Philipsburg-Osceola football’s season opener with West Branch had it all — except one thing
Philipsburg-Osceola’s 2021 high school football season opener had it all on Friday night.
However, one thing was missing.
The Mounties were unable to close out the game — which had a near 40-minute weather delay — falling 28-21 in overtime to cross-town rival West Branch.
“The rain delay didn’t help. I thought that really affected both teams,” P-O coach Jeff Vroman said. “I thought it took away from the flow of the football game. After that rain delay, I didn’t think that things were ever settled.”
The game got settled in one overtime period by the Warriors.
West Branch took three plays on a drive that started on the 10-yard line to score its 21st straight points. Quarterback Tyler Biggans used two consecutive runs, the last from four yards out, to score. It was the Warriors’ only lead of the game.
The Mounties got their chance to respond.
Matt Martin, who led the team with 139 yards rushing on 21 carries, was stopped at the line of scrimmage, which was the 10-yard line. Quarterback Ben Gustkey overthrew a wide-open Martin on second down.
On third down, Gustkey rolled out and gained just one yard, making it fourth-and-goal. Gustkey rolled out on fourth down and threw up a ball to Andrew Faust that fell incomplete. However, the Warriors were called for a pass interference call, which gave P-O one more shot from the five-yard line.
Martin was given a hand-off that West Branch strung out and kept the senior from the end zone, ending the game.
“My heart feels like it’s going to explode. I can’t give enough credit to everyone,” Warriors’ coach Kevin Hubler said. “Everybody stuck with it. (Down) 21-7, there is a lot of teams that (would) just pack it in. We didn’t give up a point in the second half. I thought our conditioning showed through at the end of the game.
“Four quarters in this heat, plus overtime, in Week 1, it’s tough. The kids did an awesome job.”
As Hubler said, his team was on the ropes early as the Mounties came out and scored on their first drive of the game.
P-O used an 11-play drive that consisted of nothing but runs to shave nearly five minutes off the clock. Martin had four carries in that drive that he ended with a nine-yard score, giving the Mounties a 7-0 lead with 47 seconds left in the first quarter.
West Branch responded on the next possession. Biggans connected with a wide-open Kyle Kolesar in the middle of the field for a 49-yard score, and the game was tied.
P-O went on a 10-play drive following the Warriors score that started on its own 35. The drive again was very run heavy, which is typical of Vroman’s Wing T offensive scheme.
“Coach Vroman has run that Wing T for years. His goal is to run it right down your throat,” Hubler said. “He was doing that early. He had us on the run. It was our goal to make them throw the football.”
A key play of the drive though, was a pass that saw Gustkey hit an open Martin in the flat, that he took 32 yards. The drive ended with Luke Hughes pounding the ball in from the one.
The first play of West Branch’s next drive, sophomore Jakodi Jones picked up an interception for the Mounties at the Warriors’ 35 and returned it to the 20.
Four plays later, P-O used another Hughes’ one-yard score to claim a 21-7 lead with 3:53 left in the first half.
West Branch used a 12-play drive that ended with Biggans connecting with Jackson Croyle for a 14-yard score through the air to make the score 21-13 with 13 seconds remaining in the first half. Before the extra point could be tried, the game was halted for a weather delay.
The teams essentially went to halftime. They came out, and the Warriors kicked the PAT to make the score 21-14 with 13 seconds remaining in the first half.
The 13 seconds got played, but after it, the teams played hot potato with the ball. The Mounties picked off Biggans for a second time, but they fumbled the ball away on their possession.
After forcing the Warriors to punt on their next possession, P-O muffed the punt that West Branch recovered. Following that recovery, the Warriors went on a near two-minute drive that was capped off with Biggans running in from three yards out to tie the game at 21-21 with 4:39 left in the third quarter.
The Mounties were driving and looked like they were on track to reclaim the lead when they were deep in the West Branch end of the field. However, a third fumble ended the drive.
“It was one right after the other. One was after a nice run,” Vroman said of the turnovers. “We had momentum, and we fumble the snap. We had a defensive stand. We fumbled the punt. Turnovers kill you in the game of football. They definitely hindered us tonight.”
The teams traded possessions with P-O having a shot to win at the end of regulation, but ultimately the pass was dropped to force the overtime.
Even though his team lost, Vroman was still pleased with how his guys competed. He had several key players who ended up having to come out of the game due to cramping issues.
He felt that having this type of game to open the season could only help his squad for the rest of the year.
“It’s the way you have to look at it. It’s only one football game,” Vroman said. “I thought West Branch played a nice football game tonight. They moved the ball consistently at times, and we didn’t make some plays. Those turnovers in the second half were the tell tale of the football game.
“I told the kids, ‘Hey, we got to suck it up. We are in the weight room tomorrow (Saturday) morning because we need to prepare for next week.’”
West Branch 28, Philipsburg-Osceola 21 (OT)
Friday at Morrisdale
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Philipsburg-Osceola 7 14 0 0 0 -- 21
West Branch 0 14 7 0 7 -- 28
First Quarter
P-O--Matt Martin 9 run (Carson Long kick), :47
Second Quarter
WB--Kyle Kolesar 49 pass from Tyler Biggans (Emma Bucha kick), 10:51
P-O--Luke Hughes 1 run (kick blocked), 5:38
P-O--Hughes 1 run (Ben Gustkey run), 3:53
WB--Jackson Croyle 14 pass from Biggans (Bucha kick), :13
Third Quarter
WB--Biggans 3 run (Bucha kick), 4:39
Overtime
WB--Biggans 4 run (Bucha kick)
TEAM STATISTICS P-O WB
First downs 15 11
Total yards 310 224
Rushes-yards 44-268 37-95
Yards passing 42 129
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 3-10-0 7-14-2
Punts-avg 4-47.5 2-33.5
Fumbles-lost 3-3 0-0
Penalties-yards 3-24 7-50
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Philipsburg-Osceola, Martin 21-139, Andrew Faust 10-86, Hughes 8-19, Gustkey 5-24. West Branch, Biggans 16-40, Wyatt Schwiderske 11-31, Derek Browne 10-24.
PASSING--Philipsburg-Osceola, Gustkey 3-9-42-0, Martin 0-1-0-0. West Branch, Biggans 7-14-129-2.
RECEIVING--Philipsburg-Osceola, Martin 2-33, Nick Johnson 1-9. West Branch, Owen Koleno 2-54, Croyle 2-21, Kolesar 1-49, Parker Johnson 1-10, Schwiderske 1-(-6).
Records: Philipsburg-Osceola 0-1, West Branch 1-0
Next game: Philipsburg-Osceola at Bellefonte, Friday, 7 p.m
