Mounties' playoff hopes waning

Ryan Spring

FISHERTOWN — The line of scrimmage was a tough battle for Philipsburg-Osceola on Friday night at Chestnut Ridge.

The Mounties still had chances to win, but things didn't quite come together in a 14-13 loss to the Lions, putting a damper on their playoff aspirations.

Chestnut Ridge’s offensive line allowed Jude Donatelli to control

the ground game, as he picked up 134 yards on 32 carries and scored both touchdowns.

“Our line did a good job up front,” said Chestnut Ridge coach Max Shoemaker. “Donatelli had most of our yardage, but the offensive linemen deserve a lot of credit. Jude runs hard, but he’ll be the first to tell you the line does a great job for him.”

Even with the Lions working to control the clock, the Mounties benefitted from a pair of fumbles and tough defense to keep it close.

Zach Czap’s second field goal of the night, a 22-yarder, cut the Chestnut Ridge lead to one point before the Lions took the ball at their own 22 with 9:25 left in regulation.

Eight plays later, Ridge was forced into a fourth and very short near the Mountie 45-yard line. This time, the P-O front stuffed Donatelli for no gain, handing the ball over to its offense with 4:43 left.

Czap gained five yards on two carries, then quarterback Mike Marcinko scrambled out and hit Cody Curtis for eight yards and a first down. Curtis was stopped for nothing on first down, and two incomplete passes made it fourth-and-10 at the Ridge 42.

Marcinko called his own number on a bootleg and appeared headed for a first down, but Lion linebacker Luke Wiley reacted just in time to pull the Mountie signal-caller to the ground a yard shy of the first down.

With the ball back and only 2:25 showing on the scoreboard, it was “Donatelli time” once again. The bruising back chewed up nine yards, and three straight four-yard jaunts, before a final threeyarder sealed the fate of the Mounties.

“The bottom line is they outplayed us up front,” Philipsburg-Osceola coach Jeff Vroman said. “That’s where the game was won on their end. We didn’t make some plays on defense.”

P-O jumped on the scoresheet first thanks to a Chestnut Ridge fumble on its opening drive.

Taking the ball at the Lion 21, the Mounties couldn’t get much, but Czap made sure his team would receive points as he blasted a 36-yard field goal straight through the uprights.

Chestnut Ridge moved 74 yards in 10 plays to take the lead on a Donatelli one-yard plunge. However, P-O came right back as Czap returned the kickoff all the way to the Lion 18. A 14-yard run by Curtis and a pair of short runs set up Marcinko to score from a yard out. Czap’s extra point the guests ahead 10-7 with 4:41 remaining in the opening quarter.

“We did a nice job blocking on the (Czap kickoff) return,” said Vroman. “We weren’t surprised that they didn’t kick to him anymore after that. But the times that we had a chance to score, we were too inconsistent.”

Notes:There were 10 penalties in the game. ... Steve Rusnak led P-O in rushing with 53 yards on eight carries. ...

Philipsburg’s Parker Watson led all receivers by catching three passes for 46 yards. ... The Mounties drop to 3-6, while Chestnut Ridge is 5-4.