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THREE SPRINGS -- With 22 total yards, Juniata Valley didn't have much of anything offensively to hang their hats on in the first half Friday night, and yet, the Green Hornets still only trailed by 11 at the break.
The second half, especially the fourth quarter, proved to be a completely different chapter as JV got things clicking enough on both sides of the ball at just the right time.
The Hornets put together two long drives of 12 and 16 plays on back-to-back possessions in the fourth quarter to pull out a come-from-behind 14-11 victory over Southern Huntingdon.
Momentum swinging run: Though it didn't end in points for Juniata Valley, leading rusher Andrew Clark, who had been held to just 1 yard rushing in the first half, broke free on his third carry of the second half for a 78-yard run up the middle. The drive ended in a turnover on downs, but it set the stage and proved to the Green Hornets they could run the ball on the Rockets.
"We didn't have a lot of positives happening, we needed that play to prove to us as a team and as a group that we could be successful if we just played hard," Juniata Valley coach Bill Musser said. "That's the bottom line -- just play football. That run was just all that, it was all that."
Sequence of the game: Trailing 11-8, Juniata Valley took possession at its own 26. The Hornets relied primarily on the legs of Clark and the arm of Liam Lightner during the 16-play march down the field. Clark churned out 29 yards, Lightner threw for 39, and Konner Harker added 4 yards. On a fourth-and-goal just inside the 1-yard line, Clark took the snap and followed his blockers' big push into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown with 34 seconds left.
Clark: "We harp on that (holding on to the ball in goal-line runs) in practice, we rep it and it paid off there. The linemen blocked up front, we had a heck of a push up front and I just squeaked right in."
Player of the game: Clark finished with 138 yards on 22 attempts on the ground. The senior got JV on the board at 8:08 of the fourth when he finished off a 12-play, 70-yard drive with a 2-yard power run across the goal line.
Clark: "It (the big 78-yard run in the third quarter) showed us that there is hope and showed us that we were in the game. I think a lot of guys were putting their heads down and counting themselves out at halftime. But we told them at halftime that we're in this game.''
Unsung hero: Lightner, who had thrown three interceptions, was clutch in the fourth quarter. The freshman completed 8-of-11 passes for 75 yards and also picked up a huge first down with his legs with a 7-yard run.
Musser: "That's the thing right there, I think we saw a little bit of maturity coming out in him (Lightner) today. We believe in him -- the staff believes in him, the team believes in him, and I think he is starting to believe more and more in his talents."
Most vital statistic: After gaining just 22 yards in the opening half, the Green Hornets racked up 234 in the second half. Meanwhile, the Rockets had just 30 after halftime and 111 in the first two quarters.
Southern Huntingdon coach Fred Foster: "We couldn't put the ball in the end zone. We've got to score more points -- that's the bottom line.''
Notable: Following the first of two interceptions of the game for SH's Corbin Whitsel, the Rockets took over at the JV 47. Eight plays later, quarterback Cohen Snyder handed off to Gage Reed who turned and flipped it to Aiden Berrier who was coming in motion. Berrier set his feet and found Elijah Oswald in the right side of the end zone to put the Rockets on the board. Berrier hauled in the two-point conversion pass across the middle from Snyder to put SH up 8-0 just six seconds into the second quarter ... Reed capped off the first half with a 35-yard field goal to send the home team into the break leading 11-0. ... Berrier and Harker each came up with interceptions, while Drew Flood came up with a fumble recovery for the Rockets.
Foster: "They (Juniata Valley) definitely picked it up in the second half, the fourth quarter particularly, and we did not. They had the juice, and I think we were counting the seconds left on the clock is what it appeared.'' Records: Juniata Valley (2-2); Southern Huntingdon (2-2).
Next week: Juniata Valley hosts Claysburg-Kimmel Friday night; Southern Huntingdon travels to Curwensville.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Juniata Valley 0 0 0 14 -- 14
Southern Huntingdon 0 11 0 0 -- 11
Second Quarter
SH--Oswald 7 pass from A. Berrier (A. Berrier pass from Snyder), 11:54.
SH--Reed 35 FG, 0.0.
Fourth Quarter
JV--Clark 2 run (Smith pass from Lightner), 8:08.
JV--Clark 1 run (run failed), 0:34.
TEAM STATISTICS JV SH
First downs 11 7
Total yards 256 141
Rushes-yards 33-158 31-27
Yards passing 98 114
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 12-24-3 13-25-1
Punts-avg. 3-32.3 5-39.0
Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-0
Penalties-yards 2-25 4-26
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Juniata Valley, Clark 22-138, Smith 1-2, Lightner 6-3, Harker 4-15. Southern Huntingdon, Snyder 9-(-27), Cromwell 2-(-1), A. Berrier 6-19, Parks 7-21, Flood 7-15.
PASSING--Juniata Valley, Lightner 12-24-3-98. Southern Huntingdon, Snyder 11-21-1-95, A. Berrier 2-3-0-19, TEAM 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING--Juniata Valley, Smith 3-23, Glenny 6-48, Weirich 1-7, Harker 1-4, Norris 1-16. Southern Huntingdon, C. Whitsel 3-39, Cromwell 4-40, A. Berrier 1-3, Parks 1-1, Reed 3-24, Oswald 1-7.