Lions Head to State Finals for the First TIme In 23 Years

WHS Lions Pride Original Story:

by Danielle Tyler

Friday night was the 2A state semifinals. Going into this game the Walkersville Lions were 11-2 and the North Caroline Bulldogs were 12-0. The Walkersville Lions came from behind in the final seconds to pull through with a 17-15 victory.

In the first quarter with 7:21 left on the clock junior Chad Gleason ran for the Lions first touchdown of the game. Sophomore Noah Sadler made the extra point, making the score 7-0 Walkersville. With 2:06 left in the first the Bulldogs retaliated with a touchdown, but their extra point was no good, making the score 7-6 Walkersville. Walkersville fumbled with 1:15 left on the clock recovered by the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs couldn’t deliver, end of the first.

Second quarter on the way, with 10:45 left on the clock the Bulldogs score making it 12-7. The Bulldogs tried to go for the two point conversion but couldn’t pull through. With 31 seconds left in the second quarter Sophomore Jacob Wetzel intercepted the ball and ran for a touchdown, Sadler made the extra point making the score 14-12 Walkersville.

The third quarter went scoreless. although the Lions dominated the line of scrimmage.

In the fourth quarter Walkersville fumbled with 7:02 on the clock, and the Bulldogs recovered. The Bulldogs drove the ball down to the red zone, but thanks to some strong Lions defense they were forced to kick a field goal making the score 15-14 with 4:42 left on the clock. The Lions received the ball on the 35 yard line with one last drive to go to the a State championship. After a few strong runs and a 15 yard penalty on the Bulldogs, the Lions found themselves with a chance to attempt a game winning field goal. Sadler came through in the clutch and nailed the 23 yard field goal to send Walkersville to the 2A State Championship.

After the game Noah Sadler said, “Honestly I knew it was going to come down to me. And when I looked over at the bench when I was on the field, I saw all my brothers were praying and I realized ‘like wow I really can’t miss this’. It feels great. I can’t be more proud to play on this team”

Senior Bruce llanga said, ” It’s a crazy feeling — throughout the first few years we have faced a lot of adversity and nobody believed in us; we’ve had players quit and transferred to play for other schools, but the remaining seniors studied together and came back strong. Going into this next game we know there will be a lot of nerves, but we have to stay calm and continue to play our smashmouth football”

Junior Chad Gleason said, “It feels amazing to have this win because I never thought we’d be in this position this far in the season. We’re all so close together and it’s a bond that nobody will ever break”

Head Coach Joe Polce said, “This has to be the best time of my coaching career at Walkersville. I’ve spent a lot of time with these guys and watched them grow up and become great athletes. I’ve been coaching them since most of them were nine years old. The seniors have been through so much and it’s just a great feeling to get this win”

The Lions will play for the 2A State Championship next Saturday at 7pm against Patuxent at M&T Bank Stadium.