Bishop Guilfoyle runs away from Penns Valley in District 6 Class 2A title game
Penns Valley coach Martin Tobias said “there were highs and lows throughout the game” Friday night against Bishop Guilfoyle in the District 6 Class 2A Championship at Mansion Park.
The Rams were at an all-time high at the half, but ultimately hit the lowest of low in a 56-35 loss to have their season come to an end with a 10-3 record.
“It was a tough contest to try and defend their offensive attack. They are a good football team,” Tobias said of the Marauders. “We knew that. They’ve got some dynamic athletes and playmakers. They were able to grind out against us. Honestly, we kept swinging hard and giving it everything that we could, but when you play good teams at this point, and everyone is good, they beat us today.”
One of those playmakers that Tobias mentioned was Bishop Guilfoyle quarterback Karson Kiesewetter. The senior had 165 yards rushing on 32 carries with five rushing scores. He added another through the air.
As a team, the Marauders finished with 315 yards rushing on 59 carries.
Bishop Guilfoyle raced out to an early 13-0 lead thanks to a pair of one-yard rushing scores from Cooper Rother and Kaden Wyandt. However, Penns Valley rebounded.
Ty Watson had a pair of runs to start the drive that netted just five yards. On the third play, Jackson Romig dropped back and found Miles Brooks in the middle of the field. Brooks weaved his way through traffic, toward the far sideline and raced into the endzone for a 52-yard score.
Bishop Guilfoyle responded back with Kiesewetter capping off a nine-play drive with his first score of the night on a two-yard run. Again, the Rams responded.
Romig found John Meyer in a one-on-one situation with the Marauders’ Hamilton Gates. Meyer came down with the catch fought off a tackle from Gates, and dove into the endzone for a 66-yard score. It was 21-14 Bishop Guilfoyle with just under five minutes left in the half.
“We knew they weren’t going to quit. We’ve watched enough film,” Marauders coach Justin Wheeler said of Penns Valley, “and talked to enough coaches, they are the toughest kids you will find. They weren’t going to give up, and they didn’t. Every time we got that 21-point lead, they found a way to make a shot back at us — that is a testament to their coaches and their players of how hard they played tonight.”
The Rams forced Bishop Guilfoyle to punt on the ensuing possession, however Romig threw his first of three interceptions on the first play of the drive deep in his team’s territory. The Marauders took advantage of the turnover with Kiesewetter connecting with Rother on a 13-yard score through the air.
Bishop Guilfoyle led 28-14 with 46 seconds left in the half.
On Penns Valley’s ensuing possession, Romig threw another interception, with Kiesewetter returning the pick to the Rams’ 9. Two incomplete passes from Kiesewetter forced his team to attempt a field goal before the half ended.
The Marauders had a bad snap on the field goal attempt, and a mad scramble ensued. Dominic Yanoshak looked to throw the ball away, but Penns Valley’s Danin Kerstetter stripped the ball from Yanoshak’s hands. Kerstetter went racing the other direction untouched for a 75-yard score.
It brought the Rams to within 28-21 at the half, where things all went down hill.
“There was no question that was a big boost, a lot of enthusiasm,” Tobias said. “If you look, we struggled moving the ball on them all night. They had success driving the ball on us all night, that’s a recipe for success for the other team and not so much for us.”
Wheeler added: “It is amazing how calm and great our seniors are. They felt like they were better, and just made some mistakes. There was no panic. We were probably more upset as coaches, but they were collected, and knew we just had to play our game.”
Bishop Guilfoyle came out in the second half, and put the game on Kiesewetter’s shoulders. He responded by giving his team a 21-point lead thanks to scoring two one-yard scores about four minutes apart.
Penns Valley got back to within 14 as Romig and Meyer connected again for a 69-yard score through the air with 1:47 left in the third quarter. However, that was the closest the Rams would be the rest of the game.
Trailing 56-28, Penns Valley had their longest and most successful drive by putting together a seven-play drive consisting of all passes except one play. The drive was capped off with Romig hooking up with a wide-open Hunter Lyons, who toe tapped in the back of the endzone for the final score of the game with 2:57 left.
“I’m so proud of our kids. We had so much fun this year. We had a great group of guys in the locker room,” Tobias said. “They showed up every day at practice with enthusiasm to try and get better. They honestly care about one another. They support each other. They were a lot of fun. I really feel blessed and honored to have the opportunity to coach them.”
Bishop Guilfoyle 56, Penns Valley 35
Friday at Altoona
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Bishop Guilfoyle 13 15 14 14 -- 56
Penns Valley 0 21 7 7 -- 35
First Quarter
BG--Cooper Rother 1 run (Michael Cacciotti kick), 5:55
BG--Kaden Wyandt 1 run (kick failed), 0:23
Second Quarter
PV--Miles Brooks 52 pass from Jackson Romig (Ty Watson kick), 11:15
BG--Karson Kiesewetter 2 run (Rother run), 6:29
PV--John Meyer 20 pass from Romig (Watson kick), 4:47
BG--Rother 22 pass from Kiesewetter (Cacciotti kick), 0:46
PV--Danin Kerstetter 75 fumble recovery (Watson kick), 0:00
Third Quarter
BG--Kiesewetter 1 run (Cacciotti kick), 6:54
BG--Kiesewetter 1 run (Cacciotti kick), 2:48
PV--Meyer 69 pass from Romig (Watson kick), 1:47
Fourth Quarter
BG--Kiesewetter 8 run (Cacciotti kick), 5:27
PV--Hunter Lyons 7 pass from Romig (Watson kick), 2:57
TEAM STATISTICS BG PV
First downs 21 6
Total yards 400 287
Rushes-yards 59-315 16-28
Yards passing 85 259
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 4-6-0 11-18-3
Punts-avg. 1-37 2-24
Fumbles-lost 2-2 1-1
Penalties-yards 4-50 3-30
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Bishop Guilfoyle, Kiesewetter 32-165, Rother 21-114, Wyandt 3-19, Drew Abraham 3-17. Penns Valley, Watson 10-33, Jarrett Stover 1-2, Micah Good 1-(-2), Romig 4-(-5).
PASSING--Bishop Guilfoyle, Kiesewetter 4-6-85-1 TD. Penns Valley, Romig 11-18-259-4 TDs, 3 INTs.
RECEIVING--Bishop Guilfoyle, Hamilton Gates 1-25, Abraham 1-24, Rother 1-22, Dominic Yanoshak 1-14. Penns Valley, Meyer 3-139, Brooks 3-62, Watson 2-27, Kerstetter 2-24, Lyons 1-7.
INTERCEPTIONS -- Bishop Guilfoyle, Ryan Donoughe 1, Kiesewetter 1, Rother 1.
Records: Bishop Guilfoyle 10-3, Penns Valley 10-3
Next game: Penns Valley season complete
