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Report card: Lackluster Lions tortured by Temple

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Battle over Kane’s hold on office plowing up legal questions

SUSQUEHANNA &#8212; Nanticoke headed to the locker room at halftime down by just a point and well ahead in terms of momentum and every major statistic.When the Trojans left the field for the day &#8211; following a lengthy on-field, postgame lecture from coach Ron Bruza &#8211; they were a beaten team that could not catch a punt or handle a snap from center.Five straight botched snaps from center in the fourth quarter, following a muffed punt that left Nanticoke not even attempting to field any late in the game, contributed to the seven turnovers Susquehanna used for a 28-6 victory Saturday afternoon in the non-league football opener at William Emminger Memorial Field.Throw in Nanticoke&#8217;s series of untimely penalties and Susquehanna&#8217;s offense was required to move a grand total of just 25 yards for the team&#8217;s 28 points.&#8220;We just showed our youth today,&#8221; Nanticoke coach Ron Bruza said. &#8220;We have a young team. I have five seniors.&#8221;The muffed punt, a Nanticoke personal foul as the players were pulled out of the pile and another Trojans penalty before Susquehanna ran the next play set the Sabers up at the 5 in the first quarter.Nolan Hausser got the ball in for the first of his two touchdowns on fourth-and-goal from the 1 and the Sabers led, 7-0.Alec Norton forced a second-quarter fumble that Cooper Bartle recovered at the Susquehanna 33 to set up Nanticoke&#8217;s only score.Norton, who finished with 131 yards on 25 carries, ran 19 yards on the first play. He picked up five more on fourth-and-four, then completed the drive with a one-yard touchdown.A chance to tie was halted by two straight penalties (because they were on the conversion, they were not part of Nanticoke&#8217;s eight penalties for 63 yards statistically) then a bad snap.Following Susquehanna&#8217;s opening drive, Nanticoke did not allow a first down the rest of the first half while outgaining the Sabers, 122-56, in the first two quarters.When Nanticoke had trouble with an exchange in the backfield on its first play of the second half, Zach Conrad recovered for Susquehanna at the 15.Kyle Donovan rolled left on third-and-eight and hit Logan Conrad in the end zone for the touchdown and a 14-6 lead with 7:53 left in the third.Susquehanna, a District 2 Class A finalist last season, pulled away in the final three minutes with touchdowns 20 seconds apart.With nose guard Evan Aldrich disrupting the middle of the Nanticoke line, the Trojans started having trouble with every snap and lost three turnovers in a span of four offensive plays.Zach Conrad&#8217;s second fumble recovery, followed by Nanticoke coming out with 12 players on defense, put Susquehanna at the 5. Hausser scored from there on the next play.Nanticoke switched to a shot gun snap, which went over the quarterback&#8217;s head, kicking off a chaotic play. The ball traveled back 28 yards before Noah Jennings picked it up for Susquehanna at the 4, only to cough it up on the way into the end zone. The Trojans missed a chance to cover the ball for a safety and Jarred Mills got on it for the Susquehanna touchdown.&#8220;Am I disappointed? Yeah,&#8221; Bruza said. &#8220;But these guys still came out here and played hard.&#8221;Nanticoke finished with leads in first downs, rushing yards, total offense and time of possession.While still trailing, 14-6, it started drives from the 5 and 3 after letting Eric Peters&#8217; punts go.&#8220;I take pride in our special teams,&#8221; Bruza said. &#8220;That&#8217;s a game changer.&#8221;Susquehanna 28, Nanticoke 6Nanticoke`0`6`0`0`&#8212;`6Susquehanna`7`0`7`14`&#8212;`28First quarterS &#8211; Nolan Hausser 1 run (Dan Braun kick), 3:17Second quarterN &#8211; Alec Norton 1 run (bad snap), 4:08Third quarterS &#8211; Logan Conrad 13 pass from Kyle Donovan (Braun kick), 7:53Fourth quarterS &#8211; Hausser 5 run (Braun kick), 2:45S &#8211; Jarred Mills recovered defensive teammate&#8217;s fumble in the end zone (Braun kick), 2:25Team statistics`NANT`SUSFirst downs`13`6Rushes-yards`50-130`30-92Passing yards`22`51Total yards`152`143Passing`3-7-1`4-9-0Sacked-yards lost`1-8`2-8Punts-avg.`3-37.3`6-40.7Fumbles-lost`8-6`4-2Penalties-yards`8-63`8-59INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRUSHING &#8212; NANT, Norton 25-131, Ocyrus Leemoui-Brown 12-43, Ian Novakoski 1-3, Nick Littzi 3-minus 1, Matt Wrubel 7-minus 19, Team 2-minus 27. SUS, Donovan 15-57, Hausser 12-33, Wes Richardson 2-2.PASSING &#8212; NANT, Wrubel 3-7-1-22. SUS, Donovan 4-9-0-51.RECEIVING &#8212; NANT, Leemoui-Brown 2-15, Norton 1-7. SUS, Richardson 1-21, L. Conrad 1-13, Evan Haley 1-10, Dyland Monks 1-7.INTERCEPTIONS &#8212; SUS, Noah Jennings 1-3.MISSED FGs &#8212; None.<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Tom RobinsonFor Times Leader</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Times Leader sport at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @TLsports</shirttailMeta></div>

Penalties, miscues sink Nanticoke