The chips were stacked against Salisbury even before Friday’s kickoff against Southern Lehigh in the regular season finale. The Falcons were without a number of their play makers due to injury and other factors.

The path to victory got even more difficult when junior quarterback Jacob Kamp went down with an injury early in the second quarter.

Southern Lehigh scored on its first four drives and never looked back, putting an on offensive clinic in its 51-7 victory over Salisbury at Southern Lehigh High School. The Falcons managed just 114 yards of total offense.

“Sometimes those match ups aren’t the best when we have guys who have been playing JV all year, and then in certain positions they are not exactly 100 percent physically ready for those positions,” Falcon head coach Andy Cerco said. “But they mentally know what they are doing, and they executed to the best of their abilities. That’s all we can ask of our kids.”

Besides Kamp, the Falcons were also without a number of other starters that included: Lucas Irwin, Alex Glenn, Chad Parton and Kyle Pingarelli.

Before the Falcons (4-6) could get any rhythm offensively, the host Spartans had already raced out to a quick 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Running back Luke Strauss, who later in the game eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards for the season, led off the scoring with an 18-yard touchdown run. Then, following a Falcon interception, Spartan fullback Michael Sisselberger punched in a 2-yard touchdown run on the next play.

The Falcons gained four first downs on their next drive, brining the ball down to Southern Lehigh’s 5-yard line. But a 23-yard field goal attempt from Oliver Stewart was blocked by the Spartans’ Dalton Mussleman. Eight plays later, Spartan quarterback Travis Edmond hit Elijah Price for a 4-yard touchdown to put Southern Lehigh (9-1) in complete control at 23-0.

“So what is that, six original starters that aren’t participating?” Cerco said. “The guys who are backups, they know what they are doing, and they are trying as hard as they possibly can. When you go up against one of the best teams in the league, it isn’t easy when you don’t have six guys that aren’t available.”

The ball continued to bounce in Southern Lehigh’s favor. On the ensuing kickoff, a shallow kick dropped around a couple of Falcons, but it was a Spartan that came away with the football. Edmond then hit running back Nathan Derby in stride on the next play for a 26-yard touchdown pass.

Strauss scored his second touchdown of the game on Southern Lehigh’s first possession of the second half to push the Spartans’ lead to 37-0. Tim Buda, who led the Falcons with 59 rushing yards, got Salisbury on the board near the end of the third quarter with a 1-yard plunge.

But the Spartans’ offense couldn’t be tamed. Running back Brennen Harding Jr. added a 13-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter, and Jake Fauzio’s 12-yard burst capped Southern Lehigh’s scoring on the night.