LISBON — Lisbon senior Colby Levasseur confessed that he is not the fastest guy on the field, but he does enjoy plowing under a defensive line to get into the end zone.
Levasseur spent most of the game charging into harm’s way, but his efforts produced two of his touchdowns and led Lisbon to a 24-7 victory over feisty Poland in a Class D football game on Friday night.
“I enjoy running hard,” Levasseur said. “I am not a speedy guy. I try to run over (a defensive line). I thought (our offensive) line blocked well.”
“He had a solid game and ran the ball well,” Lisbon coach Chris Kates said.
Kates added that he liked how his team controlled the ball at the line of scrimmage.
Besides Levasseur’s bulldozing exploits, the Greyhounds (4-3) shook off the disappointment of three stellar drives that ended in turnovers.
Lisbon’s first possession of the game looked promising, as it sped to the Poland 17-yard line on the backs of Levasseur and Cabral Jordan. But the Greyhounds were stopped after giving up a fumble.
The Greyhounds got the ball back and moved to the 38-yard line, but Poland (3-4) defensive back Isaac Ramsdell intercepted a pass to put the kibosh on Lisbon in a scoreless first quarter.
The Knights’ confidence was high after recovering a fumble and an interception— eventually scoring 2:12 into the second quarter from the 3-yard line. Knights quarterback Dylan Cook reeled off 21- and 3-yard passes to get to the 3, where Brady Martin scored. Cook kicked the extra point and the Knights were ahead 7-0 in the second quarter.
After the Greyhounds fumbled again, they eventually got the ball back at the Poland 45. Junior Jimmy Fitzsimmons bolted from there for Lisbon’s first touchdown with 2:58 in the first half. Levasseur rushed on the conversion and Lisbon led 8-7 going into halftime.
The Greyhounds shook off those first-half turnovers and dominated the ball with a third-quarter possession that gobbled up eight minutes off the clock with a grinding, hard-nosed drive that brought them to the 5-yard line.
Levasseur barreled into the end zone from the 5 with his first of two touchdowns. Fitzsimmons came across on the conversion that gave Lisbon a comfortable 16-7 lead. Levasseur scored again in the fourth quarter on a 10-yard run and delivered the two-point conversion as well.
Poland coach Gus LeBlanc said Lisbon is a big, strong team, but he also said key injuries are hurting the Knights.
“I was really pleased with their efforts,” LeBlanc said. “We played good defense.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
