‘I’m proud of those guys’: How State College football trounced rival Mifflin County to start season 1-0
The Little Lions entered into Lewistown for a date with the Huskies and their eyes on the prize — the Seven Mountains Bucket.
They came, they saw and they conquered, defeating Mifflin County 51-6 in a matchup that saw a heavy rotation of State College’s lineups.
State College rotated quarterbacks throughout the game — Finn Furmanek, Jack Morris, Ian Brandt, Owen Yerka and Tommy Egerer all played under center. Little Lions head coach Matt Lintal was pleased with the performance of each quarterback throughout the game and excited about the opportunity to get five of them onto the field.
“Those kids work really hard and their attitude is awesome,” Lintal said. “We have those three juniors that have been competing, and we had a sophomore come in and score on a long run, and then Tommy Egerer come in at the end. We trust all of them, I’m really excited about all of them and they’re so team-oriented. We had one [quarterback] that couldn’t be with us tonight, but we’ll have one more to get in at another point. I’m proud of those guys.”
Furmanek shined with a 55-yard passing touchdown and a 5-yard rushing touchdown on the night for the Little Lions. He was one of two quarterbacks to score, with Yerka breaking off a 56-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter.
“I just knew I had to work and if I made a mistake, I would get out [of the game],” Furmanek said. “So, I put 100 percent [into it] and it just felt great to have two touchdowns.”
The junior Furmanek opened up with a 55-yard touchdown pass to T.J. Yoder to give State College a 7-0 lead with 11:24 on the clock in the first quarter. After regaining possession following Mifflin County’s three-and-out, Little Lions kicker Quinn Murphy nailed a 26-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead with 6:50 to go in the first. Following a long drive, Brady Bendik punched the ball in on a 4-yard touchdown rush with 3:24 remaining in the first for a 17-0 State College lead. Branden Price capped off the Little Lions first quarter with a 35-yard punt return for a touchdown to give them a 24-0 lead with 1:50 left.
State College continued with Yoder’s second touchdown on a jet sweep for the 31-0 with 1:02 left in the half. Yoder’s two touchdowns tied Furmanek on the night, and it was a welcome sight for the senior running back and slot receiver.
“I was just really excited,” Yoder said. “I trust my teammates and they just gave me the right opportunities. I’m thankful for everyone. We always have guys that are ready to go in. So, it’s really good. We have a lot of depth and a lot of talent everywhere.”
Mifflin County scored its lone touchdown of the game after a 15-yard touchdown scamper by quarterback Jared Lyons with 7:54 left in the third quarter The Huskies’ two-point conversion was unsuccessful, and State College held a 31-6 lead. Furmanek later punched in a 5-yard rushing score with no time remaining in the third to give the Little Lions a 37-6 after the blocked extra-point attempt.
Yerka, a sophomore, rushed for a 56-yard touchdown (7:21), followed by a 1-yard touchdown rush by freshman running back Ty Salazer (2:06) to give State College a 51-6 lead and the victory.
Mifflin County head coach Scott Sechler gathered his players after the game and praised them on their hustle throughout. However, it wasn’t nearly enough to halt State College — a foe that he knows will be fully prepped under Lintal.
“They’re just good every year,” Sechler said. “You think, ‘All right, this is the year where they’re not going to be good,’ and they just reload with another group of kids. They’re very well-coached. They made some mental mistakes tonight as well, but theirs didn’t obviously cost them as much as ours did with turning the ball over and fumbling and things like that. Coach Lintal does a great job with them and it shows every year. That’s why they usually make a deep run in the playoffs season.”
This story was originally published August 27, 2021 at 11:22 PM.
