A needed spark: Mills' return gives Little Lions boost over Harrisburg

Walt Moody

STATE COLLEGE — It had been 14 quarters since Dom Mills had seen a snap and the State College senior couldn’t wait to make an impact.

CDT photos/Christopher Weddle

State College’s Alex Kenney, center, intercepts a Harrisburg pass on Friday at Memorial Field. On offense, Kenney ran for two second-half touchdowns in the Little Lions’ 30-19 win over the Cougars.

View larger

Mills, a second team all-state safety last season, caused a fumble on his first defensive play and as quarterback led a long march to a field goal on his first offensive series to help the Little Lions rally past Harrisburg 30-19 Friday.

Bottled up in the first half, Alex Kenney rushed for two second-half scores and Kevin DiSanto booted three big field goals as State College (4-1) turned back the lightning-quick Cougars (1-4) at Memorial Field.

Mills, who sprained his left foot in the second quarter of the season-opener, rushed for 32 yards and threw for 55 more, not staggering numbers, but his impact on the team goes beyond the statistics.

“You could see it in the whole team. We were 10 times more confident,” Kenney said. “He’s an all-stater and a big kid. He’s got one of the best football IQ’s that I’ve been around. I just feel comfortable with him back at safety.”

A lot happened before Mills entered the contest in the first quarter.

After State College failed to take advantage of Harrisburg’s fumble on the opening kickoff, the Cougars got rolling. Harrisburg, started with a 45-yard pass play from quaterback Jalen Fitzpatrick to Charles Arp, and marched 80 yards in just five plays. Running back Jawon Chisolm capped it with a 10-yard run as the Cougars took a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.

State College bounced back when starting quarterback Matt Mazzara found Bryan Schmidt on a third-and-8 screen pass and Schmidt raced up the left sidelines, faking out a Cougar at the 15 on his way to score.

Harrisburg needed just four plays to get the lead back as bowling-ball fullback Niam Williams (a 5-foot-7, 210-pounder) raced nearly untouched through the middle on a 58-yard scoring jaunt. Daryl Franklin’s extra point hit the left upright and missed making the score 13-7.

“We knew they we athletic,” State College coach Al Wolski said. “They’re a great football team. They definitely had us concerned, but our kids didn’t get shook up and we were able to put some points on the board.”

Mills finally got on the field on State College’s net possession. He carried six times for 27 yards and completed three passes for 24 more in a 61-yard march that netted DiSanto’s first field goal, a 26-yarder.

Then on his first defensive play, Mills raced in from his safety spot, nailed Cougar running back Chris Devan, stripping the call as Mark Seeland recovered. The turnover set up DiSanto’s 33-yarder that tied the game at 13-13.

“It feels real good to be back,” said Mills, who said he felt no ill effects from the foot problem. “The first play on defense is what was great to be back.”

Harrisburg held the Little Lions to 17 yards on 17 carries in the first half, but Kenney finally broke through on the second play of the second half. On second-and-6 from the State College 9, Kenney ran left on a jet sweep, dipped inside behind a block from tight end Colby Way, then broke outside behind a block from receiver Garrett Nicholson and was off to the races.

Kenney, a PIAA sprint medalist, raced 91 yards, jogging the final 20 as he easily outdistanced the Cougars, who had been stacking eight tacklers near the line of scrimmage.

“I’m not going to get frustrated about it,” said Kenney, who rushed for 119 yards on six carries in the second half after gaining just nine on seven carries in the first. “I know it’s coming. I’ve just got to be patient and hope for the best.”

Though stifled by State College’s defense, Harrisburg nearly got even as DeAndre Goss raced 89 yards on a punt return with 4:55 left in the third quarter. Schmidt broke through to block Franklin’s extra point to make the score 20-19.

It stayed that way until DiSanto added his third field goal, a 29-yarder, early in the fourth quarter.

“He’s consistent,” Wolski said of DiSanto. “... They were all just good, beautiful kicks.”

Trying to muster a drive with a little more than five minutes left, Harrisburg had a first down wiped out by a penalty and then linebacker Matt Baney picked off Fitzpatrick on the next play and returned it to the Cougar 18.

Two plays later, Kenney swept left, made a nice cut and scored from 16 yards out. The touchdown was Kenney’s 13th of the season.

State College’s defense, which looked shaky in the first half, allowed just 52 totals yards in the second half, with 33 coming on a pair of Fitzpatrick scrambles on the Cougars’ last drive. Fitzpatrick, who had 73 yards rushing in the game, was 0-for-7 with two interceptions after the break.

“We did some things differently defensively,” Wolski said. “The kids played a little harder. We weren’t getting pushed around as we were in the first half.”

Seeland had two fumble recoveries and Jeff Moyer added an interception for the Little Lions, who play at Cedar Cliff next Friday.