The Daily News from Lebanon, Pennsylvania • 11

I WJHfr vK. Flyers down Sabres, 4B WITH NBA, NFL LEBANON DAILY NEWS SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2009 come up short against Crusaders Raiders Elco was undaunted by the Section Three champs but couldnt match Catholics firepower. By PAT HUGGINS Staff Writer LANCASTER There are a lot of football teams in Section Three Raiders proved a great deal to both themselves and their opponent Behind big nights from senior quarterback Arron Achey and junior wideout Eric Ondo, the Raiders hung 28 points and 324 total yards on Catholics vaunted defense and gave the Senior Night crowd at least a few anxious moments by scoring first via a seven-yard TD strike from Achey to Tyler George five plays and 2:02 into the game. As the final score indicates, Cath that dont belong on the same field as Lancaster Catholic. Elco is not one of them.

But as the Raiders now know, playing with the mighty Crusaders is one thing. Beating them is another matter entirely. Elcos hopes of capturing a share of the Section Three title were dashed by a 51-28 loss at Catholics Rossmere Stadium Friday night, but en route to the regular seasonending defeat, the playoff-bound olic (9-1, 7-0 Section Three) responded and then some. Then again, it really had no choice against an Elco squad that came ready to play. They showed resiliency.

They showed toughness, said a proud Elco coach Mark Evans. They went against a good football team and didnt back down. The kids battled. Im very proud of them. Theres no other way to say it Ultimately, though, the Raiders, now 8-2 heading into next weeks opening round of the District Three Class AAA playoffs, were done in by an inconsistent first-half offensive effort that followed the initial score, as well as Catholics powerful offense led by star senior.

QB Kyle Smith. Following a 32-yard field goal from Geoffrey Arentz midway through the opening quarter, Smith hit Quinn Houser with a 21-yard See ELCO, page 3B HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL Phillies Phils pick up Lees option Philadelphia will pay Cliff Lee $9 million to play for them next season. After that, who knows? Associated Press PHILADELPHIA The Philadelphia Phillies have picked up Cliff Lees $9 million option for 2010. The team announced the expected move on Friday, two days after losing the World Series to the New York Yankees. Lees contract expires after next season, though general manager Ruben Amaro Jr.

said the team is open to signing the star left-hander to a longterm deal. Lee, 31, was acquired from the Cleveland Indians on July 29 for four minor leaguers, and quickly became Philadelphias ace. Lee posted a 3.39 ERA in 12 starts for the Phillies, then went 46 with a 1.56 mark in five postseason outings, including 26 in the World Series. Lee might command a deal similar to the seven-year, $161 million contract the Yankees gave C.C. Sabathia.

Lee told MLB.com on Thursday that hes interested in staying with the Phillies but had not given much thought to his contract The Phillies have until Monday to decide whether to pick up a $5 million option on third baseman Pedro Feliz, who batted .266 with 12 homers in 2009, hitting mostly seventh in the lineup. He had a solid year for us, Amaro said. I like the man personally. Hes a great person, a great teammate, but I also believe in trying to improve and change can be for the better. It doesnt necessarily mean were going to, but its something that well look into.

Not picking up Felizs option doesnt prevent the Phillies from re-signing him. With Lee in the fold next season, the Phillies have $104.5 million committed to 12 players, and are expected to give raises to four salary-arbitration eligible players: Shane Vic-torino, Joe Blanton, Carlos Ruiz and Chad Durbin. Amaro suggested that the teams 2010 payroll will be similar to last seasons, some where between $130 million and $140 million. Lebanon quarterback Alex Trautman lets a pass fly over the outstretched arms of Elizabethtown defender Tyler Clark on Friday night. toil victory The Cedars finished the season with a 39-32 victory against Elizabethtown.

By ANDY MEASE For the Daily News A shootout came to town, and the Lebanon offense was certainly ready for it Friday night in Lebanon, the Cedars (4-6 overall, 4-3 Section two) finished off its season with a 39-32 victory over Elizabethtown (4-6 overall, 34 Section two), a game in which the teams combined to score 71 points and put up 927 yards of total offense. The Cedar offense, in particular, was firing on all cylinders Friday night gaining 487 total yards in the vietoiy, 353 of them thanks to the arm of sophomore quarterback Alex Trautman. Trautman finished 16-for-27 for 353 yards and four touchdowns. That passing line, coupled with his 26 yards and one touchdown on the ground, gave him 379 allpurpose yards and five touchdowns. Trautman, however, was unable to finish the game after sustaining an ankle injury on an 18-yard scamper for a first down on the final drive.

That play, coupled with a handful of Nate Zidik carries, helped Lebanon seal the victory. It (the ankle) sure feels better after a win, said Trautman. I owe it to my team and my coaches for the season I had. And what a season it was for Trautman. He finished the season 124-for-264 for 1,660 yards, 14 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Not many people predicted those kinds of numbers for the sophomore coming into the season. See CEDARS, page 3B Too little, too late for Cougars Palmyra ended its once-promising season at 4-6. By CHRIS FIDLER For The Daily News PALMYRA The Palmyra Area High Schools football team waited one possession too long to wake up from its four-week a battle for the Mid-Penn Conference Liberty Division title, Middletown survived a fourth-quarter Cougar rally, holding off the hosts 28-20 Friday night in the regular-season finale at Buck Swank Stadium. Palmyra concludes the 2009 campaign at 46 overall, 3-2 in Liberty. The Cougars once-promising season ends on a five-game losing streak, dating back to an Oct 10 visit to Red Lion Christian Academy in Bear, Del.

Meanwhile, the Blue Raiders (7-3, 4-1) repeat as division champions in the second year of existence for the Liberty. After falling behind 28-7 throgh three quarters, Palmyra put up a pair of touchdowns in a two-minute span of the fourth to trim the deficit to 28-20 with 6:47 remaining. The hosts last chance came at 1:51 when quarterback Jason Rices fourth-and-two pass wras knocked away at the line of scrimmage, 23 yards short of the end zone. With Palmyra out of timeouts, Mid dletown wras able to run out the clock. We came out and things were a little bit uncertain, said Cougar head coach Chris Pope.

We had some bad field position in the first quarter. They put some points on the board, but then our kids kicked it in, and Im real proud of the wTay they came back. We got some momentum and gave them a run. We just ran out of time. The game-winning touchdown came on a bizarre fourth down with 2-33 left in the third quarter.

On a fourth-and-11 on the Palmyra 39, Middletown quarterbackpunter Aaron Lupia See COUGARS, page 3B ASSOCIATED PRESS The Philadelphia Phillies picked up the $9 million option for Cliff Lee, and the team said its open to a long-term deal. A gut-wrenching finish the ball 67 yards from victory. A quick completion by Gristick for 16 yards to stop the clock Another completion took the ball to the Comets 35. The clock stopped while they moved the chains, standing at 3.8 seconds. The Falcons hustled to get lined up and spike the ball.

To then regroup and call one last play. The snap, Gnstick takes a step back and kneels? And, like that time runs out and the Comets (8-2) win, 36-35. The game ended. is all Tom Waranavage, Falcons coach, said about the final play. Through three quarters, it had been all Cedar Crest Behind the brilliant and brutal running of Charles Kyeremeh Jr.

and Sean Sellers, who combined for 301 yards and four touchdowns, the Falcons led 35-22 going into the last quarter. Cedar Crest was getting everything and See FALCONS, page 3B A last-second mistake led to Cedar Crests 36-35 loss to Penn Manor. By ZACH ARMLTH For the Daily News No, it was not supposed to end like this. The first 47 minutes of thrilling nailshred-ding action in Cedar Crests loss to Penn Manor Friday night were unforgettable. But the last minute, actually the last play of the game and the season, surely Falcons fans will try to forget, over and over.ln a game that featured four scoring plays of more than 60 yards and a come-from-behind miracle by Penn Manors backup quarterback.

Falcon quarterback Gary Gristick's mistake that ended the game defined anticlimactic. With 56 seconds left in the last quarter, no timeouts, down by one, the Falcons (4-6) got Cedar Crests Sean Sellers stretches forward for an extra yard while being wrapped up by Penn Manors Garrett Young..