Border, Huntingdon steamroll Penns Valley

Penns Valley football coach Martin Tobias wasn’t surprised.

He knew that Huntingdon was going to run Ian Border.

Still, there’s not much the Rams could’ve done to slow the junior bulldozer.

Border ran all over Penns Valley, recording 216 rushing yards and four touchdowns in a 55-27 win over the Rams on Friday night.

Penns Valley (1-4) has been outscored 96-35 in its last two games, while Huntingdon (2-3) snagged its first win since the season opener.

And the Bearcats did it on the back of Border.

“We were going to hammer him,” Huntingdon coach Michael Hudy said.

Midway through the first quarter, the 6-foot, 210-pound back gave the Rams a taste of what was to come, bursting through the second level untouched for a 47-yard touchdown on his first carry of the evening.

Border barreled in for a second score with 28 seconds left in the first quarter, giving Huntingdon a 13-0 advantage after one.

Tobias wasn’t happy.

“He’s an outstanding back,” the coach admitted. “We didn’t tackle him. We didn’t shed blocks. We didn’t make plays.”

However, the Rams did rebound.

Penns Valley quarterback Andrew Tobias connected with Marcus Woodford for a 25-yard score after the senior wide receiver beat man-to-man press coverage to the corner of the end zone with 10 minutes to go in the second quarter.

Minutes later, after forcing a rare Huntingdon punt, Penns Valley struck again with a 20-yard Colton Wenrick rush.

The Rams led 14-13.

Despite allowing another Bearcats touchdown and trailing 19-14 at halftime, things were looking up for Penns Valley.

But an 18-second third-quarter swing ultimately decided the tone, and outcome, of the game.

Huntingdon, after picking off Tobias, drove down the field in its first drive of the second half, capping it with a 39-yard flanker screen touchdown from Andrew Hudy to Jonathan Price.

On the ensuing kickoff, Penns Valley’s Jared Hurd fumbled, and the Bearcats recovered.

The next play? A 30-yard rushing score from Border.

In a matter of three plays, Huntingdon held a three-score lead and all the momentum it could ask for.

“It was a big swing,” Michael Hudy said.

“Those are things you can’t do when you’re facing tough competition,” Martin Tobias said. “You can’t beat yourself.”

Penns Valley’s signal-caller fought back, as Andrew Tobias hooked up with Woodford again on the Rams’ next drive. The quarterback completed 15 of 22 passes for 192 yards, while Woodford led all receivers, snagging six passes for 99 yards.

But Huntingdon kept its foot on the pedal. A 49-yard jet sweep score by Price finished off a 22-point third quarter for the Bearcats, and two more Border touchdowns — a 45-yard rush and a 31-yard interception return — polished off the Rams in the final period.

As a team, the Bearcats racked up 352 rushing yards on 35 attempts.

“They didn’t surprise us with anything that way,” Penns Valley’s coach said.

Meanwhile, the Rams tallied 343 total yards, 148 of which came on the ground.

Martin Tobias said the improved rushing attack was a welcomed sight, led by Wenrick’s 82 yards on 15 carries.

But the Rams’ three total giveaways still haunted him.

“Other than the turnovers, I was pretty pleased,” Tobias said of the Rams’ offense.

Penns Valley will look to bounce back next Friday at Philipsburg-Osceola.

This story was originally published September 23, 2016 at 11:52 PM with the headline "Border, Huntingdon steamroll Penns Valley."