STATE COLLEGE – The best way to send a message in football is doing so on the scoreboard.
Coming off of a 51-7 win against Mifflin County, State High on Sept. 23 continued to make its message quite clear, beating the Mechanicsburg Wildcats 55-0.
Besides a rather slow start for the Little Lions, it was a dominating performance for the now 4-0 team.
After the Wildcats’ Curtis Green gathered a fumble in the first quarter, not much else went well for Mechanicsburg.
State High senior Kamron Walker pounced on a fumble for the Little Lions, giving the ball back to his offense.
Junior Tristen Lyons opened up the scoring montage for State High by finding the end zone from 4 yards out, giving his team a 7-0 lead after the extra point was good.
Pete Haffner , No. 34 of the Little Lions, had an incredible night on both sides of the ball. Haffner found the end zone twice in the second quarter; both runs were from 4 yards out.
The power back also displayed a few bone-crushing hits on the defensive side of the ball.
The Little Lions’ passing game was not spectacular, but it got the job done.
Senior quarterback Tyler Snyder delivered a tight-spiral deep ball to one of his favorite targets, Noah Woods, right before the half.
Woods walked into the end zone, putting his team ahead 28-0 at the end of the first half.
The second half was controlled by State College’s offense and dictated by its defense as well.
Lyons put on a show of athleticism, as he dashed 34 yards into the end zone. He used his speed the entire night and was a problem for the Wildcat defense.
After coming out of the second half, it was time for the Little Lions’ starters to rest and give the younger players some experience.
The young guys gained some experience, and kept the Wildcats from adding any points to the scoreboard.
After opening up the fourth quarter with an interception returned to the house by Noah Theis, State College rolled through the rest of the game.
Brady Dorner, a freshman, found Michael Misher for a touchdown through the air.
Keaton Ellis took a punt return for a touchdown with 1:34 remaining, and that was the end of the scoring rampage for the Little Lions.
The defensive stats for State College are almost jaw-dropping: 31 yards of total offense allowed by State High, not even allowing the Wildcats to push the ball past the Lions’ 40-yard line.
The Little Lions look to remain unbeaten Friday, Sept. 30, when they travel to Carlisle.
