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By Todd Irwin
sports@altoonamirror.com
NORTHERN CAMBRIA -- It was only two weeks ago that Northern Cambria took control of the Coal Bowl early and beat arch-rival Cambria Heights at the Cambria Heights Athletic Facility.
More was on the line on a chilly Friday night as the teams clashed in the District 6 Class 1A semifinals at Northern Cambria's Duffy Daugherty Memorial Stadium.
The fourth-seeded Highlanders gained revenge at the best time by turning two turnovers by the top-seeded Colts into two touchdowns in the third quarter to capture a thrilling 21-12 victory.
"It feels great," Cambria Heights quarterback Isaac Weiland said. "We lost to them the first time, and we came back and gave it to them the second time. We practiced a lot harder and we had a new game plan, and it worked out."
"I'm very proud of the boys. This is a total team effort," Heights coach Jarrod Lewis as his voice cracked with emotion. "Many guys carried the ball tonight. Many guys caught the ball. Many guys blocked. It was a total team effort tonight."
The Highlanders (9-3) will play second-seeded Purchase Line, a 19-0 winner over Penns Manor, next Friday at Mansion Park in the District 6 championship.
"This is rarified air getting to the District 6 championship game," Lewis said. "We've never won one. We did our job to get there. Now we need to do our job to win it."
While the Highlanders were celebrating in the middle of the field afterward, the Colts (10-2) were getting consoled by family and friends.
"I thought we prepared enough," said Northern Cambria senior Jack Sheredy, who had touchdown runs of 65 and 38 yards and ran for 141 yards on 18 carries, "but it just came down to mistakes. You can't turn the ball over going into championship games."
Play of the game: On first down at the Colt 45, Weiland drifted back to pass and threw a beautiful pass to Stephen Nelen, who hauled it in for a 45-yard touchdown pass. That gave Heights a 21-6 lead with 7:20 left in the third quarter.
"We saw it was open the whole game," Weiland said, "and we made it happen. It was the right time and a good catch."
Player of the game: Weiland, a 6-3 junior, completed 10 of his 16 passes for 169 yards. Another one of his long passes was caught out of bounds.
"Some big plays by Isaac Weiland tonight," Lewis said. "Some big plays in the passing game. We liked our matchup on the outside. They left us one-on-one, so we completed a pass out there to Stephen Nelen. Isaac Weiland completed a heck of a pass out there."
Big turnovers: Holding a 7-6 lead, the Highlanders picked up two crucial turnovers to begin the second half. Tristan Weakland recovered a Sheredy fumble at the NC 35 on the first play of the second half. On the ensuing series, Heights scored in six plays, with Jaxxon Kline scoring on a 1-yard plunge.
Nelen intercepted Ethan Donatelli on the fourth play of ensuing possession. Four plays later, Weiland threw his TD pass.
"The defense was opportunistic tonight," Lewis said. "We got those turnovers we needed. That was the difference that didn't happen last game. We had our opportunities but just didn't capitalize. I'm so very proud of them."
"Last time, we didn't have any mistakes," Sheredy said. "I think if we wouldn't have had any mistakes it wouldn't have been as close of a game. I think we would have been ahead."
Unsung hero(es): The offensive line gave Weiland time to throw, and the Heights defense made big stops when it had to.
Kline also had a 2-yard TD run in the first half: "I thought we ran the ball well," Lewis said. "I thought our pass game was good and set up our run tonight."
Notable: The Highlanders got to the NC 1 with less than 2 minutes left and Weiland took a knee twice to end the game. ... Northern Cambria recognized Veterans Day with two fire engines crossing with an American flag. .... There were 17 penalties for 148 yards, with the Colts getting flagged 11 times.
Records: Cambria Heights (9-3); Northern Cambria (10-2).
Next week: Northern Cambria's season is done. Cambria Heights will play Purchase Line in the District 6 championship next Friday at Mansion Park.
"I think if we practice well, we're going to win," Weiland said.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Cambria Heights 0 6 6 0 --12
Northern Cambria 0 7 14 0 --21
Second Quarter
NC--Sheredy 65 run (kick failed), 10:00
CH--Kline 2 run (Abrams kick), 4:09
Third Quarter
CH--Kline 1 run (Abrams kick), 9:17
CH--S. Nelen 45 pass from Weiland (Abrams kick), 7:20
NC--Sheredy 38 run (pass failed), 5:12
TEAM STATISTICS CH NC
First downs 11 10
Total yards 265 290
Rushes-yards 35-86 31-179
Yards passing 179 111
Passing (comp.-att.-int) 11-17-0 8-20-1
Punts-avg. 4-30.5 3-27.6
Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-1
Penalties-yards 6-55 11-93
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Cambria Heights, Mulraney 5-41, Kline 13-34, Jasper 5-26, Eckenrode 1-0, Trybus 5-(-2), TEAM 2-(-2), S. Nelen 3-(-5), Weiland 1-(-7). Northern Cambria, Sheredy 18-141, Farrell 3-18, Dumm 7-17, Donatelli 3-3.
PASSING--Cambria Heights, Weiland 10-16-0-169, S. Nelen 1-1-0-10. Northern Cambria, Donatelli 7-16-1-100, Dumm 1-4-0-11.
RECEIVING--Cambria Heights, S. Nelen 2-55, H. Nelen 2-39, Eckenrode 2-39, Mulraney 2-26, Jasper 2-25, Trybus 1-5. Northern Cambria, Farrell 4-50, Wagner 1-33, Dolney 1-16, Dumm 1-7, Sheredy 1-5.