State College remains perfect in final home game after 48-31 win against Cumberland Valley
A shaky start on both sides of the ball wasn’t enough to deter State College Area High School on its Friday night journey to a Mid-Penn Conference Commonwealth title.
Freshman running back D’Antae Sheffey’s 25-yard touchdown catch off a deflected pass as the first half expired proved to be the difference in the Little Lions’ 48-31 victory over visiting Cumberland Valley High School.
After Sheffey responded to the Eagles’ game-opening 40-yard touchdown run with a touchdown of his own on the ensuing kickoff, State High fell flat for a while.
Cumberland Valley senior quarterback Isaac Sines threw his first of two touchdowns to retake the lead with 8:17 left in the quarter, starting a dominant stretch in the process.
Ten more points followed the touchdown as the Eagles worked to a commanding 17-point lead early in the second quarter.
“A lot of credit to Cumberland Valley, they came to play tonight,” Little Lion head coach Matt Lintal said. “The quarterback’s a special player. Sines is — he’s a kid you got to bottle up and really try to try to limit his big playability, which is darn near impossible.”
In total, Sines was responsible for all four of the team’s touchdowns, adding two on the ground in addition to the pair through the air. But after the third of four, things slowed exponentially for his squad.
The Little Lions scored 34 unanswered points before the Eagles finally found the board again toward the end of the third quarter. Highlighting that astounding run was a 78-yard rush from senior quarterback Finn Furmanek, as well as a pair of deep touchdowns from the quarterback to sophomore wide receiver Ty Salazer — which combined for 133 yards.
A late interception from the young two-way standout put things to rest as State High secured a victory in its last home game of the regular season. With an away matchup with 3-6 Chambersburg Area Senior High School on the horizon, Lintal’s team will look to go perfect ahead of an imminent playoff run.
“We’re really proud of where we’re at,” Lintal said. “But whatever happened, it has happened and whatever’s going to happen, you know, that’s what we can control — by being really present.”
Bald Eagle football continues winning streak in 35-7 victory over Wellsboro
WINGATE – Bald Eagle head coach Jesse Nagle preached to his team to not let up on a 1-7 Wellsboro squad entering Friday night’s matchup.
It was all gas and no brakes for the Eagles as they won 35-7 against their 4A opponent. Bald Eagle sophomore quarterback Carson Nagle was at the head of his team’s attack, tossing three touchdown passes and zero interceptions in victory.
Despite his mostly clean game, he graded himself as a “six or seven” out of ten.
“After the first big play or two, they went to go back off,” Carson Nagle said. “They wouldn’t let us go deep… I missed a throw or two and that can’t happen. If we’re going to go as far as we need to go, that can’t happen. Other than my mistakes, as a team, we kept playing well. We have a bunch of guys making plays around me. With the plays that they make, my teammates deserve the spotlight.”
Bald Eagle jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, beginning with a 67-yard touchdown pass from Carson Nagle to Kahale Burns within the first minute of the game. Mikey Snyder threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to Cam Watkins on a halfback pass at the 9:43 mark.
Carson Nagle threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Burns for their second link up of the night with 8:43 remaining in the second quarter.
The Eagles continued to apply pressure at the beginning of the second half with a fumble recovery inside the Wellsboro 15-yard line. Usual offensive lineman, Kieran Jodon, pounded into the end zone from the 3-yard line with 11:22 left in the third. Carson Nagle linked up with running back Tre Greene on a 10-yard touchdown pass for a 35-0 lead with 5:52 to go in the third quarter.
Wellsboro scored its lone touchdown on punt return by Connor Adams.
Bald Eagle jumps to 6-3 on the season and Wellsboro is now 1-8.
P-O thumps Montgomery
PHILIPSBURG — Montgomery coach Christian Diggs said he knew his team had to “weather the storm” when they made the near two hour trek to take on Philipsburg-Osceola.
The Red Raiders had just 16 healthy players of the 28 on their roster, but that didn’t stop the storm of the Mounties from coming in a 64-7 dominating win on Friday.
“They are young, but they got some athletes. They are going to be a tough team in the next year or two,” Diggs said of P-O. “They are well coached. They are doing all the right things. They got a lot of momentum to build off of this offseason for sure.”
The Mounties raced out to an early 21-point advantage in the first quarter, and never looked back. They also capitalized on all five turnovers — three interceptions and two fumble recoveries — that were forced.
In all, P-O had six different players find the endzone with Jakodi Jones, Dayton Barger and Sam McDonald each score two touchdowns a piece. McDonald had an offensive and defensive score.
“It’s been the thing all year. We have a lot of backs running the football,” Mounties coach Jeff Vroman said. “The carries are spread out. Even in the receiving game, I think we have nine or ten kids that have caught footballs this year. We are trying to build on becoming a more diverse offense. It doesn’t happen overnight in high school.”
Most of the game saw Montgomery start deep in their own territory, which Vroman credited his kickers Carson Long and Hank Hazelton for their kickoffs. The Red Raiders were sloppy with bad snaps and quick 3-and-outs.
P-O quickly took advantage.
On their first drive, the Mounties only went 27 yards after a shanked punt that saw Jones finish the drive off with a one-yard carry. After forcing another 3-and-out, P-O went 49 yards — two passes for 50 yards from Ben Gustkey to Dawson Snyder (32 yards) and Nick Johnson (18). Snyder capped the drive off with a one-yard dive, and it was 14-0 Mounties halfway through the quarter.
Montgomery had a drive stall at their own 35, which P-O scored on its possession with Gustkey and Johnson connecting for an 18-yard score through the air.
“The short field helps you in the score of things. Defensively, I thought we did a nice job up front controlling the line of scrimmage,” Vroman said, “The kickoff game we pinned them deep, that’s key when you look at some of the turnovers, credit to Hank and Carson.”
The Red Raiders’ ensuing possession saw them turn the ball over on downs as a botched snap on the punt attempt was downed at their own 3. The Mounties needed just two plays, Gustkey’s two-yard run was the score to go up 28-0 at the start of the second quarter.
The next Montgomery possession, it fumbled the ball away at its 13. Barger went 13 yards untouched and the rout was on. McDonald got his first score of the game on the next Red Raiders’ possession, when he returned an interception 45 yards.
P-O tacked on one more score before the half with Jones rumbling in from one-yard out to lead 50-0 at the break. Barger’s second score of the night came with 8:52 left in the third quarter when he went 45 yards to the house.
McDonald finished off the scoring for the Mounties, and the night, with a 43-yard run that saw him weave through the internal line, and then broke free from the pack.
“We approached this game, the same way we have every other football game,” Vroman said. “I was just happy that we came out and executed early. We’ve been off to some slow starts. Last week, the first two drives, we let them get excited and score. Tonight, it was good to see us get that momentum early. I’m very proud of the kids’ effort. I’m proud of the work they put in this week.
This story was originally published October 21, 2022 at 11:31 PM.
