Mounties regain Luther Trophy

Guy Cipriano

BELLEFONTE — Philipsburg- Osceola’s play matched its throwback jerseys.

CDT photo/Craig Houtz

Philipsburg-Osceola’s Andrew Mann, right, tackles Bellefonte’s Travis Corl during the Mounties’ 28-0 Luther Trophy win over the Red Raiders on Friday.

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The Mounties made Osceola Mills proud by thumping Bellefonte 28-0 during Friday’s Bill Luther Trophy Game at Rogers Stadium.

P-O scrapped its conventional white and navy road jerseys, instead donning blue and yellow tops worn by the 1944 Osceola Mills High School team.

The Mounties then resembled a team from the 1940s, attempting just one pass play on their way to regaining the trophy, which honors former Osceola Mills standout and Bellefonte coach Bill Luther Sr. The trophy will remain at P-O until at least 2012 because the teams aren’t scheduled to play the next two years.

“Who knows when we will ever play them again?” said P-O junior Cody Curtis, who scored twice. “It was a nice win to bring it back home, so we can have it there for a while.”

On a mud-caked field, a rebuilt offensive line allowed P-O (2-3) to gain 326 yards on 53 carries. Quarterback Mike Marcinko attempted his only pass on the Mounties’ third offensive play, giving a line of Matt Randolph, Wes Taylor, Kyle Lanich, Andrew Mann and Justin Shimmel 51 straight plays to run block.

The Mounties’ defensive line, which received a big game from backfield-entering junior Kurtis Walker, was equally impressive, holding the Red Raiders (1-4) to 33 rushing yards on 36 carries. The shutout was P-O’s first since defeating Penns Valley 30-0 on Sept. 15, 2006.

“They were more aggressive,” Bellefonte coach Zac Wynkoop said. “Both sides of the ball they got the push.”

The Mounties only shoved their way to a 7-0 halftime lead. The game changed on P-O’s fourth offensive play of the second half when the Mounties perfectly executed a counter left to Curtis. Randolph threw a lead block and P-O’s skill plays dashed upfield to clear more space. The play produced a 54-yard touchdown run, the first scoring scamper of Curtis’ career.

“That was a thing of beauty,” Walker said. “He deserves that.”

Expect P-O coach Jeff Vroman to show the replay in the film room.

“I thought the kids did a real nice creating the hole, he made a nice cut and we had the blocking down-field,” he said. “Everything was there that we needed. That’s what it takes. You have to have 11 guys doing their job on any given play in order for it work.”

Curtis, who also scored on an 18-yard run in the fourth quarter, led the Mounties with 93 yards on five carries. But Zack Czap (14 carries, 86 yards), Steve Rusnak (18-77) and Marcinko (10-45) also rushed for 45 or more yards.

The Mounties used some sly tactics up front, shifting guards and tackles from side-to-side during the middle of drives. Steady footing and strong hands also prevented the Mounties from fumbling despite constant rain.

“When you get a rainy night, you can’t open it up,” said Vroman, whose team snapped a three-game losing streak. “I was afraid to do anything else but under center because of the rain.”

Most of Bellefonte’s offensive triumphs came on pass plays. Zach Tressler, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound tight end forced to play quarterback because of injuries to starter Ty Warner and freshman Billy Thompson, completed 5 of 11 passes for 88 yards. Torin Miller led the Red Raiders with three catches for 66 yards.

But Tressler was pestered by P-O’s defensive line and threw three interceptions, including two in the third quarter. The Red Raiders also fumbled seven times, with six coming in the second half. Bellefonte lost two fumbles.

The Red Raiders moved the ball to P-O’s 18-yard line during the fourth quarter. But the drive stalled when they fumbled on consecutive plays. Bellefonte recovered both fumbles before Walker sacked Tressler for losses of seven and nine yards to give P-O the ball back.

“We have guys that need to step up,” Wynkoop said. “We had some guys playing positions they aren’t used to playing. We have to get better. I don’t know what to say.”

The Mounties’ biggest concerns arrived after the game.

The artistic performance on an ugly night might turn P-O players into salesmen. Vroman intended for the Osceola Mills jerseys to become a staple of the Luther Trophy Game. But they will be sold because of the rivalry’s pending hiatus. Some players have already inquired about wearing them again this season.

“I think the jerseys were a cool thing,” Curtis said. “That means a lot to the people who played in the 40s and were around whenever Osceola Mills was a high school. I’m sure they were pretty happy with how we did tonight.”

After hoisting the Luther Trophy, Rusnak and Czap, a pair of seniors, decided they didn’t get the jerseys muddy enough. Instead of fleeing to the locker room, they performed postgame mud slides on the Mountie sideline.

“They are already talking about wearing them again,” Vroman said. “It’s a tribute to Coach Luther. Sometimes in rivalry games maybe we need to let our hair down a little bit and have some throwback weekends and things like that.”