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Strong rushing attack helps Juniata Valley advance

H.S. football extra

By Kevin Petrochko 4 min read

ALEXANDRIA -- Coming off a two-game winning streak, Juniata Valley came into Friday night's District 6 1A quarterfinal matchup with Northern Cambria looking to boost its confidence for a long playoff run.

Led by another dominant ground game performance by junior Andrew Clark, the Hornets came out with the victory, 23-20, at AR Simkins Memorial Field.

Clark finished the night totaling 37 carries for 200 yards on the ground.

"It feels great to get a win," Clark said. "It's my third year of varsity, and my first two years were both first-round exits, so it feels great to get a playoff win here."

In the first quarter, Clark fumbled the ball but later recovered in route to a three-touchdown evening.

"I faced a little adversity there in the beginning of the game with a fumble" Clark said. "But I was able to get out of my head and turn the page."

The Hornets started to come together in the second half.

"The overall performance was inconsistent," Juniata Valley coach Bill Musser said. "A little shaky and unfocused in the beginning and then we got together in the second half and got ourselves focused back in."

The win sets up a rematch in the District 6 Class 1A semifinals against Claysburg-Kimmel in Alexandria next week. Valley won the regular season game.

"The thing that I'm enjoying with these kids is they're fun to be around," Musser said. "They're willing to compete every play."

The Hornets are happy to be heading into the second round of the playoffs.

"We're feeling great," senior quarterback Jett Rand said. "That was a good team to go against, especially in the first round."

Northern Cambria kept the game close for most of the night but struggled to get going early.

"I think we played tough," Colt coach Sam Shutty said. "It took us a little bit to get going, we made mistakes, we had some penalty trouble, but I'm proud of the fight they put forth."

Play of the game: Nate Rodkey nailed a 25-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to seal the victory for the Hornets.

Player of the game: Andrew Clark tallied 37 carries for 200 yards on the night for Juniata Valley.

Unsung hero: Konner Harker racked up five catches for 52 yards on the night.

Most vital statistic: The Hornets finished with 223 rushing yards for the game.

Musser: "He (Clark) did exactly what he was asked of tonight. He just comes in and does his job."

Shutty: "We lost a lot of close games. That comes with inexperience."

Rand: "It's really special. The last three years I've been here, we haven't been a playoff team, so coming into my senior year knowing that we were going to be good and especially winning that first playoff game really means a lot."

Notable: Northern Cambria racked up 10 penalties for 90 yards.

Records: Juniata Valley (9-2); Northern Cambria (4-7).

Next week: Juniata Valley hosts Claysburg-Kimmel next week. Northern Cambria's season comes to a close.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Northern Cambria 6 0 0 14 -- 20

Juniata Valley 7 0 6 10 -- 23

First Quarter

JV--Clark 1 run (Rodkey kick), 6:20.

NC--Farrell 76 run (kick failed), 5:53.

Third Quarter

JV--Clark 1 run (Rodkey kick), 3:30.

Fourth Quarter

JV--Clark 2 run (conversion failed), 8:27.

NC--Farrell 3 run (kick failed), 6:20.

JV--Rodkey 25 field goal, 2:11.

NC--Farrell 4 run (Fox pass from Farrell), 0:34.

TEAM STATISTICS NC JV

First downs 8 21

Total yards 269 379

Rushes-yards 24-175 37-223

Yards passing 94 156

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 8-20-0 14-23-0

Punts-avg. 5-20 1-34

Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-1

Penalties-yards 10-90 2-25

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Northern Cambria, Czar 6-20, Fox 5-18, Farrell 13-137. Juniata Valley, Clark 37-200, Rand 4-22, Harker 1-1.

PASSING--Northern Cambria, Farrell 7-19-0-94, Fox 1-1-0-0. Juniata Valley, Rand 14-23-0-156.

RECEIVING--Northern Cambria, Fox 3-65, Wagner 2-20, Czar 2-9. Juniata Valley, Smith 5-35, Harker 5-52, Clark 1-12, Neri 3-42, Norris 1-15.

Starting at /week.