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HARRISBURG -- Altoona needed both its dynamic offense and a ball-hawking defense to hold off a scrappy Central Dauphin East squad by a 41-33 count in a steamy Thursday night shootout at Landis Field.
The Mountain Lions clawed their way to 350 yards of offense while generating the defense that registered six turnovers on the night.
Sequence of the game: After the Panthers had rallied from an early 19-0, first-quarter deficit to take a 21-19 halftime lead, Altoona reestablished control after the break.
First, it took the second-half kickoff and marched right down the field to take back the lead on Kruz Keith's 15-yard scoring catch. Then, Yasir Boyle recovered a fumble and Mekhi Jackson dashed in for his third score of the night to push the lead back to 34-21.
Player of the game: Junior quarterback Mekhi Jackson ran for 3 scores while passing for 2 more while racking up 172 rushing yards and completing six passes for 77 more. His Panther counterpart Da'Shawn Venable-Cooper did his part to make the game a shootout, connecting on 19 of 33 passes for 205 yards and three scores.
Unsung hero: There were several standouts on the Lion defense unit, including linebacker Noah Staines who recovered a pair of fumbles while registering 3 TFLs and a sack.
"We came out a little flat, but cheering on the team really motivated myself as well," Staines said. "So getting out there and flying around and playing for the brother next to you and playing 110 miles per hour every play."
Khyaire Hall and Zahyr O'Neal each intercepted passes while Yasir Boyle recovered a fumble and recorded a pair of TFLs.
Most vital statistic: The Mountain Lions forced six turnovers allowing them to start eight of their 13 possessions in Panther territory.
Altoona coach Vince Nedimyer: "(At halftime) our talk was 'score and get a stop' and we did that to go up two scores. I am very proud of our kids, we made a lot of plays when we needed."
Central Dauphin East coach Tyshaun Pollard: "We shoot ourselves in the foot, the way we did the last couple weeks. We took the momentum at the end of the first half, but we came out super flat (after half), you try to win the middle eight minutes of the game, and we lost the first four minutes of the second half."
Altoona quarterback Mekhi Jackson: "Our linemen did a great job blocking for everyone and they were giving 100% each play. Our coaches gave us the confidence and we went out and performed."
Notable: C.D. East's Myzick Clemons rumbled his way to 74 yards on 17 totes and score while also catching a pair of passes for 31 more.
Next up: Altoona is on the road again next week, this time at Carlisle one week from tonight.