FOOTBALL
Senior scores twice on defense, once on offense
to help Linganore coast
The Linganore senior tight end and outside linebacker found ways to help the Lancers on both sides of the ball in the Ravens RISE High School Football Showdown.
The 6-foot-2, 180-pound senior returned an interception for a touchdown and also scored on a fumble return on defense. On offense, he added a touchdown catch as host Linganore took advantage of Tuscarora’s mistakes to pull out a 34-20 victory over the Titans.
Kolick scored one touchdown on offense and one on defense in the first quarter, and added his second defensive score in the third. He helped the Lancers (7-2) to an early 14-point lead that Tuscarora (4-5) couldn’t recover from, mainly because of six turnovers.
“The ball was just landing right in front of me,” Kolick said. “The ball was just finding me.”
Then late in the third quarter, Kolick made a catch that set up another Linganore touchdown. He also recovered a second fumble.
Kolick stays busy since he plays both ways, rarely coming off the field.
“He’s a heck of a player, offensively and defensively,” Linganore coach Rick Conner said. “He plays more snaps than any other player on the team.”
There was a long delay when emergency medical personnel needed to be called to treat Tuscarora’s Shamon Gennes with nine seconds left in the third quarter. There was no word on his condition after the game.
Turnovers on the first two drives hurt Tuscarora and helped Linganore take an early lead. The Titans were driving on the game’s first possession before Kolick picked off quarterback Christian Edwards’ pass near the sideline and raced for a 80-yard touchdown.
“[That] pick-six was huge, and it got us going,” Conner said.
On Tuscarora’s next drive, Edwards fumbled and Linganore recovered at its 43. The Lancers made it 14-0 seven plays later when quarterback Ryan Leyh threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Kolick.
Bennett Formulak made the extra points on the first two scores.
Kolick recovered a fumble in the second quarter, but that didn’t lead to a score as Tuscarora defensive back Jordan Addison picked off a pass by Leyh in the end zone. Addison intercepted Leyh twice in the first half, keeping Linganore’s halftime lead at 14-0.
The Titans had scored 301 points in the first eight games this season, including 71 last week, and they moved the ball throughout the first half. In fact, all six of their drives went into Linganore territory, but Tuscarora could not score.
Linganore put the Titans in an even bigger hole at the start of the second half. Joey Felton took the opening kickoff and broke free down the right sideline for a 93-yard touchdown and a 20-0 lead.
Tuscarora began driving again on its next possession and scored its first points when Aris Hilliard found a lane up the middle and ran for a 39-yard touchdown.
Ryan Barrick’s extra point made it 20-7 with 9:12 left in the quarter.
The Titans hurt themselves again on the next drive — and Kolick did it once more. He picked up a fumble in the Tuscarora backfield and ran for a 32-yard touchdown for his third touchdown of the game. Formulak added the extra point for a 27-7 lead.
Kolick then made a 27-yard catch that gave the Lancers a first down at the 6-yard line. Ben Musselman ran for a touchdown on the next play as Linganore took a 34-7 lead with nine seconds left in the third quarter.
Edwards threw two late touchdowns in the fourth quarter to make it closer, but the Titans couldn’t overcome the early hole and their turnovers.
“Turnovers, that’s what happens in big games,” Tuscarora coach Vince Ahearn said. “We have to take care of the ball.”
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