LANCASTER – It has been a rough couple of weeks for the Lancaster football team, and things didn’t get any better on Friday night against Pickerington Central in a 42-7 Ohio Capital Conference-Buckeye Division loss at Fulton Field.
In Week 3, the Golden Gales picked up a big road win at Marysville, and the following week, they carried that momentum in another road game at Teays Valley. They led 21-7 at halftime, and seemed to be in good shape, but allowed the Vikings to score 28 second-half points and eventually lost.
At home last week, Lancaster fell 35-7 against Groveport. On Friday against the Tigers, the Gales struggled on both sides of the ball, failing to muster up any offense. Defensively, Pickerington Central was able to do whatever it wanted.
“They played well, and we didn’t. We have to do better,” Lancaster coach Bryan Schoonover said. “I think our youth kind of got us tonight on some things, but at the end of the day, we just have to get better.”
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Tigers dominate from start to finish.
Pickerington Central (4-2, 3-0) had five offensive possessions in the first half and scored on all five as the Tigers took a commanding 35-0 halftime lead. With a running clock in the second half, the Tigers scored on their first offensive series to push the lead to 42-0.
Pickerington Central started four of its five drives in Lancaster territory in the first half.
Pickerington Central quarterback Rocco Williams was on point as he completed his first four passes for touchdowns, a 44-yarder to Sherone White and a 23-yard scoring toss to Bryce Wells. White added a 45-yard touchdown run and Kaejuan Alexander scored on runs of 3 and 23 yards in the first half.
Williams threw his third touchdown pass in the third quarter when he connected on a 23-yard touchdown pass to White.
The Gales were able to get on the board with just over 5 minutes remaining when Brody Burke hit Drew Whitlach on a 47-yard touchdown pass.
The Tigers finished with 16 first downs compared to just four for the Gales. Lancaster finished with only 118 total yards, including 43 yards rushing on 23 attempts. Lancaster finished with just 118 total yards, with 47 coming on the late touchdown pass.
The Gales were just 1 of 11 on third-down conversions. Lancaster had six offensive possessions in the first half, and four resulted in three-and-outs.
Up next
Lancaster, which fell to 2-4 overall and 0-3 in the OCC, will look to right the ship next Friday when it travels to face 1-5 Logan. The Gales will host 2-4 Reynoldsburg and 4-2 Canal Winchester before ending the regular season against rival Newark, which is 4-2.
Those are all winnable games, but the Gales have to find a way to be more consistent.
“I’m not worried about the next four weeks, I’m more worried about tomorrow,” Schoonover said. “If we do what we have to do, and that is to play better, that’s what we are going to focus on. We also need to get healthy.”
Tom Wilson is a sports reporter for the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette. Contact him at 740-689-5150 or via email at twilson@gannett.com for comments or story tips. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @twil2323.
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Can't tame the Tigers: Pickerington Central runs roughshod over struggling Lancaster
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