Trending
By John Hartsock
jhartsock@altoonamirror.com
In football at any level, turnovers are often the most telling factor in a game.
That was the case for Altoona in last Friday's 2024 season opener against archrival Hollidaysburg at Mansion Park, when the Mountain Lions turned the ball over five times -- three on interceptions and two on fumbles -- in a 27-14 loss to the Golden Tigers.
Altoona coach Vince Nedimyer Jr. said that his team will turn the page, and hopefully eliminate or greatly reduce those mistakes, when the Mountain Lions visit State College tonight. Kickoff in the Mid-Penn Conference Commonwealth Division opener for both teams is 7 p.m. at Memorial Field.
"We did some good things and some bad things, but the mistakes that we made in last week's game are definitely correctable mistakes,'' Nedimyer said of his team's season-opening performance. "Offensively, you can't have five turnovers and win a game.
"A lot of times, you can't have two turnovers and win a game, but even with those five turnovers, we were still a play here and a play there from not just being in the game last Friday night, but from winning the game. Hollidaysburg made more plays than we did, and that is normally the difference in the game.''
The Mountain Lions are up against a talented, senior-laden State College team that opened its season last Friday night with a 49-14 road rout of Gateway of the WPIAL.
Senior quarterback Eddie Corkery completed 12 of 20 passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns for State College, while senior wideout/defensive back standout Ty Salazer shined on both sides of the ball, making seven catches for 98 yards and a touchdown, and returning an intercepted pass for a touchdown.
Another senior wideout/defensive back, Cooper Brushwood, caught a 48-yard touchdown pass from Corkery, and also returned an intercepted pass for a touchdown as State College benefited from five Gateway turnovers.
"It was a good start to the season for us,'' State College coach Matt Lintal said. "There are always things to clean up, for sure, but I'm really proud of our kids. We opted not to play a scrimmage game this year, so last week was our first look at an opposing team, and to come out and play football without a ton of mistakes like we did was really ideal.
"I think that our kids really executed our game plan in all three phases of the game,'' Lintal added.
The Mountain Lions and the Little Lions are quite familiar with each other. Altoona defeated State College in the District 6 Class 6A championship game in the 2020 COVID-19 season, but State College has won the last three consecutive district championship games, beating Altoona each time.
"We watched the film of their game against Gateway, and they have some good athletes on both sides of the football,'' Nedimyer said. "State College is the team that we have to get through to win districts, and Matt does a great job with those kids. They work hard, and they reload every year.''
Senior Mark Harrington made his first varsity start at quarterback last week for Altoona, and played reasonably well, throwing touchdown passes to senior wideout Amar Emeigh-Ballos and junior running back Julian Hazelwood. Harrington, who stands 6-feet-3 and weighs 225, threw for 112 yards and rushed for 82 yards in last week's game.
"He's a tough player who also plays linebacker for them on defense,'' Lintal said of Harrington, who was a tight end/wideout last year for Altoona. "We definitely have to be prepared for him. The players on their offensive line come off the ball very well, and (Hazelwood) and (Emeigh-Ballos) both have some wheels, so we've got to try to limit the plays that they can make.''
Making plays will be the focus for Nedimyer and the Mountain Lions in Friday's game.
"We lined up, and we were in the correct positions a lot of the time last Friday night, but we just have to make plays,'' Nedimyer said. "Give Hollidaysburg credit - they made more plays than we did in last week's game, so one of our goals in this week's game will be to make more plays.''
Altoona at State College
When: 7 p.m. tonight
Where: Memorial Field, State College.
Records: Altoona (0-1); State College (1-0).
Coaches: Vince Nedimyer Jr., is in his sixth season at Altoona with a career record of 20-33; Matt Lintal is in his 11th season at State College with a career record of 91-33.
Last week: State College defeated Gateway, 49-14 in Monroeville; Altoona lost to Hollidaysburg, 27-14 at Mansion Park.
Last year: State College won both meetings, 49-7 during the regular season and 16-6 in the District 6 Class 6A championship game.