State College Comes Back, Holds Off St. Augustine
Playing at its temporary South Track field home for the first time this season, State College (2-0) came from behind in the fourth quarter and held off New Jersey’s St. Augustine Prep (0-1) late for a 20-17 win.
State College trailed 17-14 in the fourth quarter when Little Lion defensive end Kevin Kurzinger recovered a fumble on the St. Augustine 7. On the ensuing possession, the Little Lions got down to the 1 and on fourth down senior running back Isaiah Edwards took a direct snap into the end zone for what would be the decisive score with 6:39 remaining.
The Little Lions took control on their second possession of the game. Quarterback Brady Dorner led State College down the field and capped off a 75-yard drive with a 3-yard TD run. Kyle Kurzinger’s PAT made it 7-0 with 3:14 left in the first.
State College turnovers would let the Hermits hang around. A Little Lion red zone drive ended with an interception, and in the second quarter a fumble would lead to St. Augustine’s first score.
After the recovery, the Hermits finished off the drive giving the ball to Texas A&M defensive tackle commit Isaiah Raikes, who rumbled in for a 1-yard TD with 6:28 left in the half.
State College fumbled again, but this time St. Augustine couldn’t capitalize. After a punt, Little Lion junior Dresyn Green ran 68 yards for a touchdown and a 14-7 State College lead at halftime.
St. Augustine tied things up again on its first possession of the second half. After a failed onside kick by State College, Hermit sophomore QB Austin Leyman ran 12 yards for a touchdown and the PAT made it 14-14.
Following a State College punt, St. Augustine set up on the Little Lions 21. The Hermits, however, couldn’t do anything with the field position and settled for a 38-yard Luke Snyder field goal.
After the Little Lions pulled ahead on Edwards’ TD run, the two teams traded punts and the Hermits had one last shot with less than two minutes to go, starting at their own 38. State College’s defense held strong and stuffed St. Augustine on fourth down to seal the win.
State College is back at home next Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff against Hollidaysburg (2-0).
State College quarterback Brady Dorner picked up a three-yard touchdown run in the first quarter of the Little Lions 20-17 win over St.Augustine Prep on Friday, Aug. 30, at State College’s South Track Field. Photo by Ben Jones
Centre County Scores
BALD EAGLE AREA 32, PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA 7
Philipsburg had an unplanned home field advantage, with the game moved to Mountaineer Stadium because of track installation at BEA’s Alumni Stadium, and momentum, coming off an opening week 41-16 win at rival West Branch. But it wasn’t enough to overcome the Eagles.
BEA jumped out to a 25-0 first half lead and tacked on another in the third for a 32-0 lead before Ryan Whitehead connected with Jeremy Whitehead on a 10-yard TD pass for a Mountie score late in the fourth.
BEA (2-0) travels to Penns Valley (1-1) next Friday. P-O (1-1) hosts Bellefonte (1-1).
CLEARFIELD 56, PENNS VALLEY 49
A wild back-and-forth game in Clearfield saw Penns Valley tie the game 49-49 with just over two minutes remaining. But a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Clearfield’s Oliver Bilotte for a touchdown and Zach Hess’s PAT gave the Bison a 56-49 lead with six seconds remaining. With no timeouts left, the Rams had little chance to even things up again.
Penns Valley (1-1) hosts Bald Eagle Area (2-0) next week. Clearfield (2-0) is at Central.
BELLEFONTE 47, HUNTINGDON 3
Huntingdon got on the board with an early field goal, but it was all Bellefonte from there as the Red Raiders took a 20-3 first quarter lead and a 34-3 lead at halftime. Bellefonte’s defense remained stout throughout and the Raiders tacked on 13 more in the second half for a 47-3 win, bouncing back from the tough loss in the opener against Jersey Shore.
Bellefonte (1-1) travels to Philipsburg-Osceola (1-1) next Friday. Huntingdon (1-1) visits Susquehanna Township.
