State College football defeats Altoona to earn the top seed in the District 6 Class 6A playoffs

After falling to Altoona last year in a heartbreaker to end its playoff hopes, the Little Lions came into Friday night’s rain-soaked game against the Mountain Lions at Memorial Field with revenge on their minds.

Despite giving up the first touchdown, State College fought back and was able to defeat Mid Penn rival Altoona, 21-7, to earn the No. 1 seed and a bye in next week’s District 6 Class 6A championships. Altoona will take on Williamsport, which fell 14-11 to Hazleton on Friday, securing the top seed for the Little Lions.

Altoona employs a flexbone offense — similar to what the service academies run in college football. With that offense, running backs Alexander Yost and Ethan Stroup use their size and physicality to pound opposing defenses into the dirt. State College was able to keep the duo out of the end zone with its own hammering linebacking corps.

State College head coach Matt Lintal credited his defensive coordinator — and one senior in particular — for making sure his team was prepared.

“Mark Baney is our defensive coordinator,” Lintal said. “Mark did a good job. We work tirelessly. If we had to play them on Tuesday, we would’ve been in trouble. But our kids got better and better, our scout team got better and better. Nehemiah Jackson, a senior kid who may not be out here on Fridays, he’s the unsung hero. I just said he’s the player of the week right there. That’s a young man that played [as] their fullback all day. Guys were hauling off and going at him. That kid’s the reason that we’re out here with the “W” tonight.”

Another key to stopping the flexbone is to stay disciplined. That was something that coaches preached to linebacker JW Scott the entire game. With defensive end Kyle Kurzinger often taking on an offensive lineman and tight end and other interior linemen battling against guards and the center, their ability to not bite on misdirections and key in on their assignments came at a premium for the now 5-5 State College squad.

“[It’s] assignment football,” Scott said. “Our coaches tell us, ‘Don’t be a hero. Just play assignment football.’ They put two guys back there — they let Calvin [Roan] and Jack [Morris] go crazy. Everybody else mainly had to play assignment football. So, some guys had to take one for the team and be a team player, but we won the game and that’s all that matters.”

The feeling of physicality is mutual for Altoona head coach Vince Nedimeyer, who coaches a team that has a storied history of battles with State College — including last season’s 22-21 come-from-behind win over the Little Lions.

“It’s great. We know we’re going to get a good game from them,” Nedimeyer said. “They’re always prepared. Matt [Lintal] does a nice job down here. Their kids are tough and that’s what he just said. It’s a little bit of chippiness and this game being in Week 10, it allows some build-up to get to that point. With what we were playing for tonight — a chance to have a bye — these kids know what’s at stake. Give credit to State College, they knew what they needed to do to get the job done today.”

Altoona marched the ball downfield on the opening drive with Stroup carrying the ball three consecutive times for 17 yards. Yost followed up with two carries of his own for seven yards, then quarterback Aidan Steinbugl got in on the action with a 1-yard rush. As the carries began to wear down the State College defense, following Yost’s 22-yard gain, Steinbugl was brought down by the facemask to put the ball on the Little Lions’ 30-yard line. Two plays later, Andre Dokes scored on a 23-yard rushing touchdown to give the Mountain Lions a 7-0 lead with 7:46 left in the first quarter.

State College later had the ball with 10:23 remaining in the first half on the Altoona 38-yard line. Owen Yerka threw an incomplete pass, but Brady Bendik followed up with a 6-yard rush on second down. Yerka converted on third down with an 8-yard rush, followed by a 15-yard rush, two 4-yard rushes and a 1-yard rush on the goal line to tie the game at 7-7 with 8:18 to go in the half.

After forcing Altoona to punt once more, State College began its drive with favorable results at the Altoona 42-yard line. Bendik had a rush of 12 yards to open up the drive, then a rush of one yard. Yerka threw a 7-yard pass to Branden Price and Bendik had a 1-yard rush. Yerka rushed twice more for gains of five and two, then Bendik finished off the drive with rushes of 11 and three, the latter of which was a touchdown rush. State College led 14-7 with 3:28 remaining in the half.

State College would receive the kick to open up the second half, with Jashaun Green returning the ball all the way to Altoona’s 13-yard line. Bendik had two rushes to open the drive, beginning with no gain and then picking up two yards. Yerka carried for seven yards and Altoona was called for an encroachment penalty to put the ball at their own 2-yard line. After the third try, Jack Morris punched the ball in to give the Little Lions a 21-7 lead with 8:54 left in the third quarter.

That’s all the point-scoring that State College needed to win the game. It came down to defensive stops for the Little Lions. Scott and Owen Barr combined with the rest of the defense to halt Altoona with a fumble, four punts and a turnover on downs.

“The game plan was really just to do your job,” Barr said. “There weren’t many things that we had to do there — read your keys and then if you read your keys right, you’re going to be in situations to make the play. My teammates there, they helped me. They allowed the ball to get out to me and you just had to step up and make those plays.”

Box Score

Scoring Summary

First Quarter:

Altoona Andre Dokes 23-yard rushing touchdown, 7-0 (7:46)

Second Quarter:

State College Owen Yerka 1-yard rushing touchdown, 7-7 (8:18)

State College Brady Bendik 3-yard rushing touchdown, 14-7 (3:28)

Third Quarter:

State College Jack Morris 1-yard rushing touchdown, 21-7 (8:54)

State College

Passing: Owen Yerka — 5-for-6, 35 yards

Rushing: Owen Yerka — 16 carries, 67 yards, TD, Brady Bendik — 13 carries, 56 yards, TD, Jack Morris — 2 carries, 2 yards, TD, TJ Yoder — 1 carry, 2 yards

Receiving: Jashaun Green — 2 catches, 17 yards, Branden Price — 2 catches, 8 yards, Stephen Scourtis — 1 catch, 10 yards

Altoona

Passing: Aidan Steinbugl — 2-for-6, 8 yards, Tyson Reid — 0-for-1

Rushing: Alexander Yost — 17 carries, 62 yards, Ethan Stroup — 14 carries, 51 rushing yards, Andre Dokes — 4 carries, 26 yards, Aidan Steinbugl — 7 carries, 18 yards

Receiving: Ethan Hileman — 1 reception, 5 yards, Tyson Reid — 1 reception, 3 yards

This story was originally published October 30, 2021 at 1:05 AM.