AAHS puts up valiant effort in loss
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By Nate Ritchey
nritchey@altoonamirror.com
HOLLIDAYSBURG -- Altoona and State College met back in Week 4, and the Little Lions cruised to a 42-point victory.
The Mountain Lions game plan was simply to keep the State College offense off the field as long as possible.
The plan definitely kept the game much closer as Altoona pounded run after run at the State defense helping to churn out yards and keep the clock rolling.
Unfortunately, late in the contest with the Little Lions clinging to a two-score advantage, the Mountain Lions inability to hit the big play came back to hurt them.
The end result was a 16-6 season-ending loss for Altoona in the District 6 Class 6A championship at Hollidaysburg's Tiger Stadium.
"I couldn't be more proud of our seniors and our team as a whole how we closed the gap," Altoona coach Vince Nedimyer Jr. said. "Going back and watching the film, we knew we were getting better. We were just happy to have the opportunity to play in this game again."
For State College, it was the third straight district title and 22nd in the history of the school.
"They all mean something special," State College coach Matt Lintal said. "They (championships) aren't just another one. We love the fact that we've won 22 of them. And, we're really proud to win this one."
Sequence of the game: After Altoona was forced to punt the ball away in the fourth quarter, State College took over with 8:06 left. Little Lion quarterback Owen Yerka scrambled for 6 and 8 yards before a 5-yard false penalty backed State up to the Altoona 49. Yerka then took off for a 10-yard run that drew an unsportsmanlike flag on the Mountain Lions -- tacking 15-yards on to the end of the run to put State at the Altoona 24.
However, before the ball could even be placed, the two teams got into a shoving match and flags flew once again with offsetting penalties taking place. In the midst of that melee, the Altoona bench drew a 15-yard unsportsmanlike flag. When all was said, done and sorted out, State College had the ball sitting on the Altoona 12 with a first-and-10.
After a Yerka incomplete pass and 4-yard, and an incomplete pass from Eddie Corkery the Little Lions got a 25-yard field from senior John Zipf to set the final and make the game a two-score affair with 4:35 remaining.
Zipf: "I kind of knew when I was stepping up to it that it was going to be a big field goal -- it was probably going to put us in the (two-score) lead and win us the game. But I've got ice in my veins, and you can't ice something that's already been iced. I want to thank the special teams (unit). … I love my snapper (Gino Pighetti) and holder (John Leskowicz)."
Players of the game: Corkery and Yerka. The quarterback duo played different roles in the State College offense. Corkery had no rushes but completed 9-of-15 passes for 130 yards including the opening touchdown of the game when he found Ty Salazer on a 26-yard scoring strike at 7:49 of the second quarter.
Yerka went 0-for-3 passing and threw an interception but did his damage on the ground as he ran the ball 15 times for 81 yards including an 8-yard touchdown run that came on ensuing drive following Altoona's only TD. His two-point conversion run from the 1-yard line was stuffed out by the Mountain Lions' defense to make the score 13-6 with 9:45 left in the fourth.
Lintal: "I'm proud of him (Yerka). He hasn't, unfortunately, been able to play a whole lot this year -- he had a hand injury early on that kind of prevented him from playing on the offensive side. He's been a critical part of team playing defense for a number of weeks. But to get him back offensively and to split that time -- those guys have really supported each other."
Unsung hero: Altoona's Bron Mosley was the workhorse in the Mountain Lions game plan by carrying the ball 32 times for 118 yards. Trailing by the 7-0 margin at the half, Altoona received the second half kickoff and put together an 18-play, 67-yard drive that saw the senior attempt 11 runs for 40 of those yards including a 2-yard power run across the goal line at with 1:17 remaining in the third. The PAT attempt from Cody Chathams was struck low on the right upright to keep State College out in front by a 7-6 margin.
Nedimyer: "We needed that -- we had to have that score. With our kids converting a couple of fourth downs, we got what we needed. We just needed one more."
Most vital statistic: Altoona's longest play of the night covered only 9 yards, while State College had seven plays of 10 or more yards.
Game-ending pick: With the Mountain Lions having a first-and-10 at the SC 40, Salazer came up with the icing on the celebratory cake for the Little Lions as he intercepted Brennen Freiwald and returned it 29 yards to the Altoona 46. From there, State took two kneel-downs to end the contest.
Lintal: "Getting down there at the end was huge to go up two scores. You really felt like that sealed the deal. But our kids didn't give up and Ty Salazer getting that pick to end the game -- I'm just really proud of our overall effort."
Notable: State College won the total yardage battle at 208-174, while Altoona had 157 of theirs on the ground to just 17 through the air. … Michael Chisolm came up with an interception for the Mountain Lions in the second quarter. … Eli Espinoza came up with a fumble recovery for the Little Lions on Altoona's first drive on the night. … In addition to the lost fumble, Altoona had three other possessions in the opening half as two ended in punts and the fourth ended in a turnover on downs. The turnover on downs began with a Julian Hazlewood kickoff return of 48 yards to the Altoona 49. The Mountain Lions ran the ball nine times down to the SC 31 before giving the football back over on a failed fourth down try.
Records: Altoona (5-7); State College (7-3).
Next week: Altoona's season is complete; State College will play McDowell next Friday at a site and time to be determined.
Nedimyer: "That's our goal -- we preach little things. When we do the little things right we can put together drives. We wouldn't like to have to go 18 plays to go score. We want to get the ball on the perimter a little bit more. But to be able to keep them (State College) off the field for (nearly) an entire quarter -- we'll take it. I just told our kids that it wasn't for lack of effort as we left it all out there. I'm proud of how we ended."
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Altoona 0 0 6 0 -- 6
State College 0 7 0 9 -- 16
Second Quarter
SC--Salazer 26 pass from Corkery (Zipf kick), 7:49.
Third Quarter
A--Mosley 2 run (kick failed), 1:17.
Fourth Quarter
SC--Yerka 8 run (run failed), 9:45.
SC--Zipf 25 FG, 4:35.
TEAM STATISTICS A SC
First downs 12 13
Total yards 174 208
Rushes-yards 50-157 22-78
Yards passing 17 130
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 2-8-1 9-18-1
Punts-avg. 3-38.7 3-35.3
Fumbles-lost 2-1 1-0
Penalties-yards 7-53 5-35
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Altoona, Mosley 32-118, Treece 2-6, Freiwald 10-26, Emeigh-Ballos 4-2, Hazlewood 1-6, TEAM 1-(-1). State College, Yerka 15-81, Bechtel 2-3, Salazer 1-(-3), Wilson 2-(-1), TEAM 2-(-2).
PASSING--Altoona, Freiwald 2-8-1-17. State College, Yerka 0-3-1-0, Corkery 9-15-0-130.
RECEIVING--Altoona, Treece 1-8, Harrington Jr. 1-9. State College, Gaul 3-64, Salazer 6-66.