Pickerington Central rolls past Lancaster on homecoming

LANCASTER — Lancaster has had a tough go of it through the first five weeks of the season, and while the Golden Gales have struggled, especially on offense, they were still competitive.

>However, on Friday, Sept. 25, visiting Pickerington Central put Lancaster on its heels just seconds into the game when the Tigers’ Edmund McAllister III returned the opening kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown. The Tigers scored two more times in the first quarter to take a 20-0 lead.

>Even though the Gales played better in the second half, they never recovered from the first-quarter onslaught and would drop a 40-7 Ohio Capital Conference-Buckeye Division loss on homecoming night at Fulton Field.

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>“We puckered up after the opening kickoff, and we were shell-shocked,” Lancaster coach Jeremy McKinney said. “You don’t rise to the occasion; you fall to the level of your training, and we fell below that because we got nervous. When you play nervously, you make simple mistakes that end up costing you the game. We have to get out of our own way moving forward.”

>Pickerington Central, which lost its first three games of the season, improved to 3-3 overall and 3-0 in the conference, while the Gales fell to 1-5 and 1-2.

>The Tigers added a 6-yard touchdown run on their first offensive possession to take a 13-0 lead with 5:48 left in the first quarter, and on Lancaster’s next offensive possession, they fumbled the ball right back to the Tigers. McAllister, who finished with 124 yards rushing on nine carries, scored on a 3-yard touchdown run to push the score to 20-0 with 2:49 remaining in the first quarter.

>McAllister would finish off the first half scoring with a 58-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter to push the score to 26-0 at halftime.

>Lancaster’s offense played a lot better in the second half, especially in the third quarter. The Gales started the second half with an impressive drive that took over six minutes off the clock, but the drive stalled out at the Tigers’ 8-yard line. However, the Gales forced a turnover to get the ball right back at the Tigers’ 13-yard line, and four plays later, sophomore quarterback Carter Carlisle capped a four-play drive off with a 1-yard touchdown run.

>The Tigers would return another kickoff for a touchdown on the ensuing kick, this time for 93 yards.

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>“Defensively, I thought, we had our moments, but we are still giving up big plays,” McKinney said. “We get in the right positions and then don’t finish tackles, but we’re there. Offensively, we have to find our rhythm. I think we find it at times and then we are two steps forward, then one step back, and as soon as you go one step back on offense, it usually doesn’t result in good things.”

>The Tigers finished with 330 total yards, with 318 of those coming on the ground. Lancaster only had 158 total yards. Jahmeir Gordon led the Gales with 94 yards on 27 carries. Carlisle completed 7 of 14 passes for 74 yards, and Elijah Brown caught three passes for 53 yards.

>Lancaster will be back in action on Oct. 2 when the Gales travel to Logan (1-5).

>“We have four games left, and how do we respond?” McKinney said. “I know where (the players’) hearts are. I know they want it, but we have to go take it, and that’s the next step of this journey: learning how to not only want it, but how to go get it, and that is a learned thing.”

>Tom Wilson is a sports reporter for the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette. Contact him at 740-689-5150 or via email at twilson@gannett.com for comments or story tips. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @twil2323.

>This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Pickerington Central rolls past Lancaster on homecoming