MCDEVITT EDGES STATE COLLEGE, 35-34
September 28- The ride from Harrisburg to State College can be long and traffic-clogged on a Friday night in late September. The fans of the Bishop McDevitt Crusaders who made that jaunt tonight can be assured of one thing: they certainly got their money’s worth. The game between the Crusaders and the State College Little Lions at venerable Memorial Field started slowly but accelerated into a heart-stopping contest, ultimately decided in the game’s final minute on a failed 2 point conversion by the home team. McDevitt had squandered a comfortable 21-3 lead in the second half, but showed great determination to come from behind twice to gain the victory and move to 4-1 on the season. Once again they were led by gallant running back Mike Jones, who topped the 200 yard rushing mark for the second week in a row. Jones was aided by consistently good play by McDevitt’s special teams, as the visitors recorded 2 blocked extra points, one denied 2 point conversion, 5 perfect PAT’s, a kickoff return for a touchdown and several fine punts by Mike Comasco.
State College watched Comasco’s opening kickoff sail into the end zone for a touchback and began the game at the SC 20. They managed one first down before the Crusader defense stiffened, so State College punted to the McD 26. McDevitt roared out of the gate with an impressive offensive display. First junior quarterback Kyle Koncar passed to Comasco for a 14 yard gain and, after a motion penalty, Jones’ first run gained 4 yards. Koncar hit senior end Julian Harrell for a 6 yard gain to the McD 45 before Jones ripped through the State College line and sprinted 55 yards for the game’s first score, with 7:22 left in the first quarter. Comasco added the first of his 5 all-important PAT’s, and McDevitt had a 7-0 lead. After a kickoff return to the SC 23 the Lions tried to crack the Crusader wall again. McDevitt was employing a 3 man front and shifted to State College’s motion at the last minute, and the Lions were confused and ineffective at the beginning. After State College quarterback Lawrence Ryland was forced to throw the ball away due to a frantic rush by Crusader linebacker Dante Ushery, the Lions punted again. A block-in-back penalty pushed the ball back to the McD 22 for McDevitt’s second series. Jones ran for 3 and, following an incompletion, Koncar again found Comasco with a quick pass, this time good for an 18 yard gain. But a late flag for holding erased the lead and Jones’ subsequent 9 yard scamper gained to the McD 20 and brought on Comasco to punt. The versatile all-stater boomed a 51 yard beauty that rolled dead at the SC 29. The McDevitt defense forced another 3-and-out and the punt that followed bounced dead at the McD 23. 2 Jones carries netted 11 yards and a first down before a Koncar keeper was held for no gain. Jones then passed to Comasco for a short, 4 yard gain and Jones followed with a tough 9 yard burst that carried to the McD 47 as the quarter ended.
Following a 2 yard run by senior Derrell Holland, another false start penalty and 2 incompletions the Crusaders punted to the SC 27. The Lion’s quick sophomore, Alex Kenney, circled left end for a 12 yard gain but a holding penalty on the next play negated the gain. On the next play Ryland’s pass was broken up by senior Tyrell Harris, just back from an injured knee. The punt that followed only traveled 20 yards, to the SC 47, and McDevitt quickly took advantage of the field position. After a 3 yard, Koncar-to-Comasco connection, State College was hit with a personal foul penalty, advancing the ball to the SC 29. After 5 straight carries by Jones the Crusaders had another touchdown, the last run a 5 yard blast at the 2:31 mark. Now leading 14-0, McDevitt kicked deep again. This time Kenney gathered in the kick at the SC 8 and, 73 yards later, was finally dragged down at the McD 19 as the home crowd came to life. Despite 2 off sides penalties by the anxious McDevitt defensive line the Crusaders stalled the scoring drive when sophs Steve Mosey and Jonathan Duckett forced Ryland to throw away a 3rd down pass attempt. Russell Nye booted a 25 yard field goal with 24 seconds left in the half and the Little Lions were on the scoreboard, 14-3. Koncar took a knee after the uneventful kick return and the teams fled to the locker rooms for intermission.
The second half fireworks began when Jones took the kickoff at the McD 11 and streaked 89 yards to stake McDevitt to a 21-3 lead. But the State College offense that took the field in the second half was a far cry from the hesitant, mistake-prone bunch that couldn’t move the ball in the first half. After the kickoff return Ryland ripped off a 17 yard gain and, 2 plays later, connected with Kenney down the right sideline for a 63 yard pitch-and-catch touchdown. Mosey burst through the Lions protection to smother the PAT attempt, however, leaving McDevitt with a 21-9 lead with 9:51 left in the 3rd quarter. After the subsequent kickoff went out-of-bounds, McDevitt launched a 9 play drive, keyed by a 20 yard pass form Koncar to Harrell and 5 Jones carries. From the SC 35 Koncar’s pass was tipped, and then intercepted by Lucas Yokum and the Lions wasted little time converting the turnover. They mixed runs by Ryland and Kenney to move to the McD 25, where massive fullback Terna Ityokymbul bowled his way into the end zone. After the successful PAT the McDevitt advantage had shrunk to 21-16, at the 2:48 mark. A Pat Vargo kickoff return gave McDevitt good field position at the McD 43, but the aroused Lion defense forced a Comasco punt, this time to the SC 18. It appeared that McDevitt had stopped the State College onslaught when Ryland’s pass to Kenney fell incomplete on the first play of the 4th quarter, but the Crusaders were called for interference and State College retained possession. On the next play, from the SC 34, Ryland ran a keeper, avoided 2 tackle attempts and raced for a 56 yard TD and the Lion’s first lead of the evening. With the score now 22-21, State College Head Coach Al Wolski correctly chose to go for the 2 point conversion, but a motion penalty cost the Lions 5 important yards. Ryland then tried another keeper but was smothered for no gain and the Lions had a 1 point lead. The following kickoff was pooched to avoid the dangerous Jones and Evan McGovern called for a fair catch at the McD 27. Koncar promptly targeted Comasco for a 17 yard gain and, after 3 Jones carries earned a first down at the SC 48, the Crusaders looked to answer with a score. But Koncar’s next pass skipped off the hands of the usually sure-handed Harrell and Ryland intercepted at the SC 47. The McDevitt defense rose to the occasion, however, when, three plays later, Fred Dietz and Ushery sacked Ryland and forced a fumble, which Holland recovered at the SC 39. After an incomplete pass Jones rumbled for 11 big yards. Then Koncar passed to Comasco and the senior fought for 18 yards, to the SC 10. After a 1 yard Jones run and a sack of Koncar, the junior field general calmly lofted a pass to Jones in the right corner of the end zone. Jones had run a circle route and was wide open as he grabbed the ball for the score and a 28-22 McDevitt lead, with 5:59 left in the 4th quarter.
But there was plenty of football left to be played on this cool, breezy night. Comasco squibbed the kick, which was returned to the SC 46. Ryland promptly ran another keeper and somehow strolled untouched into the end zone for a 54 yard scoring run and a 28-28 tie as McDevitt fans squirmed in exasperation. When Nye attempted to boot another PAT Duckett broke through and blocked the kick to preserve the tie. The sophomore’s clutch play seemed to energize the McDevitt sideline and the momentum carried onto the field. Vargo fielded another short kickoff and battled for 10 yards to the McD 44. Jones fought for 8 tough yards before a great individual effort by Holland earned 2 yards and a first down. On the next play Koncar fumbled the snap but quickly snatched it up and handed the ball to Jones as the referee’s bean bag flew to mark the spot of the fumble. Many McDevitt fans mistook the bean bag for a penalty flag and watched glumly as Jones darted and dashed his way for a 44 yard scoring run, waiting for the play to be called back. When the ref’s hands were raised to signal the touchdown, though, the visitor’s stands exploded in joy and admiration for the 6’1”, 190 lb. senior, who had just scored his 5th touchdown of the game. Comasco tacked on the extra point and McDevitt now had a 35-28 lead, with 4:24 left in regulation. After State College returned the kickoff to the SC 23, the crowd tensed for the game’s climax. Ityokumbul ripped off a 15 yard run before Vargo tripped up Kenney and held him to a 2 yard advance. Next, Ryland squirmed and slid for a 30 yard gain to the McD 30 as the noise level rose. Kenney ran for 2 and then Ryland ran a 10 yard keeper to the McD 18, with 2:30 left. On the next play Ryland was dropped for a 3 yard loss by the charging Duckett and it was the McDevitt fans’ turn to roar. Ryland was held for no gain as the clock moved below the one minute mark. Then Ryland handed off to Ityokymbul and the senior fullback shred a weak tackle attempt and rolled to pay dirt as the stadium shook with cheers. After 2 blocked PAT kicks Wolski’s only reasonable choice was to try for the 2 point conversion and, sure enough, the Little Lions came out over the ball. Ryland was quarterback, Ityokymbul was the fullback and Kenney motioned to the left. Ryland took the snap and slid to his left in the classic option position, riding his fullback. Ryland decided to hand off to Ityokymbul and, as he did, Holland came swirling off the end and grabbed the senior around the shoulder pads. At the same time Dietz was plowing through the line and hit Ityokymbul below the knees as Ushery and Terajhe Gratkowski bulldozed him over. The gang-tackling effort stopped the State College advance cold and preserved the 35-34 lead, with 56 seconds left on the clock. The inevitable onsides kick attempt was fielded cleanly by Holland and, after Koncar took a knee a couple of times, the Crusaders were ready for the long ride home with win #4 in the 2007 record book.
The Crusader’s next game is Saturday, October 6th at McDevitt Field. The opponent is Chambersburg and kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 PM.
QUOTES
Head Coach Jeff Weachter
Overall I thought it was a good effort by our kids against a well-coached team. We were going pretty well in the first half but I think we may have relaxed a little bit after Mike Jones’ kickoff return gave us a 21-3 lead in the 3rd quarter. State College adjusted well at the half and I think our youth showed a little bit on defense. We came out on defense in a 3-3-5 stack and we slid to the motion side. I don’t think that they have seen anything like that lately and it took them a while to figure it out. In the second half we had our ends crashing but our linebackers were a little tight and didn’t get outside. Then they were flying out and their quarterback started cutting it up. He’s a smart player and a good runner. We had trouble with those motion penalties because of the noise here. It’s like a big bowl and when the crowd starts up some of our linemen were having a hard time hearing. That killed our offensive rhythm in the first half when we should have been putting more points on the board. I felt pretty good about our last drive. We were relaxed and we do have a lot of weapons. Mike Jones, of course, played an excellent game. We’ll use this game to add to our confidence and stress to the kids the importance of preparing in practice.
Assistant Coach Jake Minnich
The fans really got their money’s worth today! I was happy with the play of the offensive line. We may have let up a little in the third quarter but we finished strong. I thought we gave Mike a chance to run and the pass protection was good, too. I’d say we were confident that we’d score on that final drive. You know, the defense completely shut them down in the first half but State College made some adjustments at half time and we had to adjust to their adjustments. We’re happy to get out of here with the win. Really, other than Harrisburg we’ve played very good this year.
WR/DB Tyrell Harris
It sure feels good to be back on the field. My knee feels great. I was a little rust out there on a couple of plays but I was happy to get in there and mix it up. I like it when they throw it my way; I’m there to make a play.
LB Fred Dietz
On that final 2 point conversion play we were in a 4-3. I saw the QB go to the right and when he handed it off I went for the guy’s legs. I had him low and somebody had him high and then everybody filled in. It was a great feeling, ending the game like that. I want us to win the rest of the games and get into the playoffs.
TE/DE Terahje Gratkowski
We were ready for them on that final play. We could see that they were going to the fullback after that touchdown run. A lot of times on those options I was being double-teamed so I can’t really say what happened. We are going to have to play a whole game without any lapses like we had tonight but we’ll work hard in practice and get better.
LB Jonathan Duckett
I was really fired up when I blocked that extra point. I got through the line and the moment I did I knew I was going to block it. That was a great stop by our defense at the end of the game and the offense played great tonight. Their quarterback was a real shifty runner and I guess we made him look great tonight. He always seemed to make the extra cut in the second half to get in the open. We’re sure happy to get out of here with a win.
OG Jared Henley
I think that one of the things that helps us at the end of a game like this is the hard work and conditioning we did all winter and spring and summer. It gives us confidence at the end of the game that we can still make the big plays. We throw around 500 pounds and you can really feel it in your legs. We have the power in the 4th quarter to still move guys because we have those strong legs. I was a little dinged up earlier in the year but I’m healthy now and it’s a good feeling.
DT Steve Mosey
I was worried a little bit when they were driving on that last series but we made the big plays when we had to. On the kick that I blocked I just got a good push and I was right in there. They made some adjustments at half time because they couldn’t move against us at all in the first half. I thought that I was coming off the ball pretty well tonight; as good as I have all year. I’m real anxious for the rest of the season.
K/P/PR/DB/WR Mike Comasco
I thought the coaches had a good game plan coming into State College. We played OK but we still have a few little lapses that cost us. I was open in the flat and Kyle was able to get me the ball quite a bit tonight. Their linebackers were bailing out so I could get open. I’m really kicking the ball well; this is probably the best I’ve ever kicked, especially all of those touchbacks on the kickoffs. I have new shoes this year so maybe it’s the shoes! I think that we’ll build on this win, coming back like we did. It will give us confidence. That last play was exciting!