Juniata Valley gets huge win over Northern Bedford
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LOYSBURG -- With Juniata Valley star running back Andrew Clark returning for his senior year after rushing for 1,787 yards and scoring more than 30 touchdowns as a junior, a lot of teams are going to go all-in to stop him.
Elah Glenny, Trent Norris and Liam Lightner might make teams question that thought process.
The speedy Glenny flashed plenty of skill Friday night against Northern Bedford at Panther Community Stadium when he caught seven passes for 178 yards and a touchdown and the 6-foot-6 inch Norris hauled in three passes for 87 yards to help freshman quarterback Lightner throw for 286 yards in Juniata Valley's 21-14 win.
"It's always frustrating when I can't help my team out," Clark said. "But we found other ways to move the ball. Our freshman quarterback Liam Lightner really stepped up and made a lot of big plays. Elah had a lot of nice catches, and so did Trent. We worked as a team. I can't always do it, so my brothers have to step up -- and that's what they did."
Clark was held to just 9 yards on 10 carries until he went 30 yards for the go-ahead touchdown on his final carry of the night with 5:24 to play.
"As soon as I heard it was going to be a run there, I buckled up and told myself that I had to get that in there," Clark said. "I did that. I trusted my brothers, and they helped get me into the end zone."
Carter Love returned the ensuing kickoff to the 40-yard line, and Northern Bedford went 59 yards to the Juniata Valley 1-yard line and called timeout with 7.8 seconds to play on fourth-and-1, but Panthers quarterback Trace Baker never got the exchange from under center and Clark recovered his second fumble of the game to seal the Juniata Valley victory.
"We saw that we can hang with a good football team," Northern Bedford coach Garry Black said. "We got punched in the mouth. We responded. We got to the 1-yard line, but we didn't get a clean exchange of the snap there, and that was the game."
Play of the game: With the game tied at 14, Northern Bedford had the ball near midfield facing a third-and-11. Konner Harker stepped in front of Baker's pass to Brett Cottle and returned the interception 35 yards to the Northern Bedford 30 to set up Clark's game-winning run.
"That was huge," Juniata Valley coach Bill Musser said. "I thought he read that play very well. He made a play and took off. I also have to give Dalton Weirich credit at corner. There were several times where he was one-on-one, and he made the play."
Player of the game: Glenny was the difference maker, picking up several key first downs and turning short passes into big gains all night to assist Lightner.
"I think it helps a lot," Musser said. "(Glenny and Norris) are his security blanket as he develops. He's definitely understanding more where to put the ball and where they are going to be for him to make plays."
Unsung hero: Senior Nate Rodkey had a 48-yard punt that pinned Northern Bedford back at its own 5-yard line early in the third quarter. Brycen Miller's sack forced a three-and-out, and Lightner hit Glenny with a 45-yard touchdown pass after a Panthers punt to tie the game. Rodkey also made all three of his extra points.
"That young man is working very hard at every position," Musser said. "He thought at the beginning of the season that he was going to be our quarterback. When things didn't go his way, he didn't hang his head. He just started working to improve the skillset he has, and it shows."
Going for the win?: If Northern Bedford had scored in the final seconds, Black wasn't sure whether he would have gone for the win or kicked for the tie.
"We talked about it," Black said. "Had we scored on first down, I might have gone for it. But I probably would have kicked it to tie it and go to overtime. I thought we had more of a rotation, because they were having cramping issues."
Most vital statistic: Despite the loss, Northern Bedford continues to field an impressive roster each year. Prior to the game, players from the Northern Bedford youth football program greeted the varsity players coming onto the field and youth cheerleaders joined in cheers with the varsity team all night.
"That's what it's all about," Black said. "I know there are guys out there that don't like hearing me say this -- but that's single-A football and what it is all about. Our school community, everyone shows up. They love their Northern Bedford football. We continue to pump out 45-man rosters. We have 89 boys enrolled. I'm proud of that. That's because everyone from youth up before me and after me understands the importance of football to this community."
Musser: "This is huge. These are two very proud teams. For us to come up to Northern Bedford and get a win is just huge. I think our players can build off this."
Black: "They played a freshman at quarterback. I thought maybe they might have regretted not running Clark as much against Berlin, so I thought they might tonight. We knew we had to take that away. Coach (Mike) Cottle and (Brooks) Snider put together a defensive plan for us, and I thought it was fantastic and took him away."
Clark: "We came in at halftime, and we challenged ourselves to be more physical. I think we showed that. We punched them in the mouth and won this football game."
Notable: Nevin Lloyd caught a 67-yard touchdown pass from Baker, and Kolson Feathers made a diving catch in the end zone for a score just before halftime that put Northern Bedford up 14-7. ... The Panthers' Erik Swanseen led all rushers with 54 yards on 13 carries. ... In addition to Harker, Weirich had an interception for the Green Hornets, and Feathers had one for Northern Bedford, which also recovered three fumbles.
Records: Juniata Valley (1-1); Northern Bedford (1-1).
Next week: Juniata Valley hosts Glendale, and Northern Bedford travels to Line Mountain next Friday.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Juniata Valley 0 7 7 7 -- 21
Northern Bedford 0 14 0 0 -- 14
Second Quarter
JV--Clark 1 run (Rodkey kick), 5:40.
NB--Lloyd 67 pass from Baker (Hart kick), 5:15.
NB--Feathers 17 pass from Baker (Hart kick), :08.
Third Quarter
JV--Glenny 45 pass from Lightner (Rodkey kick), 7:34.
Fourth Quarter
JV--Clark 30 run (Rodkey kick), 5:24.
TEAM STATISTICS JV NB
First downs 10 13
Total yards 309 221
Rushes-yards 23-23 41-105
Yards passing 286 116
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 15-27-1 8-23-2
Punts-avg. 2-37.5 5-34.6
Fumbles-lost 5-3 3-2
Penalties-yards 6-43 4-35
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Juniata Valley, Clark 11-39, Lightner 9-(-1), Smith 1-(-1), TEAM 2-(-14). Northern Bedford, Swanseen 13-54, Baker 25-48, Lloyd 1-3, Br. Cottle 1-2, Weimer 1-(-2).
PASSING--Juniata Valley, Lightner 15-27-1-286. Northern Bedford, Baker 8-23-2-116.
RECEIVING--Juniata Valley, Glenny 7-178, Norris 3-87, Smith 2-5, Clark 2-2, Neri 1-14. Northern Bedford, Lloyd 3-81, Br. Cottle 2-(-1), Free 1-17, Feathers 1-17, Love 1-2.