Lancaster has enjoyed a four-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will square off against the Lewis J. Bennett/Olmsted/Middle Early College/East Tigers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Lancaster had already proven themselves in the regular season, and didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They took their contest at home on Friday with ease, bagging a 36-7 victory over Jamestown. Given Lancaster's advantage in MaxPreps' New York football rankings (they are ranked 17th, while Jamestown is ranked 71st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Meanwhile, Lewis J. Bennett/Olmsted/Middle Early College/East put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They blew past Orchard Park 62-22 at home. The match was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point Lewis J. Bennett/Olmsted/Middle Early College/East had established a 39 point advantage.
Ja?Meer Thomas had a dynamite game for Lewis J. Bennett/Olmsted/Middle Early College/East, rushing for 250 yards and two touchdowns on only 12 carries. Thomas was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 54 yards. Another player making a difference was Noah McDuffie, who rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown on only 12 carries.
Another reason for the win was Lewis J. Bennett/Olmsted/Middle Early College/East's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for five sacks. Orchard Park's QB won't forget Jazier Fluker anytime soon given Fluker sacked him three times.
Lancaster's victory was their seventh straight at home, which pushed their record up to 9-1. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 1-8 Hutchinson-Central Tech/Emerson Vo-Tech/City Honors and 2-7 Niagara Falls (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 44.8% over those games). As for Lewis J. Bennett/Olmsted/Middle Early College/East, their win bumped their record up to 9-0.
Lancaster might still be hurting after the 44-20 defeat they got from Lewis J. Bennett/Olmsted/Middle Early College/East in their previous meeting back in September. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Lewis J. Bennett/Olmsted/Middle Early College/East's Thomas, who rushed for 183 yards and three touchdowns on only 13 carries, and also picked up 113 receiving yards and a touchdown. Now that Lancaster knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
