LeRoy-Ostrander halfback Ben Adams, who is widely known as a offensive threat, used his abilities as a linebacker to reach the end zone against Lyle/Pacelli Friday night in area 9-man football action. Adams scored three defensive touchdowns in the game as the top-rated Cardinals crumbled visiting L/P, 67-16.

The first score came at the 9:33 mark in the first quarter, when a fumble recovery led to a 55-yard touchdown return.

Adams' second and third touchdowns came in the second quarter, one from a blocked field goal that resulted in a 67-yard jaunt to the end zone, and his final score from an 18-yard interception return. Adams only carried the ball as a running back three times for 13 yards.

The Cardinals offensive points began with 10:53 in the first quarter on a 19-yard rushing touchdown by Eric Nelson. Just over one minute later, Adams' fumble recovery put LeRoy-Ostrander up 13-0.

Lyle/Pacelli answered with its first points on the game at the 4:24 mark, with a Mario Cisneros 23-yard field goal that closed the gap to 13-3.

LeRoy-Ostrander scored late in the first quarter on a 1-yard run by Kellen Bucknell. A failed 2-point pass play conversion attempt left the score at 19-3 when the whistle sounded to end the first quarter.

In the beginning of the second quarter, Lyle/Pacelli advanced the ball well into Cardinal territory but was denied any points by Adams' blocked field goal. It was during L/P's next possession that Adams struck again with his interception, which increased LeRoy-Ostrander's lead to 34-3.

With 3:19 left in the second, the Cardinals struck again. This time on a 5-yard pass play from backup quarterback Kirk Olson to Joe Bunne. Bunne led the team in rushing with nine carries for 71 yards and two touchdowns. The extra point advanced the score to 41-3.

Mitch Lunning added a three-yard run with 19 seconds left in the half to make it 47-3 in favor of the top team in 9-man football.

The second half of the game played out to be a continuation of the first half.

Bunne score his second touchdown on a 10-yard run that, combined with a 2-point conversion run by Josten Vreeman, put the Cardinals up 55-3. Vreeman added a 7-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter to make it 66-3.

Lyle/Pacelli's Chris Bergstrom broke a 54-yard touchdown run with 57 seconds left that closed the score to 61-10 after a successful Cisneros point-after kick. Bergstrom led Lyle/Pacelli with 11 carries for 77 yards.

Each team crossed into the end zone one more time in the fourth quarter to make the final score 67-16. LeRoy-Ostrander's Lance Peters added a 1-yard touchdown run and Lyle/Pacelli's Nels Nelson had a 20-yard touchdown reception from Jake Kaput to close the game out.

LeRoy-Ostrander had 416 total yards of offense -- 295 of which were on the ground -- while Lyle/Pacelli mustered only 205 total yards with only 63 yards via the run.

L/P's Joey Greibrok and Kaput combined their efforts at quarterback, going 9-for-23 for 149 yards, a touchdown and seven interceptions, while L-O quarterbacks Jake Rowe, Kirk Olson, and Neal Bucknell went 7-for-10 for 121 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.

Lyle/Pacelli head coach Mark Buntje remained positive despite the loss.

"The team came to play even though we knew this would be a tough game for us," he said. "The blocked field goal and interception that resulted in touchdowns really knocked the wind out of us. We never did recover after that."

LeRoy-Ostrander will keep its winning streak intact going to 4-0, while Lyle/Pacelli (0-4, 0-3) will look for its first win next Friday for homecoming against Granada-Huntley-East Chain-Martin Luther (2-2, 2-1), a team they defeated last season. LeRoy-Ostrander will travel to Cleveland (1-3, 1-2) where they will take on the host Clippers.

Summary:

Score by quarters

Lyle/Pacelli3076--16

LeRoy-Ostr.1928146--67

Scoring summary

LO -- Nelson 19 run (kick failed)

LO -- Adams 55 fumble return (Orum kick)

L/P -- FG 23 Cisneros

LO -- Kellen Bucknell 1 run (pass failed)

LO -- Adams 67 blocked field goal return (Adams run)

LO -- Adams 18 interception return (Orum kick)

LO -- Joe Bunne 5 pass from Kirk Olson (Orum kick)

LO -- Mitch Lunning 3 run (run failed)

LO -- Bunne 10 run (Vreeman run)

LO -- Vreeman 7 run (run failed)

L/P -- Chris Bergstrom 54 run (Cisneros kick)

LO -- Lance Peters 1 run (run failed)

L/P -- Nels Nelson 20 pass from Jake Kaput (kick failed)