New London football stays alive

LONE TREE — The New London football team needed a victory on Friday night, and the Tigers got one in spades.

Having lost their last three games and one more defeat away from postseason elimination, the Tigers went in to Lone Tree and routed the Lions 54-8.

New London scored first and never let Lone Tree get off the ground. The Tigers led 7-0 after one quarter, 35-0 at halftime and 47-0 after three quarters as they blistered the Lions for the third time in the last four meetings.

The Tigers torched the Lions for 281 yards rushing. Joel Lacy led that charge, running for 85 yards and two touchdowns. Josh Glendening ran for 70 yards and two scores.

Dom Lopez went a perfect 4-for-4 throwing the ball, airing it out for 95 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 66 yards and a score.

Boden Pickle led the receiving corps, catching four balls for 61 yards and two touchdowns.

New London’s defense shut Lone Tree down all night. The Tigers forced five turnovers, three on fumbles and two interceptions.

Pickle had two take-aways, a fumble recovery and an interception. Lacy and Trent Wilkerson each had a fumble recovery, and Ryan Richey picked off one pass.

New London moved to 3-3 overall, as well as 2-3 in district play. They could finish the district at .500 with a win against Hartwick-Victor-Ladora (1-6, 0-5) next week.

The Tigers currently sit in a tie for fourth in Class 8-Player District 6, and only three teams get an automatic berth. New London could get one of those with a win and a Winfield-Mount Union loss on Friday. Otherwise, the Tigers will need to hope to get one of just two at-large spots class-wide.