HEGINS —
Blake Bowman made his final regular season home football game a night to remember.
Bowman scored six touchdowns and ran for 326 yards in leading the Bulldogs past Line Mountain, 42-28, in a matchup that assured the winner a first-round home playoff game in the upcoming district playoffs.
The Eagles hurt themselves in the first half with mistakes and costly turnovers that allowed the Bulldogs to grab a 29-6 halftime lead.
“We hurt ourselves in the opening half with too many mistakes,” Line Mountain head coach Rodney Klock said.
The Eagles (8-2, 7-2 TVL) will be the No. 4 seed in the District 4 Class A playoffs and will likely visit Southern Columbia next Friday night. The official district pairings are due out today.
Line Mountain also had no answer, not just in the opening half, but the entire evening with Tri-Valley’s (9-1, 8-1) tandem of Bowman and Dalton Miller, who combined for 414 yards rushing, and constantly found a way to pound on and rush through the Eagles’ defense.
Bowman started his big night on the Bulldogs’ second series with a 62-yard run to the Eagles 18. He capped the drive with a nine-yard touchdown with 4:23 left in the period.
Bowman was a one-man scoring machine in the second quarter sandwiching TD runs of 3 and 1 yard around an impressive 50-yard scamper where he broke three would-be tackles and then outran the secondary.
The Eagles, who were held to 63 yards on the ground in the first 24 minutes, got on the scoreboard when Dillan Michael swept left end for an 11-yard touchdown.
“We had great offensive execution in the first half,” Bulldogs’ head coach Mike Kogut said. “It all starts up front with the line and both of our backs run extremely hard and don’t go down easily.”
Line Mountain tried to get back into the game in the third quarter when Cole Rickert found Jeremy Renn all alone for a 34-yard TD reception and then connected with Erik Smeltz for the two-point conversion to cut the Eagles’ deficit to 29-14.
Unfortunately, the Eagles could not handle Bowman in the final quarter as the senior standout scored on runs of 40 and 19 yards that offset the touchdown runs of Austin Snyder (2) and Cory Warford (1).
“I told our players they could come out in the second half and treat the score like it was 0-0 or we could hang our heads,” Klock said. “We are not used to trailing and this was a humbling experience but we gained something by the way we played after the break.
“Tri-Valley played a more disciplined game than we did.”
Michael had a solid all-around game for the Eagles rushing for 55 yards and catching five passes for 43 more. The Bulldogs finished the regular season at 9-1 and were really motivated in their matchup against the Eagles.
“We came out with a purpose and were focused for Line Mountain,” Kogut said. “These seniors also remember some of the beatings they took at the hands of the Eagles in the past.”
Game Night Online
Bowman carries Tri-Valley over Line Mountain
- 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
