State College football beats Harrisburg to punch its ticket to the PIAA semifinals
State College vs. Harrisburg on Saturday was just as advertised — a physical, defensive battle where points were hard to come by.
But the Little Lions had an ace up their sleeve — junior kicker Kajetan Kaszubowski, a native of Poland and a former soccer striker. He kicked field goals of 33 yards, 37 yards and most importantly, a game-winning field goal of 34 yards to help State College overcome a 10-point deficit and move ahead to the PIAA Class 6A semifinals with a 16-13 win over the Cougars.
Kaszubowski passed on the credit to his teammates, who he felt put him in the position to succeed.
“It’s a great feeling,” Kaszubowski said. “It’s everything that I ever wanted. It’s my passion to kick not only for State High, but further on in my life. It just feels great to be able to support the team. It’s a team sport. So, that’s what we’re here for, it’s not just me, it’s the entire team — every single one of them.”
It’s a brand new feeling for the team under head coach Matt Lintal. Entering Saturday’s game, State College had been to 15 PIAA quarterfinals since 2005 and had only won two. The Little Lions’ last quarterfinal victory came in 2009 and they have never won under Lintal. Prior to the game, Lintal was 0-4 in PIAA quarters. Not to mention, he had to lead his team to Harrisburg, a hungry 12-1 opponent that had beaten his Little Lions 15-13 on Oct. 23.
It all changed on Saturday afternoon in Harrisburg.
“I don’t know if I can quite put it into words,” Lintal said. “I’m just so proud of these kids — the effort and belief that they have in each other, they just trust in the process each and every day. We’re the team with five losses that nobody wants to play. I’m thankful for the conference that we play in to have competition like that to prepare us for this time of the year. I’m just ecstatic for those years.”
One of the keys to Saturday’s victory was State College’s defense. The interior defensive front made it a point to stop the run and they often got after the quarterback, putting multiples hits on Harrisburg’s Shawn Lee. At the forefront of the push was defensive tackle Justin Castro Dixon. Castro Dixon had a sack, put pressure on Lee and kept star running back Mahkai Hopkins in check.
“That’s my dream — especially now against this team right here and to be Mid Penn champs technically, it feels good,” Castro Dixon said. “That sack just feels amazing. I didn’t know what to do, my teammates were hyping me up — it was just a moment. It was exciting l, I love it.”
With State College deferring to take the ball in the second half, Harrisburg received the ball at its own 34-yard line to start the game. Lee found Kyle Williams Jr. on a 19-yard screen pass to the State College 47-yard line. Following a few short rushes and a false start penalty, Harrisburg found the end zone with Lee finding Williams Jr. on another screen pass for 43 yards and a touchdown with 9:48 for a 7-0 lead.
Harrisburg would take its 7-0 lead into halftime.
Kaszubowski’s 33-yard field goal brought State College closer to trail just 7-3 with 6:13 remaining in the third. However, a number of penalties on the ensuing drive allowed Harrisburg to creep into State College territory. The Cougars capped off the nice drive with a 30-yard touchdown pass on a screen from Lee to Hopkins for a 13-3 lead following the missed extra point attempt.
State College had one last chance in the fourth quarter. Its defense held Harrisburg to a tight window of opportunity and its offense just had to capitalize. Brady Bendik rushed two yards, followed by Owen Yerka’s 21-yard pass to Jashaun Green. The Little Lions had a false start to back them up five yards and Green rushed for a 2-yard gain.
It seemed that things were looking bleak for the Little Lions and they needed to make a big play. That big play was made on a defensive pass interference, giving State College a breath of fresh air and a 15-yard penalty. Green rushed for nine yards, then Bendik pounded for an additional seven. Yerka rushed twice for gains of seven and 12, followed by Bendik’s rush for three yards. With the ball on the Harrisburg 4-yard line, State College cut the lead to three with Bendik’s plunge into the end zone with 8:58 left in the game.
“It’s huge,” Bendik said of his score. “It was a momentum shift right there. The defense played their heart out. About this team, we create our own energy. We come in, we’re pumped up, we want to play and we have a lot of momentum, so it’s going to be dangerous.”
State College once again found itself in a favorable spot with 7:16 left in the game. Yerka’s 6-yard gain was followed by three consecutive runs by Bendik, and Yerka rushed once again for two yards. Kaszubowski hit his second field goal of the day on fourth down at the Harrisburg 20 for the 13-13 tie with 4:58 remaining.
The Little Lions subsequently forced a 3-and-out and started their final drive with 3:17 to go and on their own 37-yard line. Yerka rushed for six and four for a first down. Bendik pushed forward for a 1-yard gain on first down. Yerka followed up with a 14-yard gain on second down. Then, Bendik rushed three straight times for a first down and Yerka’s rush of nine yards to set up Kaszubowski’s kick from 34 yards out.
The ball was snapped by Kyle Kurzinger. The hold was taken in by Jack Morris. Kaszubowski planted his foot, the ball went end over end with just enough juice to go over the uprights with three seconds left for a 16-13 lead.
Just like that, State College (8-5) will take on Mount Lebanon in the PIAA Class 6A semifinals next week.
This story was originally published November 27, 2021 at 5:47 PM.
