Lebanon is coming off a rare 0-10 campaign, but with 17 total starters due back in Cedars’ camp, things should be looking up. And Lebanon is hoping to move back up the standings behind four-year starter and blue-chip recruit Mark Pyles, who will pace the offense under center and the defense from his linebacker spot. How will the Cedars respond to a winless season? Below is Lebanon’s Countdown to Camp preview.
SCHOOL NAME: Lebanon Cedars
COACH: Gerry Yonchiuk
LAST YEAR: 0-10 overall, 0-7 in L-L Section 2
LAST 5 YEARS: 18-33
RETURNING STARTERS: 8 on offense; 9 on defense
KEY PLAYERS: QB-LB Mark Pyles; WR-DB Jeremy De La Cruz; OT-DT Darius Ramsey; WR-DB Nick Negron; WR Jeronimo Rodriguez; OL-DL Connor Cummins; OL-DL Lucas Imm; WR-DB Xavier Baez; LB Joe Rupponer; WR Taj Cintron.
OFFENSIVE OVERVIEW: If it’s Lebanon that means the “Air Raid”, and the Cedars’ no-huddle attack is in the very capable hands of Pyles, a four-year starter who passed for 1,471 yards and nine TD last season. His favorite target is De La Cruz, who piled up 60 catches for 618 yards last season — plus 359 yards on the round. Yonchiuk is hoping for more pass/run balance this time around, and don’t be surprised if Pyles tucks it and takes off a little more. The 6-0, 220-pounder is a specimen. Cedars’ sputtered on O last fall, suffering back-to-back shutouts to open the season and averaging a un-Lebanon-like 10 points per game. With eight starters back — including Ramsey, Cummins and Imm in the trenches — and an arsenal of fleet wideouts at Pyles’ disposal, here’s guessing that number will go up. Never a dull moment when Lebanon has the ball.
DEFENSIVE OVERVIEW: When Pyles isn’t throwing passes or barreling over unsuspecting would-be tacklers, he’ll be the linchpin of the Cedars’ “3-4” D from his outside LB spot. He’s being recruiting as an LB by Princeton, Penn, Yale, Bucknell, Fordham, Colgate, Army, Navy, Syracuse and William & Mary. Dude’s an animal — and he’s No. 1 in his class with an eye-popper 4.56 GPA. Lebanon will need more than just Pyles making plays, however; Cedars yielded a league-worst 48.6 points per game last fall, including 67 to Cedar Crest, 69 to Manheim Central and 64 to Conestoga Valley. Ouch. Gotta clean that up — or else.
BIGGEST GAME: August 30 at Cedar Crest in the annual Cedar Bowl game between the neighboring archrivals. Both teams craving a much-needed win in this one.
MORE LEBANON CEDARS: 2013 SCHEDULE
L-L LEAGUE SCRIMMAGE SCHEDULES
REINHART’S CRYSTAL BALL: Still scratching my head over Lebanon’s 0-10 run last fall. The “Air Raid” stalled and the defense was quite porous. And while some of the stats were fun to look at, the only number that mattered at the end of the day was zero — as in zero victories. That’s never any fun. So how does Lebanon get this thing turned around? First and foremost, stopping people. Pyles will certainly make his fair share of stops. But he’ll need help. Put some emphasis on defense. Take pride in three-and-outs. And sacking quarterbacks. And forcing punts. Baby steps. If the Pyles-to-De La Cruz connection is cooking and the Cedars can mix in a running game to suck up some clock, the offense will be just fine. But if Lebanon doesn’t crack down on D, it’ll be mired in the back of a tough Section 2 grind. No way these guys go 0-10 again. Too much pride — and talent — here.