McDevitt Prevails Over State College

September 30- This afternoon’s contest between the Bishop McDevitt Crusaders and the State College Little Lions at McDevitt Field was a delight to watch. Despite intermittent rain and the resulting sparse crowd, there was a tense atmosphere throughout the close, hard-fought game. McDevitt prevailed, 24-16, to improve its record to 4-2, with a 3-1 mark in the Mid Penn Commonwealth Division. The previously undefeated Little Lions fell to 4-1. Both teams displayed hard-hitting defenses and outstanding individual performances on offense. For State College, quarterback Brook Hart passed for over 300 yards and 2 touchdowns while facing a menacing McDevitt pass rush, and tight end Nate Stupar had over 100 yards receiving and a score despite injuring his hand in the second half. The Crusaders once again featured rugged senior running back Dave Onorato running behind a revamped offensive line and benefiting from fullback Vince Lochetto’s fine blocking. Onorato chugged for 165 yards and 2 touchdowns and was the key player in McDevitt’s 2 fourth quarter scoring drives. He was assisted by quarterback Kyle Koncar and a trio of receivers who provided a welcome balance to the McDevitt attack. Junior Mike Comasco was involved in every facet of the game, gathering in 2 passes for 63 yards and a touchdown, kicking a field goal and 3 PAT’s, and adding a key interception from his cornerback spot.

Following a booming kickoff into the McDevitt end zone, the Crusaders began the game’s initial possession at the MCD 20 yard line. Onorato began things with a 5 yard run, and then he ripped off a 26 yard gain to advance the Crusaders past midfield. The drive stalled, however, after an errant Koncar pass, but Comasco pinned the Lions deep in their own territory with a sailing 41 yard punt that was downed at the SC 5. Two plays later the McDevitt pass rush pressured Hart into the game’s first mistake. With tackle Chris Henderson bearing down on him, Hart fired the ball into the left flat. Senior linebacker Matt Vargo dashed over and made a diving interception at the SC 13. Then, facing a 3^rd-and-6, Koncar fired a strike to Comasco, who had run a quick out pattern toward the right sideline. The versatile junior gathered in the toss and scored the game’s first points at the 7:32 mark of the first quarter. When he followed up the catch with the first of his 3 perfect PAT’s, McDevitt had a 7-0 lead. It didn’t last long, however. After a kickoff return to the SC 28 and 2 short running plays, Hart found Stupar on a crossing pattern at the MCD 40. Stupar cleared the McDevitt secondary and finished the 62 yard scoring play that knotted the score at 7. The teams then traded punts as the quarter ended. The second stanza began with a fine State College punt pinning the Crusaders down at the MCD 4. Despite an Onorato-led first down McDevitt was soon punting again, this time to midfield. After Hart targeted Stupar for a 12 yard gain to the MCD 37 the Lions looked ready to score. But Hart’s next pass, a bomb deep in the end zone, was intercepted by Comasco to avert the threat. McDevitt tried the passing game with some success, as a Koncar pass to Julian Harrell gained 8 yards. But consecutive motion penalties killed the momentum and Comasco came on to boot a dandy 43 yarder to the SC 23. The Lions then launched a clock-munching 12 play drive featuring short, accurate Hart passes to Stupar, Andrew Kerr and Lawrence Ryland. The advance reached the McDevitt 11 before the Crusader defense, led by linemen Sebastian Sullivan and Matt Dietz, thwarted consecutive running plays. C.J. Bahr came on to attempt a 28 yard field goal, but he doinked the ball off of the right upright and McDevitt had dodged another bullet as the half ended.

The dramatic second half began with State College going 3-and-out, thanks to a timely pass breakup by Harrell. On McDevitt’s first play, from the MCD 42, Onorato swerved around tight end Steve Westhafer’s block and raced 38 yards before being dragged down on the SC 20. Mike Jones had a 7 yard run and then fumbled on the next carry, but Jared Henley came up with the loose football to keep the drive alive. Onorato gained the first down with a 5 yard blast to the SC 6, but McDevitt couldn’t punch it in, so Comasco came on to drill a 20 yard field goal to allow the Crusaders to regain the lead, 10-7. The teams again traded punts before State College took possession at its own 25 in the waning moments of the third quarter. On 3^rd-and-10 Hart connected with Ben Haight for a 57 yard gain to the MCD 18. Again the McDevitt defense rose to the occasion. After Doug Suhey was dropped for a yard loss by Sullivan and an incompletion forced by the onrushing Henderson , Stupar snagged a screen pass and was flattened by Dietz for no gain. The strong-legged Bahr then rocketed at 39 yard field goal to tie the score, 10-10, with 31 seconds left in the quarter. Harrell took the ensuing kickoff to the 18 and McDevitt began the first of 2 long fourth quarter scoring drives. Onorato ran for 4 yards and then a Koncar screen pass to Jones was good for 7 yards and the first down. When Jones was held for no gain and Onorato limited to 4 yards on his following carry, the Crusaders faced a 3^rd and 6 at the MCD 33. Koncar flipped a short pass to Comasco in the left flat as the junior struggled to keep his balance on the slippery field. Comasco managed to regain his balance as he turned upfield, avoiding a tackle to ensure the first down. He then broke down the sideline and was finally overtaken at the SC 13 for a 54 yard gain. On the next play Koncar tossed a shovel pass to Henderson, who bulled his way to the 6. Onorato finished the drive with a dive into the end zone behind blocks by Vince Sullivan and Hector Cabrera. The 17-10 lead lasted all of 2 plays, however. State College returned the kickoff to its own 27 and then Hart passed to Stupar for an 8 yard gain. On the next play Hart tried to throw a short pass to his right but the McDevitt coverage was too good. Hart danced in the backfield as the Crusader pass rush began collapsing the pocket, when suddenly the 6’5” senior launched a pass deep down the right sideline. Kerr, who had been pushed out of bounds earlier in the play by Jones, kept running downfield and gathered in the pass all alone at the MCD 30. He sped unescorted across the goal line at the 7:50 mark of the 4^th quarter as the McDevitt coaches yelled in protest. The play was upheld, thanks to a recently-changed rule that allows a player, after being forced out of bounds, to return to play. State College lined up for the extra point attempt but Bahr surprisingly slid his kick wide of the uprights and McDevitt was left clinging to a 1 point lead. The 13 play drive that followed is the high point of McDevitt’s season so far, a mixture of runs and passes fuelled by determination and resolve. It started, as usual, with an Onorato run from the MCD 20, for 4 yards. Dave O then earned the first down with a 7 yard run, to the MCD 31. Onorato ran for 1 yard and then Jones gained 3 more. Koncar then targeted Harrell on the crucial third down, and the junior kept the driver alive by dancing down the sideline for 7 yards before going out of bounds at the MCD 42. Two more Onorato runs netted 8 yards before a motion penalty left the Crusaders with another nail-biting third down. This time Koncar fired a rope to Justin Knox and the senior wideout gathered it in for a 9 yard gain as the McDevitt crowd howled its approval. After Onorato was held for no gain by the hearty Lion defense, McDevitt used a set play to draw State College offsides. The Crusaders have used the play successfully at least a half-dozen times this year, but State College coach Al Wolski didn’t like it and expressed himself to the officials. The resulting 15 yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty advanced the ball to the SC 26 and Onorato went back to work. First he thundered for 6 yards, and then he fought for 2 more on the next carry. With another third down facing them, the Crusader offensive line fired off the ball in a coordinated fury. Onorato rolled around left end and fought his way to the 2 yard line as the clock moved below 3 minutes. After a State College time out Onorato finished the job. His final carry of the day, a 2 yard touchdown run, came with 1:12 left to play. But State College wasn’t about to give up. Starting at the SC 15, Hart completed 3 consecutive passes before Jones broke up a long toss and almost intercepted. After 2 more incompletions Hart connected with Stupar for a 12 yard gain, to the MCD 42. Then, after a short gain, Hart dropped back to pass with less than 10 seconds remaining. Unable to find an open receiver, the lanky QB sprinted out of the pocket heading for the sideline to stop the clock. But sophomore linebacker Dante Ushery had other plans. He violently collided with Hart inches before they reached the sideline and Hart collapsed in bounds as the final seconds ticked away, a fitting ending to a determined McDevitt victory.

On that play on the final drive, it was “ Michigan ”, which means I run a 6 yard hitch. But we needed 7 yards for the first down so I took it a little deeper. The back came up and was pressing me, so I knew if I could get by him and Kyle could get me the ball we’d get the first down and he did. Everybody was confident on that last drive, especially the offensive line. They just wanted to keep on running it down their throats. We knew that we were going to eventually score; we just didn’t know when. That’s a pretty good football team, one of the best in the district. We’ll probably see them again in the playoffs. This win gives us a lot of confidence. Now we feel like we can play against anybody. We want to finish the season 9-1 and go into the playoffs with momentum.

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