Kimmel
SUSQUEHANNA – Whether he lined up at wide receiver or cornerback to begin the play, Max Kimmel went after the ball with the same approach.
Kimmel beat Susquehanna players for what appeared to be 50-50 balls three times – twice on offense and once on defense – in the last eight minutes of the third quarter Oct. 29 to help Lackawanna Trail finish off a 39-7 victory.
“We saw coming up through the Junior Lions that Max had a nose for the ball and was a gifted athlete,” Lions coach Steve Jervis said. “So, we pulled him up as a freshman last year and he was an all-conference kid.
“As a sophomore, he’s really come into his own, making some big plays at the right moment. I’m not surprised in the least. He has a tremendous upside; he’s got a great work ethic; and he’s just a really good all-around athlete.”
The regular-season finale decided sole possession of third place in Division 3 of the Lackawanna Football Conference. The Lions finished up 3-2 in the division and 6-4 overall while the Sabers fell to 2-3 and 4-6.
Kimmel helped shut down Susquehanna’s only surge of momentum as the Lions broke away for good after leading 20-0 at halftime.
“High school football is so much about momentum,” Jervis said. “I thought we did a great job getting off the bus … getting the momentum early. Susquehanna’s always tough up here on a Saturday.”
Kimmel extended the lead to 26-0 on a 41-yard touchdown on a fly pattern when he wrestled the ball out of a defender’s hands while continuing to run up the right sideline.
“It was a good ball by the quarterback Stephen Jervis,” Kimmel said. “I just came down with it. Good blocking by the line gave him time.”
Susquehanna came back up the field for its only touchdown, recovered an on-side kick and drove to the Lackawanna Trail 15.
The 6-foot-2 Kimmel waited on a high pass into the back corner of the end zone, used his height advantage and got up higher than the receiver for his second interception of the game.
“The D-Line put some pressure on the quarterback, made him throw a little bit of a bad ball,” Kimmel said. “And, it’s just listening to my coaches. ‘When the ball’s in the air, be confident in the air’ and I came down with it.”
Leading 26-7 in the last minute of the third quarter, the Lions faced second-and-17 from their 13. Kimmel went down the middle and again went over a defender in a one-on-one situation, this time for a 32-yard pass reception.
The Lions scored four plays later and added another touchdown on their next drive to close the scoring.
“After they scored, I think the two plays, Max’s interception and even then, we’re on (second and long) and he comes up with a big catch,” Jervis said. “Those two plays were important in sealing the game.”
Lukas Gumble scored on a 41-yard run on the third play of the fourth quarter. Isaac Ryon added the last touchdown on a 14-yard run.
Demetrius Douglas scored the first two touchdowns for the Lions on a 6-yard run in the first quarter and a 30-yarder in the second.
Gumble went 4 yards for the first of his two touchdowns and the 20-point halftime lead.
The Lions built statistical advantages of 20-8 in first downs, 319-88 in rushing yards, 87-64 in passing yards, 406-152 in total offense and 28:29-19:31 in time of possession.
Gumble carried 14 times for 117 yards, Hunter Patterson eight times for 82 yards and Douglas six times for 59 yards. Stephen Jervis was 4-for-7 for 87 yards passing.
In addition to his two interceptions, Kimmel also came up to throw the Sabers for a seven-yard loss on a sweep.
Gumble and Kolbee Soltis each had five tackles for the Lions. Gumble broke up two passes and made one of his tackles for a loss. Soltis had a sack.
