Trending
CARLISLE -- A 13-point third quarter helped bring home the Carlisle Thundering Herd's first win of the season as they defeated the Altoona Mountain Lions, 19-9, at Ken Millen Stadium Friday night.
It marked the first win in 18 games for the Thundering Herd dating back to the first game of the 2023 season at Mechanicsburg.
For Altoona, it put the finishing touches on a dismal 1-9 campaign and was a true microcosm of the issues that plagued the Mountain Lions all season: Not being able to finish drives, costly turnovers and drive-killing turnovers.
"We just didn't execute," Altoona coach Vince Nedimyer Jr. said following the game.
The failure to execute cost the Mountain Lions dearly all season and especially on Friday night. Twice the Altoona offense was within the red zone but couldn't find the end zone.
An interception thwarted a potential scoring drive before a trio of incompletions inside the 10-yard line forced a 27-yard Cody Chathams field goal prior to half.
Altoona's lone touchdown came on a 1-yard rush from Zion Patterson.
Play of the game: On third-and-18 from their own 7-yard line, Carlisle's Curtis Stroud found Mickel Hakim for a 93-yard touchdown pass to give the Thundering Herd a 13-9 lead after the extra point.
Player of the game: Chanse Bonner of Carlisle. Bonner rushed for 103 yards and two touchdowns, including a 26-yard run where he was nearly tackled in the backfield before running to paydirt.
Unsung hero: Luke Geishauser of Altoona. Geishauser had an interception and a sack for the Altoona defense.
Most vital statistic: Nearly one-third of Carlisle's offensive production came on a 93-yard touchdown pass from Stroud to Hakim.
Carlisle coach Brandon Cook: "When you only have a week to get ready for a triple-option offense, it's never fun for anybody. All we could do was play assignment football."
Altoona coach Vince Nedimyer: "In life, you learn more in defeat. We told them that they're going to be great young men, and they already are, and they will be whenever they leave here, and that's the most important thing. These seniors came every day and gave us everything they had. You know, we couldn't be more proud of them."
Notable: Each team had a blocked extra point … Altoona linebacker Logan Wuckovich did not play in the second half … The last home win for Carlisle came against Altoona on Oct. 21, 2022.
Records: Altoona (1-9); Carlisle (1-9).
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Altoona 0 9 0 0 -- 9
Carlisle 6 0 13 0 -- 19
First Quarter
C--Bonner 5 run (kick failed), 1:05.
Second Quarter
A--Patterson 1 run (kick failed), 3:29.
A--Chathams 27 FG, :10.
Third Quarter
C--Hakim 93 pass from Stroud (Foreman kick), 3:58.
C--Bonner 26 run (kick failed), :44.4
TEAM STATISTICS A C
First downs 12 11
Total yards 142 305
Rushes-yards 36-119 25-96
Yards passing 23 209
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 3-17-3 11-17-1
Fumbles-lost 2-1 0-0
Penalties-yards 11-115 11-85
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Altoona, Harrington 14-74, Staines 2-(-3), Hazlewood 8-37, Adams 2-1, Ballos 5-11, Patterson 5-11. Carlisle, Bonner 18-103, Stroud 5-6, Clarke 2-(-3), Campbell 1-(-10).
PASSING--Altoona, Harrington 3-17-3-23. Carlisle, Stroud 10-15-1-185, Bonner 0-0-0-0, Wilson 1-1-0-3.
RECEIVING--Altoona, Patterson 1-10, Baker 2-13. Carlisle, Bonner 3-30, Hakim 2-114, Campbell 2-46, Shay 1-1, Stroud 1-(-3), Smith 2-21.