COLONY — Struggles along the line and injuries in the backfield spelled trouble Friday for Crest High’s Lancers.
Crest was unable to maintain the momentum it had gathered in a season-opening win over Yates Center.
Instead, it was visiting Arma-Northeast that turned the game solely in its favor over the second and third quarters.
Viking quarterback Jackson Payne threw five touchdown passes as Northeast pulled away in the second half to win 42-14.
The loss drops Crest to 1-1, while Northeast (1-1) snapped an 11-game losing streak that dated back to the end of the 2023 season. It was also the Vikings’ first win since the squad shifted down to the eight-man ranks prior to the start of the 2024 campaign.
Crest struck early when quarterback Lane Yocham found Kole Walter down the field for a 70-yard touchdown late in the first quarter, putting the Lancers ahead 8-0.
But Payne found his groove in the second quarter, throwing touchdowns of 20 yards to Tayven Willard, 64 yards to Tegan MItchell and 13 yards to Justin Busse.
The Lancers came up dry on their last drive of the half, as a fourth-down pass into the end zone fell incomplete on the final play.
The Vikings proceeded to put the game out of reach early in the second half.
Payne tossed a 10-yard score to Mithcell and a 38-yard dart to Mitchell. Brayden Smith busted free for a 24-yard touchdown run midway through the third to put the lead at 42-8.
Meanwhile, Crest saw several key performers sidelined due to injury. Kole Walter, Xander Fuller, Henry White and Yocham all exited, with only Yocham returning to the field in the second half.
He threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Koiy Miller in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter to cap the scoring.
The Lancers travel to Oswego next Friday.
