Big second half spurs Panthers to first district title
Trending
By John Hartsock
jhartsock@altoonamirror.com
Penn Cambria's long and arduous quest for a District 6 Class 3A football championship finally came to fruition Friday night.
After reaching the district title game the past three years but losing there to Central, unbeaten Penn Cambria overcame a 14-8 halftime deficit against Tyrone and reeled off 31 unanswered second-half points to win the school's first district championship by virtue of a 39-14 victory at Mansion Park.
The Panthers (12-0) move on to the first round of the state playoffs against Somerset -- a 40-34 winner over Brockway in a District 5-9 Class 3A subregional Friday night -- next weekend at a site and time to be determined.
For Penn Cambria seniors like Preston Farabaugh, a four-year starter on both the offensive and defensive lines, the wait was difficult, but well worth it.
Farabaugh had watched in dismay as the Central players had collected their district gold medals on the Mansion Park turf the past three years, but on Friday night, he was most happy to finally experience the sweeter side.
"It's special,'' Farabaugh said. "Every year for the past three years, I stayed on this field and watched every single one of (the Central players) get that medal. It made me and my teammates work extra hard to accomplish this, and I wouldn't want to do it with anybody else.
"We're a family,'' Farabaugh added.
Two-way senior standout Gavin Harrold scored four touchdowns for Penn Cambria, including two on big plays on both sides of the line of scrimmage.
Harrold turned a pass to the right flat from junior quarterback Brady Jones into a 36-yard touchdown play with 6:34 left in the third quarter, breaking several tackles along the way and pulling Penn Cambria into a 14-14 tie. Harrold also ran in the two-point conversion to give Penn Cambria the lead for good, 16-14.
"That's our RPO (run-pass-option),'' Harrold said of his go-ahead play. "I got some great blocks on the perimeter, and then I got to the second level and got some even more great blocks.''
As time ran down in the third quarter, Harrold came up with a scoop-and-score 36-yard fumble return to help give the Panthers, who got a two-point conversion run from junior quarterback Brady Jones, a 24-14 lead and completely turn the momentum of the game in Penn Cambria's favor.
Sophomore linebacker Corbin Vinglish came up with a big hit on a Tyrone receiver, stripping the ball loose for Harrold, who ran down the left side of the field and into the end zone with it.
"Corbin read the play really well, made a great tackle, and I was in the right place at the right time,'' said Harrold, who also scored on a 1-yard run from scrimmage in the second quarter and a 6-yard run in the fourth quarter, capping off an 80-yard Penn Cambria drive that was spawned by a Marcus Eckenrode interception in the end zone that squashed Tyrone's last scoring threat.
"Big-time players make big-time plays, and Gav is a four-year starter and a big-time player for us,'' Penn Cambria coach Nick Felus said of Harrold. "We made some adjustments at halftime, and we took over in the second half.
"All the credit goes to these kids,'' Felus added. "We knew this wasn't going to be easy, but I'm so excited for these kids. There are so many different emotions right now, and I'm trying to soak it all in. To do this the way we did it tonight, coming from behind with these types of kids makes this so special. It's a great day to be a Panther.''
Penn Cambria checked a huge box off its season to-do list Friday, but there are still other boxes for the Panthers to check off in the upcoming state playoffs.
"The job isn't finished,'' Farabaugh said.
Harrold said that the team will savor its district championship victory today, and refocus on preparing for the state playoffs.
"I couldn't be more proud of my brothers and the work that they put in these last several years,'' Harrold said. "But we're going to flip the page on Sunday because we're not done baby.''
Play of the game: The defensive strip by Vinglish and scoop-and-score by Harrold put the Panthers firmly into the driver's seat as the third quarter came to a close.
Player of the game: Harrold.
Unsung heroes: Penn Cambria's defensive unit held a powerful Tyrone offense scoreless in the second half. "Our coaches made adjustments, and our defense is so tough and so resilient, and they shut (Tyrone) out in the second half,'' Felus said.
Most vital statistic: Although Penn Cambria narrowly outgained Tyrone, 329 to 290 in total yardage, the Golden Eagles turned the ball over three times, with Eckenrode making his interception, Harrold making his big fumble return, and junior defensive back Grant Gides also picking off a pass for Penn Cambria.
Tyrone coach John Franco, whose Eagles finished 7-5 on the strength of a five-game winning streak: "I thought it was a really good game for three quarters. We played a great first half, but we just seemed to run out of steam in the second half. I just love our team. They overcame so many obstacles and so much adversity to get here.''
Penn Cambria quarterback Jones: "Tyrone is a really solid team. This game was won in the trenches by our big guys up front. They got it done all night long.''
Notable: Tyrone senior quarterback Ashton Walk completed 17 of 29 passes for 222 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown pass to wideout Trent Adams in the second quarter. Walk also ran 25 yards for a first-quarter touchdown to open the scoring ... Senior back Tommy Plunkett ran 35 yards for the final score of the game for Penn Cambria late in the fourth quarter ... Tyrone's Eli Woomer recovered a fumble to stall a Penn Cambria drive late in the second quarter.
Records: Tyrone (7-5); Penn Cambria (12-0).
Next week: Tyrone's season is complete. Penn Cambria advances to a first-round state playoff game against Somerset.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Tyrone 0 8 16 15 -- 39
Penn Cambria 7 7 0 0 -- 14
First Quarter
T--A. Walk 25 run (Novak kick), 3:31.
Second Quarter
PC--Harrold 1 run (Jones run), 7:14.
T--Adams 15 pass from A. Walk (Novak kick), 4:37.
Third Quarter
PC--Harrold 36 pass from Jones (Harrold run), 6:34.
PC--Harrold 34 fumble return (Jones run), 0:49.
Fourth Quarter
PC--Harrold 6 run (Plunkett run), 5:53.
PC--Plunkett 35 run (Jones kick), 1:06.
TEAM STATISTICS T PC
First downs 16 19
Total yards 290 329
Rushes-yards 19-68 39-184
Yards passing 222 145
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 17-29-2 8-9-0
Punts/avg. 3-64 2-30.5
Fumbles-lost 2-1 1-1
Penalties-yards 5-50 2-10
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Tyrone, Hoover 13-28, A. Walk 5-27, Whitby 1-13. Penn Cambria, Plunkett 14-83, Mento 8-55, Harrold 13-42, Jones 7-4.
PASSING--Tyrone, A. Walk 17-29-2-222. Penn Cambria, Jones 7-8-0-141, Harrold 1-1-0-4.
RECEIVING--Tyrone, Adams 5-51, Woomer 4-44, Hoover 4-47, A. Emigh 3-43, Miller 1-37. Penn Cambria, Harrold 6-119, Vinglish 1-22, Jones 1-4.