CHAMBERSBURG -- The Chambersburg Cardinals made it clear from the first possession Saturday that the Lancaster Lightning would not be lighting up Trojan Stadium.
The Cardinals scored the game's first 31 points en route to a 66-6 win.
Wide receiver Jerell Jones scored three times, including a 70-yard punt return in the first quarter.
Jones added another TD before the quarter ended. After catching a pass from Bill Ashburn and falling to the ground, he realized that he had not been touched by a defender; he then scrambled another 25 yards to give Chambersburg a 17-0 lead.
The Cardinals defense shut down the Lightning offense three times before going into half-time; James Rockymore intercepted E.J. Nemeth’s pass and the Cardinals defense went on to force a four-and-out at the 5 and 10 yard lines.
"We're always trying to get turnovers for our team," said Cordero Newkirk who had two interceptions for Chambersburg. "I was just out there trying to catch the ball."
The Cards added touchdowns by D'Andre Webb who burst through the goal line from 6-yards out, and one by Ottis Lewis who used his height to leap above a defender in the end zone to take a 31-0 lead at the half.
"This is the first game I've been back 100 percent and it feels great to be back playing," said Webb, after having played sparingly for a couple of games due to a hamstring injury. "We're playing as one team with one goal and I was happy to be able to help out tonight."
Lancaster made its only score early into the third quarter. After advancing deep into Cardinal territory due to a facemask penalty, Nemeth connected with Andrew Candy for an 8-yard scoring pass.
Not long after the Lightning score, Jones scored his third touchdown of the night, and Gary Stackfield followed by connecting with a 20-yard scoring pass from Joshua Finafrock, who came in during the second half. "Finafrock (6-for-7 with 87 yards) really stood out to me," head coach Chad Fauson said. "He hung strong back in there and it was nice to see him connect with some guys he's been playing with for a while."
Craig Heyward Jr. became the sixth Cardinal to score during the win with a 5-yard run, and D'Andre Webb scored on a 35-yard run to make the score 59-6. "That run was good, because the whole team executed. I had great blocking from the line, from the receivers, everyone was involved."
A second touchdown by the combo of Gary Stackfield and Finafrock was the final score of the night.
"This was a good team effort," Fauson said. "Offense, defense and even special teams, all sides did good tonight. The key is staying hot and staying focused. We're scoring points on offense; if we protect the football going forward we will be fine.
"Everybody's doing what they're supposed to do."
Information used in this story was provided by the Chambersburg Cardinals. Video used in this story is courtesy of www.ProArtsMedia.com.
