Upset not totally out of reach for Lancaster

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Wouldn’t it be great if Lancaster followed up last week’s amazing victory over Antelope Valley with an even bigger stunner?

I know the Eagles are a longshot against Palmdale on Friday, but after hearing about their 50-47 victory in a five-overtime, Rocky-style slugfest against Antelope Valley last week, I think they’re capable of pulling off what would be their fifth consecutive win. It takes a lot of guts to go into overtime with the score tied, 14-14, and come out with the victory 36 points later, and that’s the kind of clutch performance Lancaster will need to beat the Falcons.

The only problem is they have to break away from the one-sided play that’s made them so predictable on offense. RB Taveon Burke has more than 1,000 yards rushing and 12 TDs, averaging an astounding 15.3 yards a carry. After him? Well, just cue the cricket-chirping sound effect.

But if Lancaster can find a way to play better defense and get some offense from some unexpected places, it could pull off an upset over a Palmdale squad that’s looked vulnerable at times (remember the Quartz Hill game?). Also, having a chance to finish as the league’s No. 2 team will likely mean Lancaster won’t have to face a league champion in the first round of the playoffs.

And if you don’t know what a Rocky-style slugfest is all about, check out Sylvester Stallone in his Cold War-era duel with Drago:

-- Austin Knoblauch

-- Image from www.lnhs.org