State College was one-dimensional on offense last night, but for good reason. The Little Lions rushed for 395 yards in a 42-17 rout of the Central Mountain Wildcats in the first round of the playoffs at Memorial Field.
“We felt that the offensive line was going to be a strength of ours,” said State College head coach Al Wolski. “They have lived up to their potential.”
The State College offensive line created several holes for the running backs, as well as starting quarterback Matt Mazzara to pick from. Mazzara led the way for the Little Lions with 137 yards rushing and a touchdown.
Central Mountain started the game strong, even though the score does not reflect it. The Wildcats forced a State College punt on its first drive, and then Central Mountain scored the first points of the game on a 35-yard field goal.
The Wildcats relinquished all momentum on the following play.
After weeks of teams kicking away from Alex Kenney, the Wildcats gave the Penn State commitment an opportunity to make a play. Kenney took the kickoff down the sideline to the Central Mountain 25-yard line.
Colby Way rushed 24 yards to the 1-yard line and then punched it in on the next play for the go-ahead touchdown.
“The bottom line is we couldn’t make mistakes against this football team,” said Central Mountain head coach Steve Turchetta. “We made some mistakes and they converted them into points.”
State College (9-2) would not look back, as it showed a balance of speed and power in the running game.
Junior running back Jamal Albro rushed for 96 yards and a touchdown. Albro ran between the tackles and pounded the Wildcats defensive line.
Kenney continued his successful season by adding three touchdowns on runs of 33 yards, 11 yards and 54 yards in the victory. Once Kenney found a hole, Central Mountain rarely stopped him. Kenney is known for his speed, but he showed his strength when he broke several Wildcat tackles on his way to 101 yards rushing on the night.
“There were some sloppy moments early, but we have confidence with what we do and we didn’t get flustered,” said Wolski.
Central Mountain finishes its season at 6-5.
“I am disappointed in the loss, but I am happy with the way the boys battled today,” said Turchetta.
The Little Lions await the winner of the Erie McDowell versus Dubois game, which will be played on Saturday. State College will play the winner of that game on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 1pm in Dubois.
