State College football comes out on top of slugfest with Bishop McDevitt to end regular season
Bishop McDevitt and State College hadn’t played each other in quite some time coming into Friday night, but the teams made up for lost time by combining for over 1,000 yards of offense and 113 points in a game that took nearly 3.5 hours to complete.
“Sorry,” Little Lions coach Matt Lintal said with a laugh after his team’s 58-55 win. “You never know how games are going to go. We’re two teams that haven’t played each other since 2014. We’re evolving as a team and doing some different things, so you never know if it’s going to be a high scoring game or a defensive battle.”
When the dust was settled, State College (9-1) ended with 516 yards of offense — 409 through the air. A bulk of that yardage came in the first half.
It raced out to a 21-point lead in just 10 minutes of game time.
Michael Gaul started things off with a one-yard run. Quarterback Eddie Corkery, who was 18-of-31 for the 409 passing yards and four touchdowns, connected with Ty Salazer for the next two scores. They were 75 and 33 yards a piece.
The Crusaders (8-2) were able to find the endzone by the end of the first quarter. Quarterback and Kentucky commit Stone Saunders hit Jontai Quick on a 10-yard score.
Corkery and Salazer, who finished with eight receptions for 213 yards, connected for a third score to make it 28-7 with 9:37 left in the half.
Teams have usually folded to the Little Lions when they were that deep in a hole, but Bishop McDevitt wasn’t deterred.
“They opened up the game extremely well. We got up early and never really looked back,” Lintal said of his team and opponent. “McDevitt is well coached, and they’ve got tremendous players. We knew they were going to find ways to get the ball in the endzone.”
Saunders, who was 22-of-40 for 408 yards and five scores, hooked up with Dominic Diaz-Ellis for a 52-yard score to help cut the Crusaders deficit in half.
However, the teams then traded scores over the next one minute of play to keep State College at a comfortable two-score lead.
Gaul tallied his second rushing score of the game from four yards out for the Little Lions. Saunders and Diaz-Ellis connected again on a 15-yard score.
Corkery hit a wide open Cooper Brushwood for a 42-yard score, which was the only play of the drive. McDevitt’s Nazir Jones-Davis had a 23-yard rushing score to cap off the scoring spree between the teams to make it 41-28 at the half.
The Crusaders opened the second half with the ball and began to drive down the field. They reached State College’s 25, but Saunders threw an interception that Gaul returned 80 yards in the opposite direction for a score.
It was a play that Lintal felt was key in the high-scoring affair, and Gaul called it “back to the basics.”
“Every single play I do everything the same,” he said. “I’m just keying my assignment. I saw the opportunity. I was thinking in my head, ‘don’t get caught.’ I had to run that (ball) back. Momentum shifts are big especially in game like this one, all it takes is one play for seven points to be scored.”
After Gaul’s defensive score, it gave the Little Lions a 48-28 lead early in the third quarter, but McDevitt battled.
It scored 14 unanswered points in seven minutes to get within six.
Gaul helped extend his team’s lead with his third and final rushing score of the night with 11:05 left in the game.
“Mike is just an absolute warrior. He’s exhausted coming out from a defensive series, and then I’m like, ‘I need you, Mike,’” Lintal said. “And he can just dig deep. He’s like, ‘all right, if you need me, I’m good.’ He’s a guy that makes play after play after play, whether he’s blocking, catching, running — he finds ways.”
State College’s final score of the night came off the foot of Shane Markowski, who drilled the eventual game-winning field goal from 35 yards out. It was 58-42 after Markowski’s kick.
The Crusaders battled back with two more scores, but it was too late.
Now, the Little Lions get a break until Nov. 8 as there won’t be a District 6 Class 6A title game with Altoona opting out of the postseason, giving State College the title. They’ll host the District 10 champion in a PIAA Sub-regional playoff game on that date.
“We’re extremely excited. These kids to walk off on Senior Night with a photo in front of the scoreboard in a game that they’re going to remember the rest of their lives,” Lintal said. “It’s about a lot more than football when you see these guys walking and the friendships they make. It’s a special thing. We’re extremely excited and happy to be hosting the next game after our bye week back here at Memorial (Field), so they get one more game at Memorial.”
Centre County’s Friday Scores
Bald Eagle Area 15, Somerset 14
Penns Valley 34, Westmont Hilltop 14
Philipsburg-Osceola 35, Johnstown 28
Richland 41, Bellefonte 14
