State College beats WPIAL champion, advances to semifinals

Altoona — Woodland Hills followed the textbook plan of kicking the football away from Alex Kenney, but the Penn State commitment still found a way to make an impact.

Kenney intercepted two passes for his 11th and 12th interceptions of the year. He returned the first interception for 60 yards and caught the second interception in the end zone for a touchback to end a Wolverines drive in the 14-3 Little Lions victory at Mansion Park.

“You expect your big time players to make big plays, and they did throughout the night,” said State College head coach Al Wolski.

The turning point in the game happened at the end of the first half. Lafayette Pitts of Woodland Hills returned a punt for 71 yards and shifted momentum back to the Wolverines. Pitts seemed to have surprised the Little Lions by fielding the punt at his own 5-yard line without a fair catch. Pitts caught the punt near the State College sideline and ran toward his own sideline, making the first two Little Lions miss. Pitts patiently followed his blockers all the way down to the State College 24-yard line.

The Wolverines eventually worked the ball down to the State College 10-yard line. After a controversial call in the end zone that overturned a Wolverines’ touchdown, the State College defense rallied together to keep Woodland Hills from reaching the end zone again.

Senior linebacker Brad Holzwarth stuffed a Wolverines’ rushing attempt for no gain and Kenney followed that play by making a touchdown-saving tackle to secure a 7-0 State College lead going into the locker room.

“When Alex came up and made that play, we showed them we are a physical team,” said Holzwarth. “They knew they were going to be in for a tough second half after that hit.”

The Little Lions’ defense finished the half strong and the team ran off of the field with excitement and with a swagger in its step.

“The defensive stand gave the kids a lot of confidence,” said Wolski. “They knew they could stop these guys even if their backs were against the wall.”

State College (11-2) rotated quarterbacks this season and the Little Lions continued to do so, but not by choice. Starting quarterback Matt Mazzara suffered an injury to his left shoulder that knocked him out of the game, and all-state safety Dom Mills filled in and ran the offense without any issues.

“They are similar quarterbacks,” said Wolski. “They can both make things happen for us.”

Colby Way continued to contribute for the Little Lions, as he rushed for a 3-yard touchdown. State College called on Way in short-yardage situations. When only one yard was needed, Way delivered with five or six yards on the carry.

Woodland Hills attempted to establish a running game, but the Little Lions defensive line surged into the backfield and came off blocks to make tackles. The Wolverines most notable offensive plays came on two fake punts that went for 32 yards and 28 yards respectively.

Woodland Hills finishes the year with a 12-2 record, and the Wolverines hold the title of 2009 class AAAA WPIAL champions.

The Little Lions will face a familiar opponent next week on Friday or Saturday in the PIAA class AAAA semifinals. State College awaits the winner of the Saturday game between Bishop McDevitt and Cumberland Valley. The Little Lions defeated Cumberland Valley 21-17 and lost to Bishop McDevitt 28-17 in the regular season.