State College quarterback Conrad Moore threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more as the Little Lions picked up a 38-29 road win in a rescheduled game on Monday night at Carlisle.
With the win, the Little Lions improve to 2-1 on the truncated season and have the necessary three games played to qualify for the postseason. State College will face Altoona for the District 6 6A title on Friday night at Mansion Park.
Monday’s game was originally scheduled for Friday night but postponed when someone in close contact with the State College team was presumed positive for COVID-19. That test came back negative late Friday afternoon, allowing for the Little Lions and Thundering Herd to play Monday night football.
The first half was a back-and-forth shootout. State College’s Sammy Knipe started things off with some excitement, taking the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown. Aiden Spitler’s point after put the Little Lions up 7-0 just 14 seconds into the contest.
Carlisle answered on its first series with a 70-yard drive capped by Shaun Smith’s 2-yard touchdown run. A missed extra point left State College ahead 7-6.
State College’s offense responded with a drive of its own. Moore threw a perfectly placed ball over the shoulder of Jashaun Green streaking into the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown pass.
Herd quarterback Ezeekai Thomas led another long drive and Braydon Keller took an inside handoff 6 yards for a touchdown. Thomas’s keeper on the two-point conversion knotted the game 14-14 at the end of the first.
Moore guided the Little Lions on a 70-yard drive in the second quarter. On a keeper out of the shotgun, the senior ran 3 yards for a score and a 21-14 State College lead.
A 75-yard Carlisle drive was kept alive on a key fourth down conversion from the State College 45. The Herd’s Dominic Morano came back on an underthrown ball from Thomas to make an athletic catch and pick up the first down at the Little Lion 12. Smith ran it in from two yards out and the game was tied again.
State College threatened late in the half when a Moore pooch punt on fourth down hit a Carlisle player and the Little Lions recovered at the Herd 21. But State College’s offense stalled and couldn’t convert on fourth down, as the teams headed into the half tied 21-21.
In the second half, the Little Lion defense stiffened, keeping the Herd off the board throughout the third quarter.
The State College offense ran into red zone trouble again early in the half, fumbling inside the 10-yard line. Carlisle, however, gave it right back.
As Thomas broke off a nice run, Little Lion Stevie Guthoff knocked the ball loose. Green recovered and State College was back in business. Though what would have been a 22-yard touchdown run by Nehemiah Howell was negated by a holding penalty, Moore eventually ran it in from 7 yards out as the Little Lions re-took the lead with 5:13 left in the third.
After forcing a Carlisle punt, State College widened the lead as Moore found Green for a 10-yard touchdown toss. Spitler’s PAT put the Little Lions up 35-21 with just over a minute remaining in the the third quarter.
Spitler was perfect on the night, also hitting a 37-yard field goal with 6:53 left in the game to round out the scoring for the Little Lions.
Thomas led Carlisle on a comeback push, capping off a late drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, then keeping it on a two-point conversion to pull within nine.
But it would prove too little too late as State College kept the ball on the ground and ran out the click for the win
