×

Mountain Lions no match for Chambersburg

CHAMBERSBURG — It was a rough start for Altoona in the first quarter Friday night against Chambersburg — the Mountain Lions had to punt after their first two possessions and the Trojans scored touchdowns after both of them.

But it only got worse in the second quarter, when Chambersburg outscored Altoona 35-0 thanks to a landslide of Mountain Lion mistakes. The Trojans led 49-0 at the break and coasted to a 56-24 Mid Penn Commonwealth Division football victory at Trojan Stadium.

In that nightmare second period, Chambersburg blocked a punt, recovered three Altoona fumbles and turned an interception into an 85-yard touchdown return.

Play of the game: On the second play of the second quarter, Marcus Day went back to punt for the Mountain Lions, but Garner Funk and Wyatt Hull broke through to block the kick. It took Chambersburg only two plays — a 16-yard reverse by Tyler Luther and an 8-yard run by Jayden Jones to put the ball into the end zone for a 21-0 lead.

Player of the game: Trojan backup running back and defensive back Jones touched the ball five times in the game — three runs for 25 yards and two touchdowns, an 18-yard screen pass and the 85-yard interception return.

Unsung hero: Altoona kicker Andrew Eisel was true on three point-after kicks and booted a 40-yard field goal in the fourth period.

Most vital statistics: In the first half, the Trojans gained possession at the Mountain Lions’ 44, 24, 34 and 36 and at their own 28 and 35 and scored on all six of them, never taking more than seven plays to do so. Meanwhile, Altoona reached Chambersburg territory on only one of eight first-half possessions, to the 37.

Chambersburgh coach Mark Luther: “When we run our offense and the kids do what we ask them to do, we can make some plays. We’re getting so many people involved and that’s what makes it fun. It’s important for our opponents to know that we’re not relying on one guy.”

Altoona coach Vince Nedimyer Jr.: “In the first half, we didn’t get off the bus — it really hurt to get down 14-0 so quickly. With our offense, early on (in the season), we’ve put the ball on the ground too much, and that’s kind of the nature of it. We just have to keep repping it and get better execution. We are getting better.”

Altoona quarterback Marcus Day: “You just can’t turn the ball over on — what was it? — three of four plays like we did there in the second quarter. We did better in the second half, and we’ll have to carry that over to next week.”

Notable: In the second half, Day scored on runs of 17 and 41 yards and Edwin Franklin had a TD on a 1-yard run … Of Altoona’s 223 yards, 152 came in the second half … Day ended with 112 yards on 20 carries … The Mountain Lions had only 5 yards of passing.

Records: Altoona is 1-3 (0-1 MPC); Chambersburg is 3-1 (1-0 MPC).

Next week: Altoona hosts Central Dauphin East, 7; Chambersburg plays at home vs. State College, 7.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Altoona 0 0 21 3 — 24

Chambersburg 14 35 7 0 — 56

First Quarter

C – Keyshawn Jones 3 run (Tyler Luther kick), 8:16

C – K. Jones 9 run (Ty.Luther kick), 3:12

Second Quarter

C – Jayden Jones 8 run (Ty.Luther kick), 10:27

C – J. Jones 5 run (Ty.Luther kick), 4:48

C – Terell Williams 7 pass from Brady Stumbaugh (Ty.Luther kick), 1:40

C – Ty. Luther 13 pass from Stumbaugh (Ty.Luther kick), 1:07

C – J. Jones 85 interception return (Tanner Luther kick), 0:25

Third Quarter

A – Marcus Day 17 run (Andrew Eisel kick), 8:49

A – Day 41 run (Eisel kick), 2:52

C – Kyle Nolan 65 run (Ta.Luther kick), 2:41

A – Edwin Franklin 1 run (Eisel kick), 0:24

Fourth Quarter

A – Eisel 40 field goal, 10:30

TEAM STATISTICS Alt Ch

First downs 9 14

Total yards 223 358

Rushes-yards 48-218 28-243

Yards passing 5 115

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 1-6-1 8-16-0

Punts-avg. 4-30.0 3-35.0

Fumbles-lost 4-3 3-2

Penalties-yards 2-26 5-45

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Altoona, Day 20-112, Franklin 6-53, Stroup 10-30, Pinkston 4-21, Dokes 4-12, Steinbugl 3-4, Adams 1-(-11). Chambersburg, Stumbaugh 5-89, Nolan 1-65, K.Jones 6-34, J.Jones 3-25, Hernandez 1-23, Ty.Luther 1-16, Bell 4-15, Cooper 3-10, Blair 4-(-18).

PASSING–Altoona, Steinbugl 1-2-0-5, Day 0-4-1-0. Chambersburg, Stumbaugh 7-11-0-107, Seaman 1-3-0-8, Blair 0-2-0-0.

RECEIVING–Altoona, Adams 1-5. Chambersburg, Williams 2-43, Ty.Luther 3-33, J.Jones 1-18, Vessah 1-13, Luke 1-8.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

COMMENTS

[vivafbcomment]

Starting at $4.39/week.

Subscribe Today