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HOUTZDALE -- When they played the first time at CNB Bank Stadium on Oct. 2, Juniata Valley scored late in a scoreless game and held off Moshannon Valley four times in the red zone to win.
In their District 6 Class 1A quarterfinal rematch Friday night, the fourth-seeded Black Knights and fifth-seeded Green Hornets had plenty of offense.
The Black Knights, down by 14 points at halftime, rallied with 22 points in the second half, including a 90-kickoff return for a touchdown by Rocco Reifer. Mo Valley avenged that loss when kicker JC Smith booted a 24-yard field goal with 51 seconds remaining to beat the Green Hornets, 29-28.
It was Mo Valley's first playoff win since 2015.
"That's the best," Moshannon Valley coach Michael Keith said. "The kids had to come in and play. We started off slow in the first half, but in the second half they played their butts off. We played really hard in the second half."
"These kids fought their guts out," Juniata Valley coach Bill Musser said after an emotional team meeting. "My coaches coached their guts out. They (Mo Valley) played their guts out. They earned this victory. I'm not going to hang my head and say anything negative about my kids or my coaches."
Play of the game: Smith had kicked two field goals last season, but he had missed his only attempt this season against Mount Union. But his kick sailed true through the uprights to give the Blacks Knights the lead.
"Honestly I couldn't have done that without my line," Smith said. "The ball was perfectly snapped. We practice it every day. I was really nervous honestly. I was put in that position one other time in week one against Windber, and I ended up missing it. It was nice to bounce back from that and have a perfect kick."
Player of the game: Reifer was a workhorse on offense, defense and special teams. He ran for 143 yards on 29 carries and scored two rushing touchdowns and returned the opening kickoff of the second half 90 yards for a touchdown.
"I felt good. I felt fresh," Reifer said. "I could feel their defense getting tired, and I knew I was fresh. I wanted to continue hammering the ball down their throats."
"He's a heck of a player," Musser said. "All you can do is get multiple hands on him, but he has that determination. You can just see it on the field. He has a determination not to be stopped at times."
Crushing injury: Juniata Valley's workhorse, Andrew Clark, who had 108 yards on 24 carries and two touchdowns, was injured returning a punt early in the fourth quarter. He was carried off the field and was on
crutches after the game.
Passing fancy: Juniata Valley freshman quarterback Liam LIghtner completed 13 or 22 passes for 237 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
The wall: The Vietnam Traveling Wall stretched beyond the north end zone. The Black Knights celebrated by gathering in front of it after the game.
Next week: Juniata Valley is done. Moshannon Valley plays top-seeded Bishop Guilfoyle next week.
Records: Juniata Valley (7-4). Moshannon Valley (8-3)
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Juniata Valley 14 7 0 7 --28
Moshannon Valley 7 0 12 10--29
First Quarter
MV--R. Reifer 6 run (Smith kick), 8:29
JV--Smith 59 pass from Lightner (Rodkey kick), 7:11
JV--Clark 11 run (Rodkey kick), 2:32
Second Quarter
JV--Clark 1 run (Rodkey kick), 7:03
Third Quarter
MV--R. Reifer 90 kickoff return (pass failed), 11:44
MV--Moore 44 pass from Mihalko (pass failed), 8:28
Fourth Quarter
JV--Weirich 8 pass from Lightner (Rodkey kick), 7:52
MV--R. Reifer 6 run (Smith kick), 5:27
MV--Smith 24 field goal, :51
TEAM STATISTICS JV MV
First downs 19 15
Total yards 388 261
Rushes-yards 43-124 43-169
Yards passing 264 92
Passing (comp.-att.-int) 14-23-2 8-20-2
Punts-avg. 3-29 4-29.2
Fumbles-lost 3-2 0-0
Penalties-yards 10-80 4-20
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Juniata Valley, Clark 24-108, Harker 7-22, Lightner 11-12, TEAM 1-(-18). Moshannon Valley,R. Reifer 29-143, Abernethy 2-30, Kephart 10-14, Mihalko 1-(-3), TEAM 1-(-15).
PASSING--Juniata Valley, Lightner 13-22-2-237, Clark 1-1-0-27. Moshannon Valley, Mihalko 8-20-2-92.
RECEIVING--Juniata Valley, Smith 2-101, Norris 3-67, Weirich 5-55, Harker 3-21, Clark 1-18. Moshannon Valley, More 5-74, Abernethy 3-18.