TriStateFootball.com

La Salle tops Colerain on late FG

CINCINNATI — Friday’s La Salle-Colerain game was decided on a 41-yard field goal by senior kicker Drue Chrisman with just 10 seconds to play.

At that point the rain was coming down harder than it had all game.

Chrisman connected, sending the Lancers to a 39-36 win over Colerain on Marge Schott Field at Lancer Stadium.

“I just prayed and I knew Drue would get it up in the uprights, and he got it up in the uprights and that’s what we needed,” said junior safety and running back Jarell White.

In the first two games for La Salle (3-0) White had been playing mostly safety after being part of an explosive backfield for last season’s state title winning team. However he would return to the offensive backfield for the Lancers in this game, and he responded by scoring two rushing touchdowns.

La Salle's Jarell White (James Adams/TSF).

La Salle’s Jarell White (James Adams/TSF).

“My key is to be on defense but whenever the offense needs me I don’t mind going over there, it’s a team sport and I play out there for my team,” White said.

Perhaps the biggest play for White on the evening came on defense early in the fourth quarter when he returned a fumble by Colerain (2-1) senior quarterback Deshaunte Jones 90 yards for a touchdown that put his team ahead 36-29.

That’s a play Cardinals’ fans will not soon forget as it appeared Jones was down before White stripped the ball, however there was no whistle and White’s touchdown counted.

Colerain head coach Tom Bolden was livid after the play and continued to hound the officials for the remainder of the game, and it is a play that the opposing fan bases will likely never agree on.

The Cardinals still managed to tie the score at 36 and force a La Salle punt but they were pinned back at their own 4 yard line with just over four minutes to play.

On a 3rd and 10 deep in its own territory, Colerain was unable to convert the first down thanks to a nice open field tackle by Lancers’ senior linebacker Kyle Farwick that would force a Cardinals punt.

The stop would eventually led to the game winning field goal.

“We’re thinking: Four downs, get off that field and let our offense do the work, and they did a great job and as you can see game over, winner us,” said La Salle senior defensive lineman Nolan Keller.

The Lancers had an opportunity to jump ahead of Colerain early as the Cardinals lost three first-quarter fumbles, the first of which was recovered by Keller. But La Salle would only be able to score seven points off of those three early takeaways.

The Lancers may not have capitalized in the first half scoring just seven points but they made up for it in the final 24 minutes with 32 second-half points.

“Going into halftime we new the game wasn’t over and we were going to come out on top, we’re a second half team.” said Keller.

La Salle head coach Jim Hilvert is in his first year with the Lancers after eight years as the head coach for Thomas More College and his Saturday afternoon game day experience will come in handy next Saturday when La Salle hosts Christian Brothers (Tenn.) (3-0) at noon.

The Cardinals will look to rebound next Friday night at Mason (2-1) in their first conference game of the season. Colerain hasn’t lost a GMC game since 2008.

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