Spartans Wow Crowd at Homecoming

Homecoming is always an event at Southern Lehigh. But Friday's Homecoming was especially memorable. 

Mild temperatures coupled with fall break for many colleges ensured that the home stands were packed to capacity. And the Homecoming events did not disappoint. The Spartan Band put on a halftime show complete with dancing by the "Blues Brothers." Halftime also included the crowning of Homecoming King and Queen, with the court circling the field in a golf cart caravan.

The game with opponent Notre Dame Green Pond was certainly no disappointment, with the lead flipping several times but with the Spartans come out on top. Emotions on both teams were high, resulting in a number of personal foul calls and penalties, with Notre Dame racking up 85 yards of penalties. At one point, a near brawl erupted, with coaches and referees breaking up a pushing match after a sideline collision.

Notre Dame drew first blood in the second quarter as Kyree Bowles ran a Sam Walborn (SL) kick for 70 yards to cross the goal line for NDGP.   But the Spartans came back when Jake Melusky took a Ty Edmond pass over the goal line for the Spartans. Score at halftime was 7-7.

Each team would come back with two touchdowns in the third quarter, with Bowles repeating his second-quarter performance by returning a kick and running 55 yards to cross the goal line. It seemed as if NDGP would be taking home the victory when Noah Miller reached up and snatched a high 32-yard pass to cross the goal line for the Crusaders. 

But the Spartans responded with a drive down the field, with the ball ending up on the one yard line. Jared Gerhard did the honors for the Spartans, taking the ball across the line. Melusky would add another touchdown, tying the score as the game moved into the fourth quarter.

The fourth-quarter, as it turned out, belonged to the Spartans as they outscored the Crusaders. Matt Durkin started the scoring for SoLeHi, plowing through NDGP defenders for a touchdown. Bowles managed to get the ball across the line again for the Crusaders., but the Spartans kept control of the ball and Melusky took the ball across the line the final time for the Spartans with 5:03 left in the game. The Spartan defense kept the Crusaders under control and Notre Dame never really enjoyed another shot at scoring. The final score was 34-28 for a Spartans victory.

The win keeps Southern Lehigh on top in the Colonial League South Division with a league record of 3-3. The team meets Wilson Saturday afternoon at Wilson's field at 1:30pm.