By Brad Rosemas

For the Mirror

NORTHERN CAMBRIA — Following a heartbreaking loss to Cambria Heights in the 2023 District 6 semifinals that ended Northern Cambria’s season, Colts coach Sam Shutty said the defeat would light a fire in his team and the group would come back this year even stronger.

So far, it has.

Northern Cambria turned in another stellar defensive performance and received a strong game from quarterback Ty Dumm as the second-seeded Colts defeated No. 7 Portage, 27-7, in the District 6 Class 1A quarterfinals at Duffy Daugherty Stadium.

“Like I told the guys before this game and before playoffs started, we didn’t come this far just to come this far,” Shutty said. “They put the work in and they wanted it. I’ve never seen a group of kids work so hard in the offseason. They don’t want this season to end yet, and we’re doing the best we can do keep this going.”

Northern Cambria (10-1) advanced to the semifinal round for the third consecutive season, which includes winning the district title in 2022.

The Colts will host No. 6 seed Penns Manor, a 30-8 winner over No. 3 Moshannon Valley, next Friday. Northern Cambria earned a 28-0 shutout victory over the Comets on Oct. 4.

“We just want to keep playing,” said Dumm, who rushed for two touchdowns and threw for another in the victory. “Being at home under these lights and in front of these fans is the best feeling, and we don’t want it to stop. We’re going to keep pushing and giving it our all until we can’t anymore.”

Play of the game: With Northern Cambria leading 21-7 in the fourth quarter, the Mustangs had a 40-yard touchdown pass called back due to a penalty.

Portage eventually turned the ball over on downs before Dumm iced the game with a 20-yard touchdown run, setting the final.

Player of the game: Dumm finished with 91 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries, while completing 11 of 18 passes for 122 yards and another score. He accounted for 213 of Northern Cambria’s 274 total yards.

“Our coaches put together an excellent game plan,” Dumm said. “We were able to get inside on a lot of plays and get a bunch of big gains. We just did our best to grind and wear their defense down, and I think we did that. Shoutout to the offensive line, those guys did great.”

Most vital statistic: NC’s defense again proved to be the headline of the victory. After Portage tied the game at 7-all with five minutes to go in the first quarter, the Colts kept the Mustangs off the board for the final 41 minutes.

Northern Cambria forced three turnovers, with Nate Fry and Caleb Dolney each intercepting a pass and the Colts then stopping the Mustangs on downs in the fourth quarter.

“I thought our kids battled,” Portage coach Marty Slanoc said. “For the season they’ve had, all the ups and downs, they fought as much as they could, and you have to give all the credit in the world to them. We held a very good team’s offense down for the majority of these last two games, and I’m very proud of the effort we gave.”

Notable: The win runs Northern Cambria’s win streak to six games, as the Colts have outscored their opposition a combined 204-51.

Records: Portage (4-7), Northern Cambria (10-1).

Next week: Northern Cambria hosts Penns Manor in the semifinals. Portage’s season has concluded.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Portage 7 0 0 0 — 7

Northern Cambria 7 6 8 6 — 27

First Quarter

NC — Fry 28 pass from Dumm (Pershing kick), 9:52.

P — Gouse 4 pass from Slanoc (Slanoc kick), 5:00.

Second Quarter

NC — Fox 26 run (Kick failed), 0:36.

Third Quarter

NC — Dumm 28 run (Dumm pass to Farrell), 7:22.

Fourth Quarter

NC — Dumm 20 run (kick blocked), 2:14.

TEAM STATISTICS P NC

First Downs 10 12

Total Yards 197 274

Rushes-Yards 35-122 21-152

Yards Passing 75 122

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 10-22-2 11-18-0

Punts-Avg. 4-22.5 2-33

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 2-1

Penalties-Yards 6-40 5-35

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing — Portage, Gouse 4-5, N. Willinsky 4-20, I. Willinsky 24-91, Smithtro 3-6. Northern Cambria, Dumm 10-91, Fry 6-20, Fox 4-41, Dolney 1-0.

Passing — Portage, Gouse 9-21-71-2, Slanoc 1-1-4-0. Northern Cambria, 11-18-122-0.

Receiving — Portage, Bobolsky 3-24, Gouse 1-4, I. Willinsky 4-14, Smithtro 1-8, Slanoc 1-25. Northern Cambria, Farrell 2-3, Pershing 2-25, Fry 1-28, Fox 1-13, Dolney 5-53.