Why State College football struggled in its state playoff quarterfinal

Pine-Richland proved to be too much too often in its 55-33 win over State College Saturday in the PIAA Class 6A quarterfinal state playoff game.

The Rams jumped out to a 14-0 lead before State High’s Dresyn Green powered up the middle for a 55-yard touchdown run to cut it to 14-7 at the end of the first quarter.

Pine-Richland added two more quick scores before Little Lions QB Tommy Friberg found Keaton Ellis for an 81-yard catch-and-run touchdown to close the gap. But the Rams didn’t have to punt until just before halftime, when they held a 35-14 lead.

State College tried three fake punts in the first half -- succeeding twice -- and an onside kick.

Friberg and Ellis struck again on a 43-yard pass play to set up a 6-yard run by Green to make it 42-21 midway through the third quarter.

Then an Ellis interception at the Rams’ 48 led to a Little Lions touchdown on an impressive pass and catch from Friberg to Cohen Russell in double coverage to make it 42-27 after a missed extra point.

An early fourth-quarter Rams touchdown bumped their lead to 49-27 before Russell caught a pass, fumbled it near the goal line and and recovered in the end zone to make it 49-33 after a missed two-point conversion. A late Pine-Richland score made it 55-33.

Ellis finished with six catches for 199 yards, while Friberg was 12-for-22 for 301 yards. State College finished the season with a 12-2 record.