Red Raiders run past Nativity

NEW PHILADELPHIA - Lourdes' Mike Bastian turned in his typical workhorse performance Saturday afternoon.

But it was a special-teams play that helped turn the game in the Red Raiders' favor for good.

Bastian ran for 144 yards on 23 carries and blocked a field goal midway through the second quarter to help Lourdes to a 28-7 All-American Football Conference victory over Nativity at the Simon Kramer Institute.

"I thought it was huge," Red Raiders coach Mike Klembara said of the blocked field goal.

With 8:17 left in the first half and the game tied at 7, the Green Wave (2-7, 2-4 AAFC) took over at the Lourdes' 29-yard line after a 20-yard punt by Bastian. Nativity got to the 5 when quarterback Tom Leganza hooked up with Taylor Luckenbill for 20 yards, as Luckenbill stretched out to make the grab.

However, the Red Raiders' defense held and Christian Modesto came on to give the Green Wave the lead with a 24-yard field goal. But Bastian broke though and blocked the kick.

Lourdes (6-2, 4-1 AAFC) took over at the 14 and drove right down the field. Bastian had runs of 29 and 35 yards during the five-play drive, capped by an 8-yard touchdown run by Dylan Lawrence.

"We knew from get-go we were going to have our hands full," Klembara said. "Obviously, that was a key thing, and then we went down and scored."

It was the start of 21 answered points by the Red Raiders as they won their fifth straight game. Lourdes is also likely to get a home game in the first round of the Eastern Conference Class A playoffs in two weeks. The Red Raiders are also still in the hunt for an All-American Football Conference title.

Running back Tony Foster and quarterback Mike Klazas were back in the lineup for Nativity after both missed last week's game at Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech. But the Green Wave was unable to regain the momentum after the blocked field and follow-up touchdown as they lost their fourth straight.

"This is the best game we've played in a couple of weeks," Nativity coach Tony Klazas said. "We played hard today, so we can take that as a positive. We just have to keep plugging away. We've taken our lumps this year."

Bastian scored the game's first touchdown on a 3-yard run with 7:24 left in the first quarter. Nativity came right back to tie it when Luke Navitsky outleaped a defender to score on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Michael Klazas.

Lawrence, who added 86 yards on 12 carries, scored on a 42-yard run on Lourdes' first offensive play of the second half after a Green Wave turnover.

"Scoring the first play of the second half was also huge," Klembara said. "Once it got to 14-7, our offensive and defensive lines took over."

The Red Raiders' final touchdown came on a 17-yard pass from Jonathan Vanaskie to Joe Gownley on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Lourdes finished with a 281-182 advantage in total yards while four of Nativity's six second-half drives ended in punts. Bastian now has 893 yards rushing on the year and needs 107 next week against Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech to get to 1,000.

The game was also the Green Wave's All-American Football Conference finale. Nativity is moving to the Twin Valley Conference starting next season. It also brought to an end, at least for now, the Lourdes-Nativity football rivalry.

Klembara was hoping to play a non-league game with the Green Wave next year in Week 8 or 9, but Nativity's schedule won't allowed it.

"I am very sad it is ending," Klembara said. "Since Cardinal Brennan closed, this was the closest thing we've had to a rivalry."

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