In what was largely a defensive and penalty-heavy struggle between the Mid Penn Commonwealth’s top two teams, it was Central Dauphin’s defense that turned the tide.
The Rams got two touchdowns on fourth-quarter turnovers and handed State College its first loss of the season, 34-13, on Friday night at the South Track Field.
State College falls to 7-1 and 4-1 in conference. CD, meanwhile, is now in the driver’s seat to win the division at 5-0 in conference and 6-2 overall.
With the game tied 13-13 and the Little Lion offense backed up deep in their own territory, CD brought the blitz on third and 8. Shamar Joppy sacked State College quarterback Brady Dorner, stripping the ball away in the process. Jackson Talbott fell on it in the end zone and the Rams had a 20-13 lead with 6:33 remaining.
On State College’s ensuing possession, Dorner again faced pressure on fourth down from his own 38. CD’s Malachi Bowman picked off Dorner’s pass and ran it back 45 yards for a touchdown and a 27-13 lead with 4:03 remaining.
Another interception by the Rams deep in Little Lion territory set up a short touchdown run by Timmy Smith inside of two minutes to put the game away.
Central Dauphin’s Shamar Joppy sacks State College’s Brady Dorner, forcing a fumble that was recovered in the end zone, during the fourth quarter of the Rams’ win over the Little Lions on Oct. 11. Photo by Heather Weikel.
The first half was full of tough defense and missed opportunities for both teams.
State College got into CD territory on the game’s opening drive but couldn’t convert on a fourth down and the Rams took over at their own 27. Quarterback Max Mosey led the Rams right down the field, capping off the drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Nick Chimienti. A blocked extra point left CD with a 6-0 first-quarter lead.
The Little Lions responded with an 80-yard drive, ending on Dorner’s 1-yard touchdown run. Aiden Spitler’s PAT gave State College a 7-6 lead with 10:40 left in the second.
From there it was mostly a defensive battle for the rest of the half, with both sides trading punts until just before halftime. A big 50-yard run by Isaiah Edwards got State College into CD territory, but the Little Lions couldn’t get in the end zone and a 36-yard field goal attempt as time expired was wide.
After a scoreless third, State College had what looked like it could be a decisive 80-yard scoring drive. Edwards took a Dorner pass, broke a tackle and went 56 yards before being knocked out of bounds. Dresyn Green then found a hole and rushed 30 yards to give the Little Lions the lead. A blocked extra point made it a 13-6 State College lead with 10:50 to go.
CD came right back with a scoring drive of its own. A 38-yard Mosey-Chimienti hook-up got the Rams moving and CD tied it with a 4-yard touchdown catch by Elijah Vargas before the Rams defense blew the game open.
With more than two dozen penalties and a number of injuries between both teams, the game took just over three hours to finish.
State College heads to Altoona (1-7, 0-5) next week then hosts Cumberland Valley at Beaver Stadium on Oct. 26 to close out the regular season. Central Dauphin hosts Chambersburg and CD East in the final two weeks.
CENTRE COUNTY SCOREBOARD
Bald Eagle 36, Clearfield 28
The Eagles (7-1, 5-1) fell behind by two touchdowns early on at Clearfield but roared back, taking a 29-28 lead early in the second half and holding the Bison (6-2, 4-2) scoreless the rest of the way to win a key Mountain League matchup, 36-28.
BEA hosts Jersey Shore next week. Clearfield travels to Philipsburg-Osceola.
Penns Valley 55, Bishop Carroll 12
The Rams (7-1, 5-1) dominated on both sides of the ball out of the gate, recovering two first-quarter fumbles and turning both into points. Visiting Penns Valley had its way on offense the rest of the night, too, taking a 35-0 halftime lead and 55-0 heading into the fourth before the Huskies (3-5, 1-5) tacked on 12 in the fourth.
With its wins over BEA and Bellefonte earlier this season, Penns Valley looks to be in good position at the top of the Mountain League standings. The Rams visit Tyrone (2-6) next week and host P-O (1-7) in the regular season finale on Oct. 25.
Bellefonte 54, Central 7
The Red Raiders (6-2, 5-1) bounced back from last week’s tough loss to Penns Valley with a dominant showing at Central. Bellefonte was up 27-0 by the end of the first quarter and the Dragons (4-4, 3-4) had no answer.
Bellefonte hosts Bishop Carroll (3-5, 1-5) next week at Rogers Stadium
Huntingdon 56, Philipsburg-Osceola 0
It was another tough outing for the Mounties (1-7, 0-6) on the road in Huntingdon. The Bearcats (3-5, 2-4) took a 21-0 first-quarter lead and were up 42-0 at the half en route to the 56-0 shutout.
P-O faces two powerful opponents to close out the season — hosting Clearfield (6-2, 4-2) next week and visiting Penns Valley (7-1, 5-1) in the Oct. 25 finale. Huntingdon travels to Central next week and hosts Tyrone in two weeks.
Photo by Heather Weikel
