1-26; Stauffer 1-23; Hayden Winn 1-13.
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