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THREE SPRINGS -- Glendale put together a fantastic four minutes of play on both sides of the ball to end the first half.
With 4:25 left until 22 ticks remaining in the second quarter, the Vikings would score two touchdowns as well as create and recover a fumble on defense.
That's all Glendale would need on the evening against Southern Huntingdon as the Vikes defense pitched a second half shutout in a 14-7 victory on Friday night in Inter-County Conference action.
"I think that's when our guys kind of came alive," Glendale coach Chase Hill said. "I think we came out a little flat -- didn't play with the energy and intensity we normally do. Then the touchdown kind of flipped the whole thing. Then the defense was flying around and got a big play, and we took advantage of it. In the end, that ended up being the difference."
Trailing 7-0, Glendale put together a 10-play, 75-yard drive that mixed the pass with the run well.
Quarterback Michael Venslosky completed two passes for 17 yards, while Tanner Ammerman took care of the rest on the ground.
Ammerman capped off the drive that lasted three minutes and change with a 36-yard burst that ended up the left sideline and into the end zone with 1:13 left in the first half.
Levi Hamilton gave the Vikings the lead for good with the two-point conversion run to make it 8-7.
Following an 18-yard kickoff return by the Rockets' Corbin Whitsel, the shotgun snap to quarterback Cohen Snyder didn't connect cleanly and the Vikings' Cole Gallaher pounced on the loose ball.
With first down at the SH 33, Venslosky tossed a ball to Hamilton who made an acrobatic catch while being heavily defended.
"They (Glendale) get a turnover, and then 14 (Hamilton), heck of a catch," Southern Huntingdon coach Fred Foster said. "That's a great catch that I thought he scored on actually. I didn't know (initially) that he got it at the 1-yard line."
The result of the play had Glendale at the 1-yard line where Hamilton powered his way across the goal line on the next play to set the final score as the two-point conversion run failed with just 22 seconds left before halftime.
"All we needed was a boost of energy," Ammerman said. "The second we get momentum, not a lot of teams can stop us. We scored two touchdowns in a minute, so that shows how quickly momentum can change the game."
Plays of the game: Ammerman's 36-yard run and Hamilton's 32-yard catch.
Player of the game: In addition to the TD run, Ammerman racked up 120 rushing yards on 23 attempts, and caught two passes for 16 yards.
Ammerman: "We knew it was going to be a battle the whole night. We got a lot of third and fourth down stops. It took all 11 (players) tonight."
Unsung hero: Hamilton hauled in four passes totaling 62 yards and ran seven times for 35 yards.
Most vital statistic: Glendale had no turnovers, while the defense had the fumble recovery and Rhylan Hoopsick-Bell came up with an interception of Snyder at the start of the fourth quarter.
Foster: "Overall, defensively, I thought we did a great job as they (Glendale) are pretty explosive. We failed on our offensive side of the ball. We knew it was going to be a battle."
Notable: After punting on their first drive of the night, Southern Huntingdon got a Snyder to Aiden Berrier 3-yard touchdown connection with 1:25 to go on the first quarter clock. Williams tacked on the PAT to give the Rockets the 7-0 edge. .... In the second half, the Glendale defense forced the following: punt, turnover on downs, interception, turnover on downs, and a turnover on downs.
Hill: "They (Glendale defense) played lights out the second half. ... That (Southern Huntingdon) is a good offense that has scored a lot of points this year. They (Glendale defense) stood up and did their job -- limited the big stuff, and at the end, numerous times it was bend but don't break.''
Records: Glendale (4-4); Southern Huntingdon (5-3).
Next week: Glendale hosts West Branch next Friday night; Southern Huntingdon travels to Mount Union the same night.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Glendale 0 14 0 0 -- 14
Southern Huntingdon 7 0 0 0 -- 0
First Quarter
SH--A. Berrier 3 pass from Snyder (Williams kick), 1:25.
Second Quarter
G--T. Ammerman 36 run (Hamilton run), 1:13.
G--Hamilton 1 run (run failed), 0:22.
TEAM STATISTICS G SH
First downs 12 10
Total yards 242 169
Rushes-yards 32-151 29-66
Yards passing 91 103
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 7-20-0 11-22-1
Punts-avg. 5-27.6 3-33.3
Fumbles-lost 2-0 3-1
Penalties-yards 3-20 6-60
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Glendale, T. Ammerman 23-120, Hamilton 7-35, Venslosky 1-(-3), TEAM 1-(-1). Southern Huntingdon, Snyder 9-(-8), Flood 7-16, A. Berrier 8-43, Parks 4-11.
PASSING--Glendale, Venslosky 7-18-0-91, Hamilton 0-1-0-0, TEAM 0-1-0-0. Southern Huntingdon, Snyder 11-20-1-103, A. Berrier 0-1-0-0, TEAM 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING--Glendale, T. Ammerman 2-16, Hamilton 4-62, Hoopsick-Bell 1-13. Southern Huntingdon, A. Berrier 3-29, Reed 2-21, Parks 1-25, Carowick 3-5, C. Whitsel 2-23.