State College football piled up the points on offense, defense and special teams en route to a 56-19 victory over Delaware Valley in the PIAA playoffs first round Sunday afternoon in Danville.
The Little Lions (12-1) move on to face WPIAL champion Pine-Richland (10-2) in the Class 6A quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Saturday at Altoona’s Mansion Park.
State College struck quickly against Delaware Valley, with Dresyn Green going 63 yards for a touchdown on the game’s first play. Cam Renfrew’s extra point made it 7-0.
After the Warriors recovered a State College fumble near midfield, Little Lion Kevin Kurzinger picked off a Delaware Valley pass and returned it 52 yards for a score.
Isaiah Edwards took a pitch 46 yards to the end zone to give State College a 21-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
A short punt set State College up at the Warrior 30 and quarterback Tommy Friberg immediately hit Cohen Russell for a 30-yard touchdown strike and a 28-0 lead. That would be the only offensive play the Little Lions ran in the second quarter, but they weren’t done scoring.
Delaware Valley got on the board with a drive capped by Zach Scillia’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Colin Walters. State College fumbled on the ensuing kickoff and the Warriors struck again, this time on a 25-yard touchdown pass to pull within 28-13.
But State College answered as Keaton Ellis returned the next kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown and a 35-13 halftime lead.
Delaware Valley stumbled on the second half kickoff and started deep in their own territory. The Little Lions capitalized as Tyson Brennan recovered a fumble in the end zone to extend the advantage to 42-13.
The State College offense finally took the field again a little less than three minutes into the third quarter and again struck quickly with a 60-yard pass from Friberg to Russell.
The Warriors got one back on a four-yard touchdown run and Ellis blocked the point after to leave the score at 49-19.
State College added one more as Green took the ensuing kickoff 80 yards for the game’s final score with six minutes remaining in the third. A running clock and a stout State College defensive effort would be too much for the Warriors to overcome the rest of the way.
Bald Eagle Area 35, Bedford 14
Bald Eagle Area scored on its first four possessions and pulled away from Bedford for a 35-14 win in the PIAA first round Sunday night at Altoona’s Mansion Park.
The Eagles (11-2), coming off their first district championship in 30 years, will face District 10 champion Sharon at 1 p.m. Saturday in Altoona in a Class 3A quarterfinal game.
In a back-and-forth first quarter, Bald Eagle got on the board first with a 28-yard touchdown run by Blake Roberts, but Bedford came right back with a 62-yard touchdown run by quarterback Stephen Ressler to tie things up.
BEA march down the field on its next possession with a 13-play drive capped by Jaden Jones’ 13-yard touchdown pass to Nathan Hoover for a 14-7 lead.
The Bisons answered again, with a two-yard touchdown run knotting the score at 14-14. That would be the end of the scoring for Bedford, however.
BEA took the lead right back on a 63-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Nick Turner just before the end of the first quarter. The Eagles stretched the lead to 28-14 before halftime when, facing fourth and goal, Jones scrambled and found Kaden Bittinger in the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown.
Hoover pulled in another short touchdown pass from Jones in the third quarter, and the Eagles defense stymied Bedford the rest of the way.
