‘So grateful for these kids’: State College football falls in playoffs, but memories don’t wane
State College head coach Matt Lintal spoke to his team with tears in his eyes and voice crackling as he told the players how much he loved and appreciated each and every one of them.
While the Little Lions fell short of their goal of the state championship, falling 27-7 Saturday afternoon in the PIAA Class 6A semifinals to Harrisburg at Altoona’s Mansion Park, his seniors went to the PIAA Class 6A state semifinals for two seasons in a row. For that reason, Lintal was extremely proud of the group as they walked off of the field for the final time in their high school careers.
“I am so grateful for these kids — for everything that they’ve given to this program,” Lintal said. “They’ve accomplished so much. Days like today are so hard. Football is so tough. They make the playoffs and one team goes home happy and the other team goes home sad. This is a special group. I’m just sad that I’m not their coach — the seniors. That part is hard.”
A number of seniors walked off of the field, but defensive end JW Scott stuck around to talk with his father, Penn State defensive line coach John Scott Jr., and waited for Lintal to finish talking with the other seniors. With tears in his eyes, the younger Scott embraced Lintal, understanding that it would be the final time that they shared the field as player and coach.
Then, Scott reminisced about his team and what they accomplished by going 13-0 leading into Saturday’s loss.
“We were a special team,” Scott said. “I haven’t been on a team where we’ve been this close. The team chemistry was great. The fact that the young guys better throughout our games, the special teams guys got better — everyone got better throughout the season. Everyone knew their role, accepted their role — it was perfect.”
Katejan Kaszubowski is another senior that shared a special moment with his coaches. He embraced Andy Woolley, his kicking coach, along with Lintal and others. Growing up in Poland and not moving to State College until 2019 or playing football, he felt that his Little Lions teammates provided him a second family.
“It’s a great experience,” Kaszubowski said. “Getting to start when I was a freshman, I never experienced football before then. I had never done it, I had never gotten much into it and to going and getting that experience of being with this amazing team, amazing program and amazing coaches is just incredible.”
As for the game itself, State College started off with a strong ground game from the offense and great field positioning provided by the defense. The Little Lions and Cougars found themselves in a 0-0 stalemate in the first quarter. Then, State College freshman running back D’Antae Sheffey scored on an 11-yard rush with 7:54 left in the second quarter to give the Little Lions a 7-0.
That 7-0 lead would last through halftime, but Harrisburg began to churn out yardage with Temple commit and running back Kyle Williams Jr. The 6-foot, 185-pound Williams Jr. gave the Cougars the lead with a 34-yard rushing touchdown and a 3-yard rush for a two-point conversion at the 9:26 mark in the third.
Williams Jr. had two more touchdowns in the third quarter — first, a 1-yard rushing touchdown with 3:53 remaining and a 49-yard touchdown run at the 1:10 mark. Harrisburg took a 20-7 lead into the fourth quarter. He finished the fourth quarter with another rushing touchdown on a 2-yard plunge to give the Cougars a 27-7 lead and ultimately, the victory.
This story was originally published December 3, 2022 at 4:50 PM.
