State College burned in less than three minutes
STATE COLLEGE — The State College football team suffered its first loss of the season Friday night at home, losing 34-13 to Central Dauphin at the South Track Field.
Central Dauphin recorded two defensive touchdowns in a span of 2:30 to blow open an otherwise tightly contested matchup. That made it 27-13 at that point in favor of the Rams in a game featuring two of the top defenses in the Mid-Penn Conference.
Play of the game: The Rams’ Shamarr Joppy came free on a blitz and smacked Little Lions’ quarterback Brady Dorner at the one-yard forcing a fumble into the end zone. Joppy’s teammate, Jackson Talbott, fell on the ball for a score. State College’s next drive saw it end with Dorner throwing an interception that was returned 33 yards for a touchdown by defensive back Malachi Bowman to put the Little Lions in a 14-point hole after being tied no more than two minutes before that.
Player of the game: Central Dauphin running back Timmy Smith had 58 of the Rams’ 68 rushing yards. His 14 carries also led the team with the 14th run ending with a touchdown and the final points of the night.
Unsung hero: Central Dauphin quarterback Max Mosey finished 13-of-21 for 165 yards and two passing scores.
Most vital statistic: The Rams recorded 28-unanswered points in the final seven minutes of the game.
Central Dauphin coach Glen McNamee: “Two very good football teams tonight. There was a strong desire to win and a lot of championship implications. I’m really proud of our guys. In the end, when it mattered the most, they rose to the occasion.”
State College coach Matt Lintal: “Life is going to knock you down every now and again. We got to pick ourselves back up and go 1-0 next week. We need to learn from this and grow from this. We’ll get re-grouped. We’ll shake it off.”
Notable: The Little Lions outgained Central Dauphin, 418-233, and held a 17-12 advantage in the first-down category. … State College’s Dreysn Green had 110 yards rushing on 18 carries as the Little Lions had 230 yards rushing as a team. … The Rams committed 15 penalties for 145 yards.
Records: Central Dauphin 6-2, 5-0 Mid Penn Commonwealth), State College (7-1, 4-1 Mid Penn Commonwealth)
Next week: Chambersburg at Central Dauphin; State College at Altoona
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Central Dauphin 6 0 0 28 — 34
State College 0 7 0 6 — 13
First Quarter
CD–Chimienti 3 pass from Mosey (kick blocked), 3:18.
Second Quarter
SC–Dorner 1 run (Spitler kick), 10:50.
Fourth Quarter
SC–Green 30 run (kick blocked), 10:50.
CD–Vargas 3 pass from Mosey (Pomeroy kick), 7:20
CD–Talbott 1 fumble rec (Pomeroy kick), 6:33
CD–Bowman 33 interception return (Pomeroy kick), 4:03
CD–Smith 4 run (Pomeroy kick), 1:56
TEAM STATISTICS CD SC
First downs 12 17
Total yards 233 418
Rushes-yards 33-68 40-230
Yards passing 165 188
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 13-21-0 16-31-3
Punts-avg. 7-37.6 5-29
Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-1
Penalties-yards 15-145 12-116
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING–Central Dauphin, Smith 14-59, Vargas 6-17, Mosey 9-2, Ficca 1-5, Holton 1-(-1), Bowman 1-(-11), Team 11-(-3). State College, Green 18-110, Edwards 7-63, Dorner 11-2, Moore 4-55.
PASSING–Central Dauphin, Mosey 13-21-0-165. State College, Dorner 15-25-1-180, Moore 1-6-2-8.
RECEIVING–Central Dauphin, Chimienti 6-94, Smith 2-19, Fuller 3-30, Joppy 1-9, Vargas 1-3. State College, Howell 4-45, Edwards 6-90, Green 3-18, Knipe 1-7, Lusk 2-27.