State College saw its season come to an end, while Bald Eagle Area kept its championship dreams alive Friday night in the PIAA quarterfinals.
Pittsburgh Central Catholic 24, State College 21
State College (11-2) got off to a hot start but couldn’t overcome WPIAL champion Pittsburgh Central Catholic (12-1) in the Class 6A quarterfinal at North Allegheny in Wexford.
A game that started out looking like it might surprisingly be a shootout became largely a defensive battle that was decided by Viking kicker Johnathan Opalko’s 37-yard field goal with 1:13 left in the game.
The Little Lions took the lead right out of the gate as Lokey Howell went 94 yards for a touchdown on the opening kickoff. Aiden Spitler’s PAT gave State College an early 7-0 advantage.
After a strong defensive showing by the Little Lions, Central Catholic went three-and-out on its first series. After a punt State College took over at midfield and quickly went to work. An 11-yard pass from Brady Dorner to Isaiah Edwards and a 19-yard Howell run got State College inside the 10 and Dresyn Green took it in from six yards out.
Central Catholic had not allowed more than 14 points in a game all season, but with 8:42 left in the first quarter, the Little Lions held a 14-0 lead.
A minute later, the Vikings got right back in it. Quarterback Dom Pietro found a wide open Gannon Carothers down the middle of the field for a 65-yard touchdown to cut the State College lead in half.
From there things settled down, with both teams moving into opponents’ territory but failing to convert.
Late in the half, however, the Vikings would take advantage of a turnover. After Dorner rushed for what would have been a first down, a Viking defender stripped away the ball and Central Catholic took over on the State College 42. Eddy Tillman, who would end the night with 168 yards rushing, moved the Vikings with some tough running, including a key pickup on fourth and 1 before Pietro hit Carothers again for a 26-yard touchdown.
The teams went into the half tied 14-14 and would stay that way until late in the third.
On fourth down from the State College 44, Central Catholic lined up to punt, but J.D. Younger executed the successful fake and ran all the way into the end zone as the Vikings took a 21-14 lead.
With momentum seeming to be on Central Catholic’s side, State College responded. A 21-yard pass from Dorner to Howell and a Spitler extra point tied things up once again at 21-21.
After the teams’ traded possessions, a Sammy Knipe punt pinned Central Catholic at its own 5. But keyed by a 37-yard pass from Pieto to Carothers, the Vikings got inside the Little Lion 10 with under two minutes remaining.
Central Catholic got to the 5 but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after a third-down play pushed Opalko’s field goal attempt back to the 20. No matter, the kick was true and for the second straight week Opalko had the game-winner, after a 40-yarder last week sealed the Vikings’ WPIAL title win over Pine-Richland.
State College had one final shot, but the Central Catholic defense was smothering, Dorner went out with an injury on the penultimate play, and the Little Lions were unable to muster the comeback.
Bald Eagle Area 21, Sharon 20
Bald Eagle Area (11-3) won another thriller, holding on to beat Sharon (9-4), 21-20, at Clarion University to advance to next week’s Class 3A semifinals.
It will be the Eagles’ first appearance in the PIAA semifinal round.
The BEA defense came up big, blocking a PAT that proved to be the difference, while the Tigers turned the ball over twice in the fourth quarter in Bald Eagle territory.
Neither team got on the board in the first but Bald Eagle opened things up early in the second. Jaden Jones’ 66-yard pass to Matthew Reese set up a 1-yard Gage McClenahan touchdown as the Eagles took a 7-0 lead.
Sharon responded when Ty Eilam hauled in a 23-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Lane Voytik. The PAT tied the game at 7-7.
BEA muffed the ensuing kickoff and Voytik hit C.J. Parchman who took it 9-yards for a touchdown as the Tigers claimed a 14-7 lead.
With less than a minute left in the half, the Eagles knotted it up again with Jones hitting Reese for a 13-yard touchdown. Sharon moved deep into Little Lion territory but couldn’t get on the board again before halftime.
Bald Eagle got the game winning score with just over eight minutes left in the third when McClenahan returned the first punt of the half 40 yards for a touchdown.
With the Eagles up 21-14, Sharon looked to be in position to tie it again before the quarter ended. With the Tigers facing third and goal from the 23, Voytik threw his third touchdown of the game, this time to Marcel Smith-Austin, to pull Sharon within one.
But BEA blocked the PAT and carried a 21-20 lead into the fourth.
Sharon got deep into Eagle territory twice in the fourth quarter only to turn it over. On first and goal from the 1-yard line, the snap went over Voytik’s head and Bald Eagle recovered. Later on a fourth down play, the Eagles intercepted a Tiger pass at the 15.
BEA will face WPIAL champion Central Valley (12-1) next weekend with a spot in the state title game on the line.
