PC edges BG in drama-filled LHAC title game
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CRESSON -- When Nick Felus was in sixth grade, he watched his brother Carmen lead Penn Cambria to a 10-0 mark in the regular season and saw how the Cresson and surrounding communities got behind the Panthers.
When he took over the school's head coaching job six years ago, his vision was to bring that feeling from 1989 back.
Mission accomplished.
The Panthers survived a wild ending to defeat Bishop Guilfoyle Academy, 28-27, in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference championship game at Panther Stadium Friday night to cap off an undefeated regular season.
"The support that we have gotten the last six years is awesome," Felus said. "This is a tough place to play. Home sweet home. The environment we have created, our student section, the parents, the booster club, the administration -- it's amazing. When everyone is rowing the boat in the same direction, special things can happen. You saw that tonight."
The Marauders found out how tough on Friday, especially in the final seconds.
Hamilton Gates got his feet down in the back of the end zone with a 9-yard touchdown catch with 33 seconds left that cut BG's deficit to one. The Marauders decided to go for two points and the win.
Out of the shotgun formation, quarterback Chase Kissell threw to his side and Taurean Consiglio, who ran into the end zone for what seemed like the game-winning conversion -- but it was called back on an offensive pass interference.
"They thought we were down the field when we caught the pass," BG coach Justin Wheeler said. "It's supposed to be a pick play. We're supposed to catch it behind the line. We were blocking down the field like we're supposed to, and they said we caught it, within a half a yard or so, too far down the field."
The Marauders were forced to try a 35-yard extra point, which was short. BG's Michael Cacciotti kicked an onside kick that the Marauders recovered. Kissell completed two passes to Braden Reilly to bring up a first down at the Penn Cambria 24 with 15 seconds left.
Kissell then rolled out and hit Gates in the middle of the field for an 11-yard completion to the 13 and a first down. The down marker was moved to the 13 and listed as first down, but the chains never moved as the final five seconds clicked off the clock, which stops in high school football to move the chains on a first down.
"It was a first down. They said it was a first down," Wheeler said. "The explanation I got was that they went by the game clock. It didn't stop, so they weren't going to stop it."
Wheeler spent nearly as much time on the field as the players talking with officials between the penalty on the two-point call and the clock not stopping after the final play.
"I told (the team) I'm proud of them," Wheeler said. "I told them they did everything we wanted them to do tonight. They battled the whole game. Even with 33 seconds left after some things didn't go their way, they didn't quit on the onside kick. Michael hits a great onside kick. They battled for it and got it and put us in a position to win it. I thought we had a chance. We were going to spike it and kick a field goal to win it. We just didn't get the opportunity."
Play of the game: There were so many, but perhaps the most incredible came late in the first half when Penn Cambria's Brady Jones was about to be sacked to set up a third-and-long in a position where BG probably would have went into the half up 14-6, but he flipped the ball back to Mason Mento, who ran it 23 yards to the 2-yard line. Gavin Harrold ran it in for a score on the next play, and then he ran in a two-point conversion to tie the game.
Player of the game: Harrold had three touchdowns, two rushing and one receiving, ran in a conversion and made the tackle on the game's final play.
"It was definitely a big game, and it showed we can play in big games," Harrold said. "Like I said earlier, the job isn't finished. It's a great win, but it's on to next week. We have to play our hearts out each and every week. We didn't accomplish our goal yet."
Unsung hero: The Penn Cambria crowd, which was loud all night and had blue glow sticks, making for a neat look.
"I remember seeing what a football team can do to ignite a community (back in 1989)," Felus said. "It brought everyone together. That was a special time having a chance to watch my brother play on that team, and it's like that here now. This community loves the Panthers. They come out and support us every night. It's a great time to be part of our program."
Most vital statistic: The numbers on the scoreboard before BG could run a final play.
"We tackled them in bounds, and they didn't have any timeouts," Felus said. "At the end of the day, it was 0:00. I'm a little disappointed we were in that situation. The onside kick, they got a perfect bounce. But at the end of the day, we were able to make the tackle and get the win."
Wheeler: "We can't let it ever come down to someone else's decisions. You have to win the game and make sure it's definitive. We want to make sure we come out strong next week and have our best game ever. We want to get this thing rolling and go on a run."
Gates: "We got the first down, and I was in the middle of the field. (Harrold) was holding on to me on the ground, not moving. We didn't have enough time to get the ball spiked. I didn't think that's how it worked, but it's OK. I thought we won the game twice. I guess it just didn't work out that way. But we had a bad call at the goal line that we thought we had, but we'll move on to next week. This will fuel us 100 percent. We're going to be a way better team after this."
Penn Cambria's Derek Hite: "We love to make it interesting -- holy heck. We gave it everything. We put it all on the line. We stepped up and made a play that ended the game. It came down to that. There were lots of ups and downs. We were down, but we never gave up."
Notable: Marcus Eckenrode had an interception and a key 32-yard catch that set up a Penn Cambria touchdown. ... Both teams will be the top seed in their respective classifications in the District 6 playoffs. ... Penn Cambria snapped a ball over Jones' head when he was trying to punt that set up a 1-yard Consiglio touchdown, and the Panthers later returned the favor by blocking a BG punt. ... Braden Reilly caught a halfback pass from Gates for a touchdown, and Jones ran in a touchdown for the Panthers. ... Gates went over 1,000 yards receiving for the season with nine catches for 97 yards.
Records: Bishop Guilfoyle (9-1); Penn Cambria (10-0).
Next week: Bishop Guilfoyle hosts Juniata Valley in the District 6 Class 1A quarterfinals, and Penn Cambria hosts Central in the District 6 Class 3A semifinals.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Bishop Guilfoyle 0 14 0 13 -- 27
Penn Cambria 6 8 6 8 -- 28
First Quarter
PC--Harrold 19 pass from Jones (pass failed), 6:06.
Second Quarter
BG--Consiglio 17 pass from C. Kissell (Boland kick), 7:12.
BG--Consiglio 1 run (Boland kick), 4:25.
PC--Harrold 2 run (Harrold run), :42.
Third Quarter
PC--Harrold 19 run (run failed), 3:06.
Fourth Quarter
PC--Jones 9 run (Mento run), 10:41.
BG--Reilly 17 pass from Gates (Boland kick), 7:16.
BG--Gates 9 pass from C. Kissell (kick failed), :33.
TEAM STATISTICS BG PC
First downs 18 17
Total yards 327 342
Rushes-yards 27-110 41-232
Yards passing 217 110
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 16-35-1 7-13-0
Punts-avg. 3-26 2-21.3
Fumbles-lost 0-0 4-2
Penalties-yards 8-70 7-75
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Bishop Guilfoyle, C. Kissell 9-51, Gates 8-42, Consiglio 9-18, TEAM 1-(-1). Penn Cambria, Harrold 10-82, Mento 9-80, Jones 12-57, Plunkett 9-39, TEAM 1-(-26).
PASSING--Bishop Guilfoyle, C. Kissell 15-34-1-200, Gates 1-1-0-17. Penn Cambria, Jones 7-12-0-110, Harrold 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING--Bishop Guilfoyle, Gates 8-97, Reilly 6-58, Consiglio 2-62. Penn Cambria, Harrold 6-78, Eckenrode 1-32.