LEWISBURG —
Brandon Smith couldn’t have dreamt a better scenario for his final regular-season game at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
It was one of those nights for the senior fullback as he had a career-high 204 yards rushing and three touchdowns as Lewisburg rolled Mifflinburg 38-6 in the Little Brown Jug game.
“It was nice coming out early and getting a quick lead,” Smith said. “We know going into the (district) playoffs we are going to have to put a full 48 minutes together and these quick starts the past two games have helped with our confidence.”
Smith also added a 35-yard receiving touchdown and now has scored nine touchdowns in the past two contests and has an area-high 21 total touchdowns this season. Smith’s night leaves him 52 yards short of 1,000 yards rushing this season.
Lewisburg (8-2) wrapped up the third seed in the District 4 Class AA playoffs with the victory and is projected to host Montoursville next week in the first round, day and time to be determined later this weekend. Mifflinburg finishes the season at 2-8.
Smith and the Green Dragons jumped on the Wildcats early, scoring on its first two possessions to take a 14-0 lead with 4:44 left in the first quarter.
“We wanted to come out and play well from the beginning,” Lewisburg coach Jeremy Winn said. “With it being a rivalry game, we didn’t want to give them a chance to get any momentum. We played really well on both sides of the ball in the first half.”
Mifflinburg got one of its two first downs of the first half on its opening possession, but a miscommunication on a third-down snap pinned them on their own 6, punting into the wind.
That gave Lewisburg great field position on the Mifflinburg 24. Four plays later, Smith punched it from the one. Then after another Wildcats’ punt, the Green Dragons marched 78 yards in six plays. Smith capped the drive with a 47-yard TD run.
Mifflinburg never solved the Lewisburg defense. After one first down on each of its first two possessions, the Wildcats didn’t have another one the rest of the first half. The Green Dragons’ defense held Mifflinburg to negative seven total yards in the opening half. Lewisburg forced six Mifflinburg punts in the half and four consecutive Mifflinburg three-and-outs.
“The line did a great job up front and it really freed up the linebackers to make plays,” Smith said.
The Green Dragons added an Andrew Nash seven-yard TD run and a Max Reed 35-yard field goal to take a 24-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Smith then galloped 62 yards for his third touchdown of the game for a 31-0 lead with 7:20 left in the third quarter.
Lewisburg sent the game into the mercy-rule on its next possession when an illegal block gave the Green Dragons a first-and-29 from the Mifflinburg 49, but Nick Costagliola hit Smith with a screen pass on second down and Smith ran 35 yards for a 38-0 Lewisburg lead.
Mifflinburg got its only score on next possession, driving 61 yards in nine plays. Oakley Whitesel scored from four yards out with 7:09 left in the game.
Whitesel had 38 yards rushing on the drive.
Game Night Online
Smith leads Lewisburg past Mifflinburg
- Football News Wire
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High School Football Scoreboard
PIAA Playoffs
Friday
PIAA Class AAA Quarterfinal
at Bethlehem
Allentown Central Catholic 41, Selinsgrove 13 FINALSaturday
Continued ...
PIAA Class AA Quarterfinal
at HersheyPark Stadium
Wyomissing 52, Danville 0, FINAL
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Lewisburg's Brandon Smith will walk on at Penn State as a linebacker
LEWISBURG - Some may question Lewisburg Brandon Smith's decision to walk on at Penn State despite getting two offers from Ivy League schools at both Penn and Princeton. For the Lewisburg senior though, it all came down to his faith and believing in it.
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Brandon Smith sweeps 2012 high school football honors
LEWISBURG - When he was playing football at Lewisburg High, Nathaniel Brown once joked in a film session after watching himself throw a block that if he could block for himself, he would have a lot more yards.
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Daily Item names 2012 high school football all-stars
SELINSGROVE - If the 2012 edition of The Daily Item All-Stars were not a fictional team, the quarterback would find a familiar downfield target. But Bloomsburg quarterback Ricky Klingerman, while knowing he could make big plays with teammate and cousin wide receiver John Klingerman, the Panthers’ junior first-year starter might be just as content to hand the ball off to one of his elite running backs.
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Jim Keiser and Dave Hess are 2012 Coaches of the Year
Two of the pleasant surprises among Valley football teams this season were the turnaround by Selinsgrove and the solid season by a young Danville team.
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Nine local football stars earn all-state nods
LEWISBURG - For the third consecutive season Lewisburg linebacker Brandon Smith headlines the Valley’s contingent on the Pennsylvania Sports Writers All-State Football team.
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High school football: Eagles place five on All-Star team
Following a hotly-contested 2012 season, Line Mountain placed a combined five players on the 2012 Tri-Valley League All-Star Team, as selected by the league's head coaches.
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HAC champions dominate all-star teams
In addition to claiming its first District 4 Class AA title since 1999, Danville also put the most players onto the 2012 Heartland Athletic Conference All-Star team, as selected recently by the league’s head coaches.
Continued ...
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High School Football Scoreboard
- Box Scores
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- Wyomissing 52, Danville 0
- Allentown Central Catholic 41, Selinsgrove 13
- Danville 28, Mount Carmel 21
- Dunmore 35, Southern Columbia 29
- Southern Columbia 47, South Williamsport 12
- Mount Carmel 48, Montoursville 20
- Danville 14, Athens 13
- Selinsgrove 31, Milton 0
- Montoursville 37, Lewisburg 33
- Southern Columbia 28, Line Mountain 21
