LEWISBURG —
Montoursville head coach J.C. Keefer watched the scoreboard clock at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium tick away and even after it showed all zeroes he wanted to be sure it was all over.
The Warriors experienced momentum swings like no other on Saturday night and when it was all over Montoursville was able to handle all the body punches Lewisburg could throw. Montoursville outlasted the Green Dragons, 37-33, to earn a berth opposite defending champion Mount Carmel in District 4 Class AA.
“This was such a game of momentum swings that I know if they put another two quarters up on the scoreboard the score might be different,” Keefer said. “Lewisburg is a great team and we needed all of that momentum to hold on for the win.”
Lewisburg, which at one point trailed 21-0 in the game, used a big second half to grab what looked to be a comfortable 33-21 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Brandon Smith, who led all rushers in the game with 154 yards, helped the Green Dragons tie the score, 21-21, with 7:47 left in the period. Big plays in the scoring drive included completions to Andrew Nash (23) and Drew Newcomb (13).
The Green Dragons then grabbed their first lead when Nick Costagliola found Nash on a crossing pattern to complete a seven-play, 58-yard drive for a 21-yard touchdown. The conversion attempt failed leaving the score at 27-21.
Montoursville, which scored on its first three possessions to take a 21-0 lead, could not stem the Lewisburg momentum early in the fourth period when Smith bulled over from the two-yard line to put Lewisburg on top, 33-21. Again the conversion try failed.
And then the momentum pendulum swung the other direction in favor of the Warriors.
Cameron Ott blocked the second Lewisburg punt out of the end zone for a safety and cutting into the Lewisburg lead, 33-23. The Warriors began their assault to get back in the contest and drove 60 yards in eight plays with Aaron Cole throwing a two-yard TD and Jim McMahon’s conversion pulled the visitors to within, 33-30.
Lewisburg tried valiantly to keep control of the ball but gave it up quickly after two incompletion. Montoursville took over on the 42 to start its winning drive.
Cole connected with Ott for 25 yards to the Green Dragons’ 37 and, with time dwindling away, the senior signal-caller found Matt Kremzer sneaking out of the backfield and he hit him in stride for a 37-yard TD that put Montoursville on top for good, 37-33.
“It came down to execution and Montoursville just did a better job than we did,” Green Dragons coach Jeremy Winn said. “We hurt ourselves by falling behind 21-0 and then we allowed them to make more big plays than we did. I wasn’t worried falling behind because we rallied all season long, but in the end it still was execution.”
Smith cut into that 21-0 lead in the first half with a 64-yard TD run and Luke Smith caught a six-yard TD pass heading into halftime on a fake field goal with on the final play of the first half.
Game Night Online
Montoursville outlasts Lewisburg in wild AA quarterfinal
- Football News Wire
-
-
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
-
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.
Continued ... -
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.
Continued ... -
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.
Continued ... -
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.
Continued ... -
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.
Continued ... -
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.
Continued ... -
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 ...
-
High School Football Scoreboard
- Box Scores
-
- 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
