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FLINTON -- Moshannon Valley has a pretty good running game, but when the Black Knights needed big plays against rival Glendale on Friday night at Dr. Roy F. Baker Field they got them from the passing game.
Quarterback Brady Mihalko threw touchdown passes of 38 and 41 yards to wide receiver Mason Abernethy in the third quarter to help the Black Knights pull away from the Vikings and win, 27-12, to claim the second annual Croation Club Trophy game on Military Appreciation Night.
"(The passing game) was a little shaky to begin with," Mo Valley coach Michael Keith said, "but Brady settled down. They were giving us a man coverage look with Jack Moore and Mason Abernethy. They are very talented. You can't cover them with man (coverage)."
"There were just too many explosive plays," Glendale coach Chase Hill said. "That's what it came down to. You're not going to beat good teams like Mo Valley if you let them hit explosive plays on you."
Play of the game: On fourth-and-1 late in the half, with Glendale holding a 6-0 lead, Mo Valley running back Rocco Reifer took the direct snap over his head, scrambled to his right and threw a 13-yard completion to Moore at the 3.
"Honestly that was a running play," Keith said with a laugh. "He improvised that. For a high school kid to improvise that and for Jack to be heads-up enough to see the ball in the air and catch it, it was good on them."
"They had a pass on third or fourth down and it fell in the kid's lap," Hill said. "That kind of hurt."
Two plays later, Reifer scored on a 3-yard run and the Black Knights took a 7-6 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Offensive player of the game: Abernethy was somehow wide open on both of his touchdown catches. He caught three passes for 86 yards. He also caught a two-point conversion pass.
"He had a good game," Hill said. "We knew if anybody was going to hurt us deep on those explosive plays it would be him. I think we have pretty good cover guys, but sometimes we were caught out of position."
Defensive player of the game: Mo Valley linebacker Gavin Lovell was a wrecking ball the Vikings, wearing camouflage jerseys, couldn't handle. Lovell seemed to make every tackle and had two sacks of Glendale quarterback Michael Venslosky.
"He's an animal," Keith said. "Wherever the ball is you will find him. He gives 110 percent every time out. I can't say enough about Gavin."
Unsung offensive hero: In addition to his pass completion, Reifer ran for 140 yards on 20 carries, including a 55-yard run on the last play of the third quarter.
In no rush: The Black Knights held Glendale's Tanner Ammerman to 31 rushing yards on 18 carries.
In the air tonight: Venslosky completed 16 of 29 passes for 229 yards, but he was picked off twice. Cooper Keith and Logan Clark had the picks. James Jenkins had an interception for Glendale.
Next week: Moshannon Valley hosts Juniata Valley. Glendale visits Mount Union.
Records: Moshannon Valley (4-1). Glendale (2-3).
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Moshannon Valley 0 7 12 8 -- 27
Glendale 6 0 0 6 -- 12
First Quarter
G--H. Ammerman 4 pass from M. Venslosky (run failed), :33
Second Quarter
MV--R. Reifer 3 run (Moore kick), :33
Third Quarter
MV--Abernethy 38 pass from Mihalko (kick failed), 10:38
MV--Abernethy 41 pass from Mihalko (run failed), 2:18
Fourth Quarter
MV--Kephart 1 run (Abernethy pass from Mihalko), 9:48
G--Hoopsick-Bell 10 pass from M. Venslosky (run failed), 4:18
TEAM STATISTICS MV G
First downs 12 15
Total yards 290 265
Rushes-yards 38-164 27-36
Yards passing 126 229
Passing (comp.-att.-int) 6-11-1 16-29-2
Punts-avg. 2-39 3-27.5
Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-0
Penalties-yards 3-45 6-55
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Moshannon Valley--R. Reifer 20-140, Kephart 13-32, Abernethy 2-1, TEAM 1-(-1), Mihalko 2-(-8). Glendale--T. Ammerman 18-31, Hamilton 5-18, M. Venslosky 4-(-13).
PASSING: Moshannon Valley--Mihalko 5-10-1-113, R. Reifer 1-1-0-13. Glendale--M. Venslosky 16-29-2-229.
RECEIVING: Moshannon Valley--Abernethy 3-86, Keith 1-21, Moore 2-19. Glendale--Hoopsick-Bell 3-82, Hamilton 5-66, T. Ammerman 4-29, H. Ammerman 2-22, Jenkins 1-17, Beck 1-3.