Little Lions survive on road

Guy Cipriano

CAMP HILL — Bryan Schmidt routinely hears State College coaches tell players a smattering of plays determine games against quality opponents.

Schmidt and his teammates are wittier than many teenagers, so they ponder the coach speak. Sometimes they even think like coaches during their trips to the Harrisburg area.

The fodder increases weekly, especially after games such as Friday’s 40-28 victory over Cedar Cliff at West Shore Stadium.

Schmidt helped a veteran staff prove one of its daily mantras by scoring on a 29-yard screen pass and returning a punt 83 yards for a touchdown to help the Little Lions pull away from the gutsy Colts.

“Coaches always say there are four or five plays that make a game,” Schmidt said. “Tonight, we got those four or five plays to go our way.”

Schmidt’s two second-half touchdowns will stick out. The Colts and Little Lions were tied 28-28 with less than eight minutes remaining to the delight of persuasive Cedar Cliff coach Jim Cantafio.

“Up until eight minutes to go they couldn’t stop us,” Cantafio said. “I couldn’t believe we were controlling the offensive line of scrimmage. I couldn’t believe how our kids were playing.”

There might be some exaggeration in Cantafio’s words. But, yes, the Colts (3-3), who were outscored by the Little Lions 125-14 the past three years, flustered State College (5-1).

The teams were tied 21-21 at halftime because Cedar Cliff attempted 21 first-half passes and rebounded from allowing two touchdowns in less than a minute.

State College took a 28-21 lead on Dom Mills’ aesthetically pleasing third-quarter screen pass to Schmidt, which came two plays after a block in the back placed the Little Lions into a second-and-22 situation. The left side of State College’s offensive line, up-field blocks by multiple receivers and shifty moves by Schmidt turned a dismal situation into six points.

“That’s one of our best plays,” Schmidt said. “We have a great line. They can all move and they made some nice blocks.”

Cedar Cliff tied the game again when 5-foot-7 quarterback Tyler Orris tossed an 8-yard touchdown pass to tight end Ahren Whitman with 10:19 remaining. Orris and Whitman entered this season as backups. Starting quarterback Tim Kelly suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in a scrimmage. Starting tight end Jeff Lebo dislocated his left ankle with 4:02 left in the third quarter.

None of those facts mattered to State College coach Al Wolski.

“We knew they were going to be better than in the past,” Wolski said. “We were telling the kids all week they are a good, well-coached and hungry team.”

With the game tied in the fourth quarter, State College embarked on a 9-play, 63-yard drive that ended on Mills’ 3-yard run. Mills, who had 83 yards on 15 carries, ran the ball five times during the drive. He also completed a 28-yard pass to wide receiver Ben Sallade, who gracefully leapt over Andrew Washington to make a side-line- hugging catch, moving the ball inside the Colt 10.

State College’s defense then forced a three-and-out. Josh Wingard’s high punt floated to the Little Lion 17, where Schmidt waited. Schmidt broke two tackles at the 40 and sprinted left. Colby Way made a final clearing block on Wingard, giving Schmidt his second special teams touchdown this season.

“We just made some great blocks,” said Schmidt, who returned a kickoff 85 yards against John Marshall (W. Va.). “Our special teams are always good.”

Schmidt’s big plays were needed because the Colts accomplished one of their major goals by holding Alex Kenney to 15 yards on five carries. Kenney scored an unconventional touchdown in the second quarter when he caught a 26-yard pass from Way, a tight end/fullback, and glided into the end zone. Cantafio ordered his punter and kicker to avoid Kenney, who has 14 touchdowns in six games.

“We wanted to take away their best football player and we did that,” Cantafio said. “He’s unbelievably dangerous.”

So is Schmidt. Three of the senior’s four touchdowns have come on plays of 29 yards or longer.

“They are going to kick away from Alex because he’s a great athlete,” Schmidt said. “I just take what I can get.”

Kenney’s touchdown reception gave State College a 14-7 lead with 11:53 left in the second quarter. The Little Lions scored 51 seconds later when linebacker Shane Dorner recovered a high snap that eluded Orris and bounced into the end zone.

State College’s first touchdown also came on a big play as quarterback Matt Mazzara faked an inside-right handoff to Kenney and sprinted 59 yards left less than two minutes into the game.

“Our kids hung tough,” Cantafio said. “They really, really did, and I told them the difference in the ball game was that State College played all three phases: offense, defense and special teams.”

Cedar Cliff offered State College’s pass defense with its biggest test. Orris completed 17 of 31 passes for 213 yards to six different receivers. The Colts compiled 311 offensive yards, with 214 coming during the first half.

Cantafio’s unpredictable offense gave the Little Lions a glimpse of what they might see when Bishop McDevitt visits Memorial Field later this month. A slew of Bishop McDevitt players and coaches attended Friday’s game.

“We knew we had to step it up,” Way said. “We weren’t playing our football in the first half. Frankly, in the second half, I didn’t think we were, either. But we did enough to win.”