RallyNorth.net

Sat, Nov 04, 2017 03:00 PM @ Salem

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Final
Londonderry	0	7	0	7	14
Salem	0	7	14	14	35

Salem overcomes slow start to beat Londonderry, but loses Sibanda

Saturday, November, 04 By Kyle Gaudette

SALEM - It was the perfect game plan, and it was executed near-flawlessly by upset-minded Londonderry in the first half.

Play stout defense, win the turnover battle and milk every possible second of clock on offense against an undefeated Salem team.

Hopeful Londonderry fans stood and cheered as they watched their team run to the halftime break in a 7-7 deadlock with top-seeded Salem. In a game expected by many to be pretty lopsided (Salem had won convincingly, 35-14, just a week prior), the Lancers hard-fought, gritty first half was more than admirable.

But Salem found its groove in the second half on both sides of the ball, eventually putting its foot down to earn another 35-14 win over Londonderry - but this time in the Division 1 quarterfinals. The Blue Devils (10-0) will host Pinkerton (9-1) in the Division 1 semifinals Saturday at 1 p.m.

"I think (Londonderry) had a great game plan and played really tough," said Salem coach Rob Pike. "They're a good team. That's what we expected. We just needed to block better, tackle better, get off blocks and all that stuff we didn't do as well in the first half."

Londonderry, which ends its turnaround season 6-4, controlled time of possession in the first half and took a 7-0 lead when QB Evan Cormier snuck in a 1-yard touchdown on the first play of the second quarter. Salem, which had been held to just 48 yards and a fumble on its first three possessions, tied things up when back Josh Sibanda broke a 93-yard TD with four minutes left in the half.

The big plays continued in the second half for Salem.

On the opening drive of the third quarter, QB Matt Soldano found Michael Langmaid for a 50-yard TD catch to put Salem ahead for good.

"I couldn't have asked for a better pass," said Langmaid. "That definitely helped us out. I was really excited about it, but I knew that one touchdown wasn't going to do it all. So we just had to continue to execute and score more."

Trailing for the first time, Londonderry had to stray away from its clock-killing game plan. But a Salem defense led by big linemen Jake Mullin, linebacker Ben Genest and corner Jacob Emerson were ignited by their team's first lead.

Salem's defense forced three-and-outs on Londonderry's first two drives of the second half, and Salem coupled that with two straight Adam Maroun 1-yard TD runs to break the game open. 

The Lancers scored with 90 seconds left in the game on a Jeff Wiedenfeld touchdown, but Maroun broke a 49-yard TD run (his third of the game) on the ensuing drive.

"We blocked a little bit better than they did," said Pike. "In the first half we had some open receivers and missed them, but in the second half we hit them. So that was a big difference. But we blocked better and faked better and just overall ran our offense better."

Sibanda ejected, out next week

When Salem hosts Pinkerton on Saturday for a spot in the Division 1 championship game on the line, it will most likely be without the electric Josh Sibanda.

In yesterday's quarterfinal win over Londonderry, the star back was assessed two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties for taunting, and was ejected upon receiving his second early in the third quarter. By NHIAA rule, a player ejected for taunting then misses "The next day of scheduled competition."

For Salem, that would be the Division 1 semifinals this Saturday.

According to Salem coach Rob Pike, there is some grey area surrounding the possible suspension. Depending on how the officials of yesterday's game file the report of the ejection to the NHIAA, it is possible that Sibanda could play (if one of the penalties was ultimately deemed to be assessed unfairly).

But all indications point to Sibanda being sidelined, and Salem is preparing as such.

Sibanda was assessed his first unsportsmanlike when he backpedaled into the endzone on his 93-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7-7. He was assessed his second after teammate Adam Maroun scored to make it 21-7, after which he waved his hands in a celebratory manor, excessively, in the direction of the Londonderry sideline.   

With backs Domenic Paci and both Adam and Josh Maroun, Salem has talent in the backfield to fill the void. But it's a big hole to fill.

Including yesterday's game, Sibanda, who had missed three games this season due to injury, was The Eagle-Tribune's leading rusher with 1,269 yards and 14 touchdowns.

 

Salem 35, Londonderry 14

Londonderry (6-4):     0 7  0  7 - 14

Salem (10-0):     0 7 14 14 - 35

Second Quarter

L - Evan Cormier 1 run (Patrick Zepf kick), 11:54

S - Joshua Sibanda 93 run (Zachary Gibbons kick), 4:03

Third Quarter

S - Michael Langmaid 50 pass from Matt Soldano (Gibbons kick), 9:51

S - Adam Maroun 1 run (Gibbons kick), 5:34

Fourth Quarter

S - A. Maroun 1 run (Gibbons kick), 11:57

L - Jeff Wiedenfeld 2 run (Zepf kick), 1:29

S - A. Maroun 49 run (Gibbons kick), 1:03

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING: Salem (41-306): Josh Sibanda 11-148, Adam Maroun 8-74, Domenic Paci 10-47, Josh Maroun 4-21, Matt Soldano 8-16; Londonderry (36-126): Jeff Wiedenfeld 14-61, Evan Cormier 16-46, Mike McAlister 1-9, Jacob Dionne 1-5, Artie Wilkinson 1-4, Connor Dubois 1-5, Alex Tsetslias 1-(-1), Tyler Kayo 1-(-3)

PASSING: S - Soldano 3-13-0, 106; L - Cormier 11-24-0, 102, McAlister 0-1-0, 0

RECEIVING: S - Michael Langmaid 2-99, Aidan Holland 1-7; L - Cole Keegan 3-38, Pat Zepf 4-33, Connor Dubois 1-23, Tyler Kayo 3-8