Photo for the Mirror by Jay Whitesel Claysburg-Kimmel’s Tyler Mowry looks to make a move on Mount Union’s Damien Leonard.

MOUNT UNION — Claysburg-Kimmel was right in the middle of a shootout with Mount Union on Friday night in a first half which had the makings of one that might come down to the last possession.

Players are taught to take advantage of any opportunities the game presents at any given moment to turn momentum in their favor.

In an extremely unfortunate set of circumstances, the Trojans’ Nasir Collins came up limping following an interception of C-K quarterback Mason Campagna in the end zone in the closing seconds of the first half.

While the MU junior put on a gutsy effort by playing, but being hobbled the second half, the Bulldogs were able to turn a halftime tie into a blowout as C-K came away with 51-28 victory.

“It felt really good as our kids played their tails off. I’m so proud of them,” Claysburg-Kimmel coach Chuck Kassick said.

Claysburg came in needing to win by 19 or more points to capture the Inter-County Conference North Division title.

With Juniata Valley having beaten C-K earlier this year, Mount Union defeating JV, the Bulldogs, by virtue of their 23-point victory, locked up the crown for the second straight year by point differential between the three teams.

“They (Claysburg-Kimmel) knew what we had in front of us,” Kassick said. “The big picture is we knew we had to win by a certain amount of points to be ICC champs. The goal was, let’s get a win. I don’t care if it’s by one point or by 1,000 points — let’s get a win.”

Sequence of the game: With the score at 21-21 at the half, C-K got the ball back after Mount Union turned it over on downs on the opening drive of the second half.

On the seventh play, Campagna called his own number and after gaining 12 yards, lunged toward the goal line, but had the ball knocked free and recovered by Mount Union’s Tyjier Hooper at the MU 1.

On first down, Caizon Scott barely made it out of the end zone but on second down, Collins dropped back and scrambled as the C-K defensive pressure closed in on both sides. Seeing no escape from the end zone, Collins uncorked a blind throw he hoped would land near one of his receivers.

Fortunately, for Claysburg, the ball did not and it was ruled as intentional grounding — giving the Bulldogs two points for the safety.

After receiving the ensuing kickoff, Remy Diehl took the ball on the second play and found 35 yards of running room to make it 30-21.

Diehl: “That’s one thing about our ‘D’ line is we put on a lot of pressure up front. When we knew we didn’t have far to go (for the safety), we just gave it our all.”

Players of the game: Campagna and Diehl. The senior QB was 14-of-18 passing for 158 yards and the one interception, while gaining 270 rushing yards on 23 attempts.

Meanwhile, Diehl broke free for a career-high 172 rushing yards on 13 carries.

C-K’s unsung heroes: The offensive line rotation (Landon Woods, Jordan Talasky, Dustin Slowik, Collton Replogle, Mitchell Dodson, Cory Walter and Paul-Kenneth Strayer) allowed the Bulldog offense to rack up 600 total yards of offense and 27 first downs on the night.

Mount Union’s unsung heroes: Collins gutted the Claysburg defense in the first half with his arm (90 yards on 6-of-7 passing) and legs (162 yards on 11 tries). After the half, his limited mobility held him to 5 rushes for 11 yards, but he was still able to pass for 152 yards in the third and fourth quarters. Hooper caught nine passes totaling 169 yards and two TD passes from Collins — 31 yards in the first quarter and a 44-yarder in the fourth which accounted for the only MU points after halftime.

Mount Union coach Jamie Brumbaugh: “He (Collins) is an exceptional athlete. He’s probably the best football player I have ever coached. Beyond that, he’s a great human being. We debated earlier this week about even coming out here because we have kids playing in multiple positions — I’m not making any excuses. I don’t want him or any others (with the limited numbers Mount Union already has). You see how he can put a whole team on his back and take them. It’s disappointing for us and disappointing for him.”

Kassick: “Let’s be honest here, if Collins is full-tilt the whole game, I don’t know that the score ends up like that. I do think both teams would have scored a lot of points. He’s so dynamic and electric — he’s phenomenal.”

Back-and-forth first half: Claysburg began with the ball and had five possessions, while Mount Union had four. The two teams each scored three times, while Campagna and Collins lost fumbles once apiece in addition to the Collins late INT of Campagna.

Campagna ran 25 yards to put C-K on the board, Collins hit Hooper for a 31-yard score to make it 7-7. Gavin Treon hauled in a 10-yard TD pass from Campagna before Collins crossed the line himself on a 69-yard sprint to make it 14-14 with 1:33 left in the opening quarter. Campagna lost a fumble which the Trojans capitalized on to take the lead when Collins scored from 16 yards out. Campagna knotted the contest on a 1-yard plunge before Collins coughed the ball up on MU’s ensuing chance as Brayden Haney came up with the recovery. The Collins pick of Campagna came on the C-K drive before the now-injured Collins took a knee to send the game into the half at 21-21.

Notable: Following the Diehl 35-yard TD, Tyler Mowry intercepted Collin’s and the Bulldogs took advantage as Campagna scored on a 1-yard touchdown in the fourth to put his team up 37-21. … The Collins to Hooper connection made it a 37-28 contest before Campagna broke free for 84 yards of real estate running on the first play of the ensuing drive. … Mount Union turned the ball over on downs and Diehl had a two-score night when he raced in from 22 yards away that proved to be the points needed to win the ICC North. Nate Fee, who went 7-for-7 on extra points, set the final.

Records: Claysburg-Kimmel (7-2); Mount Union (7-2).

Next week: Claysburg-Kimmel hosts Everett. Mount Union entertains Meyersdale.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Claysburg-Kimmel 14 7 9 21 — 51

Mount Union 14 7 0 7 — 28

First Quarter

CK–Campagna 25 run (Fee kick), 10:22.

MU–Hooper 31 pass from Collins (Rank kick), 7:11.

CK–Treon 10 pass from Campagna (Fee kick), 2:34.

MU–Collins 69 run (Rank kick), 1:33.

Second Quarter

MU–Collins 16 run (Rank kick), 9:11.

CK–Campagna 1 run (Fee kick), 5:11.

Third Quarter

CK–Safety, Collins called for intentional grounding on throw from end zone, 5:50.

CK–Diehl 35 run (Fee kick), 4:51.

Fourth Quarter

CK–Campagna 1 run (Fee kick), 9:58.

MU–Hooper 44 pass from Collins (Rank kick), 7:41.

CK–Campagna 84 run (Fee kick), 7:20.

CK–Diehl 22 run (Fee kick), 4:05.

TEAM STATISTICS CK MU

First downs 27 18

Total yards 600 432

Rushes-yards 40-442 26-190

Yards passing 158 242

Pass (comp.-att.-int.) 14-19-1 17-26-1

Punts-avg. 0-0 1-36.0

Fumbles-lost 2-2 2-1

Penalties-yards 2-20 3-25

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Claysburg-Kimmel, Campagna 23-270, Treon 1-3, Diehl 13-172, TEAM 3-(-3). Mount Union, Collins 16-173, Scott 6-12, Leonard 3-6, TEAM 1-(-1).

PASSING–Claysburg-Kimmel, Campagna 14-18-1-158, TEAM 0-1-0-0. Mount Union, Collins 17-25-1-242, Scott 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING–Claysburg-Kimmel, Treon 4-53, Herline 4-42, Mowry 5-52, Haney 1-11. Mount Union, Richards 3-41, Scott 5-32, Hooper 9-169.