BEDFORD - It took an hour and a half for Mother Nature to clear out of the Bedford area.
It took Penn Cambria one quarter to take control of the game for good.
The Panthers forced Bedford to commit five turnovers en route to a 32-7 victory over the Bisons in a Laurel Highlands intersectional matchup at a soggy Bison Stadium.
Penn Cambria coach Ernie Fetzer was all smiles at how his team adjusted to an early deficit.
"We had some big play and we made some adjustments in what we did. We always come into the game wanting to do more."
The Panthers didn't get a smooth start to the evening.
On the second play from scrimmage of the game, Brendan Eckenrode was intercepted by Issah Kline.
The Bisons would capitalize on an 8-yard run by Jacob Wirick to give themselves their first touchdown, and lead of the season, at 7-0.
"We certainly started off very well, but things kind of fizzled out after that," Bisons coach Kevin Steele said.
The Panthers' rally started from there.
After having recovered a fumble at its own 36-yard line, Tyler Janosik rushed 14 yards for a touchdown to help put Penn Cambria ahead for good at 8-7 with 7:56 in the half.
The Panthers would score 16 of their 32 unanswered points just before the half.
"It's a luxury for us to have," Fetzer said of the amount of quality running backs on the roster.
Penn Cambria, which led 16-7 at the break, was able to put the game away in the third quarter.
After a punt which resulted in a net loss of one yard, Justin Fuller went on 24-yard run to give the visitors a 24-7 lead.
Bedford had one more chance to make the game close, but another Bisons fumble was turned into a touchdown by Devin Lawhead to give the Panthers the final score of the game.
The Panther defense also managed to record two sacks which resulted in a net loss of 13 yards.
"We moved the ball well, we just weren't able to put it in the en zone," Steele said.
Game notes: The game was delayed by lightning until 8:25 p.m. The players were able to start warming up prior the original 7 p.m. start time, but were ordered off the field once a bolt of lightning struck and the stands were evacuated. Penn Cambria heads to Central Cambria while Bedford hosts Richland next week.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Penn Cambria 0 16 8 8 - 32
Bedford 7 0 0 0 - 7
First quarter
B -Wirick 8 run (Montgomery kick), 8:23
Second quarter
PC - T. Janosik 14 run (J. Mardula run), 7:56
PC - J. Mardula 36 run (M. Behe run), 1:40
Third quarter
PC - Fuller 24 run (Lawhead run), 1:40
Fourth quarter
PC - Lawhead 21 run (M. Behe run), 6:19
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Penn Cambria - J. Mardula 8-76, Lawhead 5-46, Fuller 8-66, Tskalas 2-2, T. Janosik 1-14. Bedford - Wirich 10-28, Koontz 10-41, Kline 7-(-12), DeMoss 6-12.
PASSING: Penn Cambria - B. Eckenrode 0-2-0-0; Tsikalas 1-6-0-17. Bedford - Kline 6-13-2-99.
RECEIVING: Penn Cambria - J. Mardula 1-17. Bedford - Hickey 1-16, Blevins 1-19, Wirich 2-49, Black 2-34
INTERCEPTIONS: Penn Cambria - M. Behe, Pryzbys. Bedford - Kline.
TEAM STATISTICS PCB
First downs 7 9
Rushing yards 28-199 44-171
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 1-8-1 6-13-2
Yards passing 17 118
Total yards 206 289
Fumbles-lost 1-1 4-3
Penalty yards 4-30 2-15
Punts-avg. 4-30.5 2-21
