Jason Byrd and Christian Nolan recap the exciting football season as the Lancers prepare to compete for the state title at the Navy Stadium in Annapolis on Thursday, November 29 at 7:00 p.m.

Jason – To those that are listening welcome to The Road to States podcast, I’m Jason Byrd and with me is Christian Nolan.

Christian – In the podcast we are going to recap the crazy journey that the Lancer football team has endured to make it to their second consecutive appearance in the state championship.

Jason – Their first game was Blake High School and they went off as usual, the final score 45-8. The Lancer defense had two blocked punts, one by Jake Santis and one by Joey Bromley. The defense really stepped up in that game.

Christian – Another thing that really did help in that game was the sack totals by Brian Rumburg, Matthew Beekey, Dustin Keith, as well as Joey Bromley who has had a really good playoff series these past few games and has looked to be a big key point into this upcoming game, which is the State Championship.

Jason – You know who else has had a really big impact for this Lancers team throughout the playoffs is Davon Butler. Davon Butler helped lead Linganore to a regional win against Westminster 52-20 and he helped contribute to a Lancer total of 451 rushing yards alone in the game along with another blocked punt and a great performance by the defense. And coming into that Chesapeake game we scored 45-6, Christian what did you see from the Lancers in that game?

Christian – In the Chesapeake game there was mainly the defensive standpoint that really destroyed Chesapeake’s offense. Matthew Beekey again, Dustin Keith, and especially again Joey Bromley who had a blocked punt and also a fumble recovery to return for a safety. Linganore’s offense in general is already good, but their defense is what’s keeping their game their game and they’re just blowing out every team that they have faced throughout this whole playoff series.

Jason – Something that I noticed from the offense through all three of these games actually was that half of Linganore’s starting drives on the opposing teams side of the field, the defense has put up a lot of stops, forcing offenses that keep them on their side of the field and they only have allowed 20 points against Westminster. What are they going to have to do against Franklin do you think?

Christian – It’s just the defensive presence again like you said the highest amount that their opponents have scored on them was 20 points and even then they were already up by 50 points going into the fourth quarter and even then they had put their second team and even things out and let other people play so they can see what they have to do next year. It’s just the defensive presence that they need to control and maintain and like Coach said in his interview that we did later today, was that it starts in practice and if they carry it through Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, then on Thursday they should be able to bring back another back to back championship.

Jason – Earlier today, Christian interviewed Coach Chris O’Connor, who has been a huge factor for the Lancers’ offensive effectiveness. Here’s what Christian was able to get from Coach O’Connor.

Christian – Last year in the championship, your guys went into the half down 19 points. What does the team as a whole need to do to avoid a deficit like that for this year’s championship.

Coach O’Connor – I think number one, it starts with a good week of practice. Number two, we need to get off to a good start and control what we can control.If things are going our way, awesome, if not, we can’t shy away or we can’t get timid or we can’t falter. We have got to keep playing.

Christian – So how do the team captains and leaders contribute to the entire team’s success during the lows and highs of the game?

Coach O’Connor – They’re the pulse of the team. If things are going well, they keep us energized and enthused and on point. If things aren’t going well, they’re still level headed and calm and they get us back on track.

Christian – And then the last one he wants me to ask you is how impactful will your team’s execution be when you’re team is challenged by another high-caliber team?

Coach O’Connor – That’s usually what determines who wins big games because it’s the State Championship. They’re going to be good, we’re going to be good, it’s who can execute their assignments.

Jason – The predictions for this week’s states game I have are Linganore Lancers winning 35-30. The reason for this close game is because both Linganore and Franklin have high powered offenses.