FREDERICK, Md. — In a game with 12 combined touchdowns, Linganore (5-1) found itself in the end zone two more times than Frederick (3-3) on its way to a 49-35 victory in downtown Frederick on Friday night.
The Lancers offense, powered by the legs of running back Ethan Arneson and quarterback Christian Petruzzello, ran past the Cadets passing attack. The two Linganore stars combined for all seven touchdowns, while the defense got just enough stops to secure the win.
Early in the first quarter, Arneson tallied his first of many touchdowns on the night, scoring from 18-yards out. He would add a second score later in the quarter as he received the direct snap and pushed across the goal line.
Frederick was first on the board in the second quarter, and would account for the next two scores in the game. The first score came on a Greyson Rollman pass to receiver Newton Esseim, and the second touchdown came on Rollman’s legs from 10 yards out to tie the score.
Linganore would grind the ball on the ground, run down the clock, and had off the ball off to Arneson for his third score of the first half to give the Lancers a 21-14 lead at halftime.
After receiving the kickoff to begin the second half, Linganore used its patented rushing attack to drain nearly half of the time off the clock in the third quarter. The long drive was capped off by a rushing score from Petruzzello which gave the Lancers a two-touchdown lead.
But with their quick-play threat, the Frederick offense took the field and showed off their explosive ability. Less than minute later, Rollman hit Esseim again for a 74-yard touchdown which brought the Frederick deficit back to one score.
As quickly as Frederick scored, Linganore would answer right back. Petruzzello hit a big pass to receiver Michael Rawlett, which setup Arneson for his fourth touchdown of the night.
Once more before the end of the quarter, Frederick found the end zone on an end-around run by Tyrico Morgan. The Cadets trailed 35-28 heading to the final quarter of play.
Departing from their ground game, Linganore faced a 4th & 9 early in the quarter, converted not only the first down, but marched into the end zone as well on a 34-yard pass from Petruzzello to Andrew Moxley.
Another Rollman pass to Morgan, and a final rushing touchdown from Petruzzello were the final scores of the night for both teams. Frederick made it to midfield on their final drive, but turned it over on downs to end any hope of a comeback.
In a matchup between two teams with high-scoring offense, but very different offensive styles, Linganore made more plays and got more stops to emerge victorious, 49-35.
Linganore heads home next week and will face Middletown (2-4). Frederick returns to action next week on the road at Urbana (4-2).
