By Kevin Petrochko

For the Mirror

ALEXANDRIA — The Juniata Valley Hornets hauled in two pick-6 interception returns on Friday night as they beat the North Star Cougars, 21-20, at AR Simkins Memorial Field.

With 19 seconds left in the first quarter, Hornets linebacker Adrian Prough returned a 15-yard interception for a touchdown to give Juniata Valley a 14-0 lead.

Hornets coach Bill Musser lauded his sophomore’s effort.

“He’s steadily getting better every single day,” Musser said. “He comes to work; he’s a quiet kid; he shows up and does what he needs to do to be successful.

Prough knew he had the ball lined up to make the catch.

“It’s my time to shine,” Prough said. “Just catch it and go.”

With 8:47 left in the fourth quarter, Juniata Valley’s Lucas Dick a 10-yard pick-6 to seal the deal for the Hornets.

Despite being 2-0 on the young season, Coach Musser sees a lot of room for improvement.

“That’s what happens when you have young teams,” Musser said. “We just have to clean up some of those mental things.”

North Star eenior receiver Garrett Tunstall and junior running back Ethan Smith contributed to the Cougars’ offensive attack. Tunstall caught a 70-yard touchdown pass, and Smith hauled in a 62-yard interception for a pick-6.

North Star coach Bob Landis mentioned there were too many highlights to pick just one that mattered in the end.

“I think that any one play could have been the difference tonight,” Landis said. “They made one more play than we did tonight.

Play of the game: Prough’s 15-yard interception return for a pick-6.

Player of the game: Hornets tight end Levi Thompson finished with eight catches for 82 yards.

Unsung hero: Lucas Dick caught a 29-yard touchdown pass for Juniata Valley

Most vital statistic: The Hornets finished the night with 411 total yards.

Musser: “At the end, we took advantage of our opportunities,” Musser said. “We created those opportunities.”

Landis: “Lots of things to improve on. I think our guys came out in the second half, especially, and they fought.”

Prough: “We need to get better. If we play together, we do good; if we don’t, we don’t play good.”

Notable: Both teams combined for 23 penalties totaling 160 yards.

Records: Juniata Valley (2-0); Meyersdale (1-1).

Next week: The Hornets travel to Glendale to take on the Vikings, while North Star heads to Meyersdale for a clash with the Red Raiders.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

North Star 0 7 13 0 — 20

Juniata Valley 14 0 0 7 — 21

First Quarter

JV–Dick 29 pass from Rand (Thompson kick), 5:23

JV–Prough 15 interception return (Thompson kick), 0:19.

Second Quarter

NS–Tunstall 70 pass from Yoder (Yoder kick), 11:08.

Third Quarter

NS–Smith 70 pass from Yoder (Yoder kick), 10:22.

NS–Yoder 10 run (kick failed), 2:22.

Fourth Quarter

JV–Dick 10 interception return (Thompson kick), 8:47.

TEAM STATISTICS…………… NS…………….JV

First downs 9 10

Total yards 302 275 Rushes-yards 16-103 27-161 Yards passing 394 114 Pass(comp.-att.-int.) 13-33-3 11-23-2

Punts-avg. 3-28.6 6-31.6

Fumbles-lost 2 3

Penalties-yards 14-95 9-65

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–North Star, Smith 6-68, Tunstall 2-7, C.Yoder 6-26, Eller 2-2. Juniata Valley, Hoover 10-19, Dick 1-24, Prough 7-35, Weirich 1-12, Thompson 5-49, Rand 3-22.

PASSING–North Star, C. Yoder 13-33-199-3. Juniata Valley, Rand 11-23-114-2, Hoover 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING–North Star, Tunstall 1-70, Eller 9-77, Smith 2-52. Juniata Valley, Uplinger 2-6, Thompson 8-82, Brantner 1-(-7), Weirich 1-4, Dick 1-29.