Trending
BOSWELL -- Juniata Valley looked primed to take a two-possession lead at the start of the third quarter -- driving to the North Star 1-yard line -- on the first drive of the half.
But a key turnover set up a costly drive on the ensuing possession and Cougars didn't look back.
The Hornets also had trouble with the developing passing duo of Cougar Sophomore quarterback Kasey Yoder -- who also recorded two interceptions -- and senior RB Ethan Smith.
North Star scored 13 points off of turnovers in the third quarter as they went on to grab the 26-19 win over the Hornets at Memorial Field.
Sequence of the game: Juniata Valley's offense put them at the North Star one-yard line on the opening drive of the second half before a fumble recovered by the Cougars turned into a 12-play, 97-yard drive, capped off by a 44-yard touchdown pass from Yoder to Smith. Following a Yoder interception late in the quarter, the duo connected again from 15 yards out.
Player of the game: Smith had four catches for 102 yards and three touchdowns while Yoder registered his two takeaways while going 12-for-16 passing for 185 yards.
Unsung hero: The North Star defense managed to force two turnovers in the third quarter, which set up both second half scores.
Most vital statistic: The Cougars scored 13 points off of turnovers in the third quarter.
North Star coach Bob Landis: "There's four sophomore up there and a senior (on the offensive line), and a sophomore quarterback. We start a lot of sophomores, we're a young football team. We needed a game like this tonight. I was very, very proud of our offense, we struggled at times, got behind the sticks in the second quarter. We did control the line of scrimmage in the second half.''
Juniata Valley coach Bill Musser: "It was a big momentum switch in the game. As a coach, we had a kid have shoe come off. I need to do a better job coaching letting him to get down, get your shoe on. I think we would've been in better shape there. That's on me to have me as a coach to have my kids prepared for the situations we're in.''
Landis on Smith-Yoder
duo: "We graduated big brother last year, little brother steps in. He's a sophomore (quarterback). He's making some mistakes, but he's making up for it. He's trying to make things happen. It's nice to have a senior like Smith to get them going in the right direction.''
Notable: The Hornets were called for seven penalties for 80 yards. ... The Cougars recorded 12 first downs to 10 for the Hornets. ... Neither team recorded 50 yards rushing. ... This is the second year in a row the teams played to a one-possession decision as the Hornets took last year's matchup in Alexandria, 21-20.
Records: Juniata Valley (1-1), North Star (2-0)
Next week: Juniata Valley hosts Glendale while North Star welcomes Meyersdale.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Juniata Valley 8 11 0 0 -- 19
North Star 7 6 13 0 -- 26
First Quarter
JV--Clark 3 run (Weirich run), 9:13.
NS--Smith 48 pass from Yoder (Nash kick), 6:46.
Second Quarter
NS--Durst 20 run (kick failed), 11:52.
JV--Clark 3 run (Weirich pass from Rand), 8:19.
JV--Thomspon 26 FG, 1:52.
Third Quarter
NS--Smith 44 pass from Yoder (Nash kick), 4:28.
NS--Smith 15 pass from Yoder (run failed), :34.
TEAM STATISTICS JV NS
First downs 10 12
Total yards 184 229
Rushes-yards 32-45 41-44
Yards passing 139 185
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 8-23-3 12-16-0
Punts-avg. 1-32 3-31.6
Fumbles-lost 3-1 3-1
Penalties-yards 7-80 4-34
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Juniata Valley, Neri 1-2, Clark 18-51, Rand 3-(-15), Thompson 9-23, Weirich 1-3, TEAM 1-(-19). North Star, Smith 14-82, Yoder 17-(-24), Steltzer 0-(-6), Durst 5-25, Koval 2-0, Nash 1-(-1), TEAM 2-(-32).
PASSING--Juniata Valley, Williams 0-1-0-0, Rand 7-21-3-127, Clark 1-1-0-1,. North Star, Yoder 12-16-0-185.
RECEIVING--Juniata Valley, Brantner 3-56, Dick 2-28, Norris 1-34, Thompson 1-21. North Star, Smith 4-102, Samler 2-29, Drust 4-23, Hawkins 1-28, Lasky 1-(-2).