Trending
Following last week's tough season-opening loss to archrival Hollidaysburg, the Altoona Mountain Lions were looking for a bounce-back victory Friday night.
And, thanks largely to senior running back Bron Mosley, they got it.
Mosley ran for 124 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns, and also caught a 9-yard scoring pass from senior quarterback Brennen Freiwald, as Altoona built a 35-0 third-quarter lead and defeated Pittsburgh City League opponent Allderdice, 35-21, at Mansion Park.
The 6-foot, 230-pound Mosley, who provides a physical between-the-tackles running style along with excellent speed in the open field, scored on a 3-yard run in the first quarter and an electrifying 53-yard jaunt in the second, while also catching the scoring pass from Freiwald just two seconds before intermission, as Altoona built a 27-0 halftime lead. The Mountain Lions kicked the mercy-rule clock into effect when Freiwald hit senior wideout Josh Corso with a 20-yard scoring pass early in the third quarter, boosting the Mountain Lions' lead to 35-0.
"I think that anybody who follows Altoona football knows that after the kind of loss that we had last week against Hollidaysburg that we had to come out hungry tonight and finish this game, which we did,'' Mosley said. "We were blessed to put enough points on the board, and we played our rear ends off.''
Mosley took a 47-yard screen pass from Freiwald on Altoona's opening drive of the night, which set up Mosley's 3-yard TD run.
After sophomore back Julian Hazlewood scored on a 6-yard run with 1:45 left in the first quarter, Mosley found daylight in the middle of the field, slipped a tackle, and ran down the right side into the end zone with 6:23 left before halftime, helping the Mountain Lions to a 19-0 lead.
"My role is to run in between the tackles, and to force defenses to put more than enough people in the box to try to stop me, so that we can set up our running game on the edge of the field,'' Mosley said. "I saw a cutback lane on that run, and got great blocking all the way.''
Altoona coach Vince Nedimyer Jr. said that Mosley is a very hard worker whose talent shined through Friday.
"Bron has worked really hard, particularly in the weight room in the offseason,'' Nedimyer said. "Bron is really good on his feet, and he's one of the most explosive kids we've had in my five years here as head coach. He was able to showcase all of his talents tonight.''
Play of the game: Mosley's 53-yard touchdown run put Altoona firmly in the driver's seat midway through the second quarter.
Player of the game: Mosley.
Unsung heroes: Nedimyer tossed out kudos for the blocking that Altoona's offensive players provided, particularly the blocking provided by the players on the perimeter of the field that opened up outside running lanes. "The perimeter blocking got us where we wanted to be tonight,'' Nedimyer said.
Most vital statistic: Altoona rolled up 293 yards in rushing offense, with 10 different players rushing the ball.
Allderdice coach Jerry Haslett: "We just made too many mistakes tonight. We couldn't catch the ball -- we dropped too many passes, and we committed too many penalties.''
Altoona senior lineman Derron Jones Jr., whose second-quarter sack of quarterback Azerick Teeter accounted for a safety: "We played a great game tonight. After coming off the Hollidaysburg game, we brought the intensity tonight.''
Notable: Nedimyer substituted freely with Altoona ahead, 35-0 in the second half, putting the Mountain Lions' second team in on both sides of the ball. Allderdice (0-2) punched in three fourth-quarter touchdowns when backup sophomore quarterback Mark Stuckey threw scoring passes of 19 and 50 yards to sophomore wideout D.J. Mellix and a 15-yard scoring strike to sophomore end Lukas Stead ... Senior defensive lineman Seamus Shumac recovered a fumble for Altoona, while sophomore Kayden Ayre made an interception for Allderdice ... Since 2016, Altoona has now won all seven games played against Allderdice ... Senior defensive back Josiah Treece made a diving, touchdown-saving, open-field tackle for Altoona after catching Allderdice back Terrell James from behind, after James had ripped off a 56-yard run late in the first quarter ... Jerrell Jackson, a 2001 Altoona grad and former Mountain Lions' football and baseball standout, was named the honorary captain for the game and handled the opening coin toss ... Haslett suffered a broken hip from a fall in May and is rehabbing the injury. He sat in the press box Friday while assistant coach Mark Matson took over field duties. Holding a cane after the game, Haslett explained that he has remained in charge of the Allderdice team and uses a golf cart to attend the squad's practices.
Records: Allderdice (0-2); Altoona (1-1).
Next Friday night: Altoona visits Mifflin County; Allderdice travels to Dover, Ohio.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Allderdice 0 0 0 21--21
Altoona 12 15 8 0--35
First quarter
ALT--Mosley 3 run (kick failed), 5:36.
ALT--Hazlewood 6 run (pass failed), 1:45.
Second quarter
ALT--Mosley 53 run (Chathams kick), 6:23.
ALT--Safety (tackled in end zone), 2:07.
ALT--Mosley 9 pass from Freiwald (kick failed), 0:02.
Third quarter
ALT--Corso 20 pass from Freiwald (Mosley run), 8:50.
Fourth quarter
ALLD--Mellix 19 pass from Stuckey (Maldanado kick), 8:45.
ALLD--Stead 15 pass from Stuckey (Maldanado kick), 3:46.
ALLD--Mellix 50 pass from Stuckey (Maldanado kick), 1:07.
TEAM STATISTICS ALD ALT
First downs 11 13
Total yards 216 367
Rushes-yards 16-84 44-293
Yards passing 132 74
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 8-22-0 4-7-1
Punts/avg. 6-32 3-17.6
Fumbles-lost 3-1 1-0
Penalties-yards 8-50 8-71
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Allderdice, James 5-85, Stuckey 6-17, Jetter 3-5, Mellix 1-(-3). TEAM 1-(-17). Altoona, Mosley 16-124, Emeigh-Ballos 4-79, Hazelwood 3-39, Treece 3-30, Freiwald 2-11, Staines 5-7, Patterson 3-7, Jackson 1-3, Spriggs 3-1, Pike 4-(-8).
PASSING--Allderice, Stuckey 6-13-0-102, Jetter 2-9-0-30. Altoona, Freiwald 3-6-1-76.
RECEIVING--Allderdice, Mellix 3-88, Stead 2-26, James 1-8, Bullitt-Miller 1-8, Ayre 1-2. Altoona, Mosley 2-56, Corso 1-20, Patterson 1-(-2).