SAXTON - The Southern Huntingdon Rockets have struggled this season, getting outscored 100-6 in going 0-3.
Tussey Mountain, after winning the season-opener to Everett, had fallen in consecutive weeks, but had the good fortune of hosting Southern in a matchup with hopes of getting back on the winning track.
The Titans did just that, in defeating Southern Huntingdon, 26-6, in an Inter-County Conference game Friday night.
"Every 'W' is big," Tussey Mountain coach Joshua Smith said. "This one gets us back to that .500 mark. They were better than we expected."
The game was close at the outset. In fact, Southern Huntingdon put the first points on the scoreboard, after it drove 65 yards for a score, a 5-yard touchdown run by Scott Carbaugh, a sophomore fullback.
The ensuing PAT was blocked though, leaving the score at 6-0 in favor of the Rockets.
The Titans could not have answered back any faster as Darrin Sipes returned the kickoff 72 yards for a score. The PAT failed, leaving the score tied at 6-6.
The second quarter was an uneventful one to start.
Both teams punted on their first possessions, and both teams turned the ball over on downs. But finally, the Titans recovered a Rockets' fumble, and did so at the Southern Huntingdon 21.
After Titan quarterback Eric Husick connected with Matt Duvall on a 16-yard pass that set the Titans up first-and-goal from the 5, Husick found Lance Barnett on a scoring toss. The two-point run failed, but the Titans led, 12-6.
Both teams were forced to punt several times in the third quarter. Southern Huntingdon punted twice while the Titans punted once.
Following the second Rocket punt of the quarter, Tussey Mountain put together an eight-play, 73-yard drive that concluded with a 7-yard run by Dan Taylor to paydirt. Taylor also scored the two-point conversion run to make it a 20-6 lead.
"We came out and put together some good drives in the second half," Smith said.
The Titans tacked on an additional touchdown with 7:37 remaining in the fourth quarter, courtesy of a Sipes 51-yard run to the end zone. That set the final score at 26-6 as the PAT?kick was blocked.
"We played well in the first half," Southern Huntingdon coach Ryan Garlock said. "But they scored just before the half and we went downhill after that."
Tussey Mountain will try to get over the .500 mark next Friday with a game at Williamsburg.
The Rockets fell to 0-4 and host Northern Bedford next week.
Score By Quarters
Southern Huntingdon 6 0 0 0 6
Tussey Mountain 6 6 8 6 26
First quarter
SH Carbaugh 5 run (kick failed), 4:54.
TM Sipes 72 run (kick blocked), 4:29.
Second quarter
TM Barnett 5 pass from E. Husick (run failed), :42.
Third quarter
TM Taylor 7 run (Taylor run), 2:52.
Fourth quarter
TM Sipes 51 run (kick blocked), 7:37.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: Southern Huntingdon Waite 7-15, Carbaugh 8-49, Carowick 7-(-11), Glunt 5-10, Simerson 3-14, Parks 3-17 . Tussey Mountain T. Husick 12-45, Corbin 6-45, Sipes 8-101, Taylor 5-20, E. Husick 1-(-2), Wentz 3-7, Lemin 1-6, TEAM 2-(-2).
Passing: Southern Huntingdon - Crowick 9-17-0-66. Tussey Mountain -E. Husick 6-13-0-68.
Receiving: Southern Huntingdon Carbaugh 2-4, Waite 3-17, Talbot 1-11, Schoen 1-16, Jones 2-18. Tussey Mountain Barnett 2-32, T. Runk 3-20, Duvall 1-16.
Interceptions: Southern Huntingdon - none. Tussey Mountain none.
TEAM STATISTICS SH TM
First downs 9 13
Rushes-yards 33-94 38-220
Passing (Comp-Att-Int) 9-17-0 6-13-0
Passing yards 66 68
Total yards 160 288
Fumbles-lost 3-3 2-2
Punts-avg 4-28.5 3-42.67
Penalties-yards 1-5 0-0
