For Yorktown News
The last year-and-a-half the Lakeland football team has played as entertaining a brand of ball as any team in Section 1.
Unfortunately, it had little to show for it, losing six games in the final minute during that time.
Then it appeared it could be headed for another heartbreaker when leading 13-6, John Jay-Cross River, which entered the game 4-0, was driving for the game-tying touchdown.
That is when Greg Lenane stepped up big time, intercepting a pass and taking it to the house 70 yards with 1:10 to play to give Lakeland a 20-6 lead, which turned out to be the final score.
“Honestly, when I first got it, I thought I should just kneel on it and let time run out,” Lenane said, “but I made the decision to run with it and I never looked back.”
Lenane then put the finishing touches on the ultra-sweet victory with another interception with just 43 seconds remaining, setting off a wild celebration on the field and in the stands under the lights at Lakeland High School.
“I am speechless,” Lenane said. “My last home game here, it’s the greatest feeling in the world.”
A big reason why Lakeland was able to enjoy that feeling was because of its aggressive defensive-game plan, which rattled the explosive John Jay offense like no other team had previously this fall.
“We just did some different things defensively, we took a chance,” Lakeland coach Rob Cappelli said. “We were fortunate, we made some plays when we had to. We won the turnover battle which was huge. Like I said, we took a chance on defense, we rolled the dice and it paid off.”
Lenane further explained how Lakeland (3-2) was able to hold previously explosive John Jay to just six points.
“That is all on coach,” Lenane said. “We covered every lineman, they couldn’t get to our linebackers. Our linebackers were able to fill all night. That is what let us win.”
Offensively, the Hornets got on the board when Anthony Capozzi (65 yards on 11 carries and 4 catches for 64 yards) ran 25 yards into the endzone, putting the Hornets up 6-0 with 11:14 to go in the second quarter.
John Jay then tied it on an 11-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter, setting up the dramatic fourth quarter. That’s where Jimmy Flaherty broke the tie with 2:51 remaining in the game.
Flaherty, who garnered 53 rushing and 74 receiving yards on 21 offensive touches, scored on a 12-yard touchdown run, where he ran around the left-side and dove toward the goal line for what turned out to be the game winner. Ryan Thomas’ extra point gave Lakeland a 13-6 lead.
“We needed that touchdown,” Flaherty said. “I saw an opening and I wasn’t getting tackled. I was getting in that endzone for my team.”
Lakeland’s offense was also helped out by Brian Prunty, who passed for 172 yards.
“This is a big win, look at what we have gone through the last two years,” Cappelli said. “We lost four games by the total of nine points, two in overtime, last year. This year we come out, lost in triple overtime and then we lose to Panas with 42 seconds left. We have 23 kids on this team this year, a few seniors, probably the smallest team in the section.”
With the win, Lakeland stays alive in the Section 1 Class A playoff race. The Hornets will look to keep their playoff hopes alive when they travel to Brewster for a 7 p.m. game on Oct. 11.
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