Pennsylvania uses big third quarter to take down New York

Tagged under: All-Stars, Game Photos, Gameday Hub, News

David Burnworth | August 6, 2023

Yesterday, I made the 675.1-mile drive from my place in Columbus, Ohio, to Bradford, Pennsylvania, to watch the 50th anniversary of the Big 30 All-Star Charities Classic, which pits All-Stars from New York and Pennsylvania.

Before the first score, there were three very good plays that took place in the opening quarter. First, the Pennsylvania defense came up huge on a third and two attempt by New York. Caleb Penley (Eisenhower) crushed Kyle Stover (Pioneer), holding the talented runner to no gain, bringing up a fourth and two for New York, where the offensive line made it easy for Giancario Nuzzo (Franklinville-Ellitcottville) to move the chains. New York would use that momentum to get a 28-yard completion to Stover on a nicely thrown ball from Nuzzo. Stover, who is listed at 5-7, 145 pounds, might have been the most exciting offensive player on the field. The ten-play, seventy-yard drive came to a climax on a one-yard run from Christian Swalcy (Franklinville-Ellitcottville). After the point-after-kick by Anthony DeCapua (Allegany-Limestone), New York had a 7-0 lead. Both teams would have some nice plays before the 15-minute quarter came to a close. Pennsylvania would get a big sixteen-yard catch from Noah Archer (Port Allegany). A fumble and a muffled snap would hurt Pennsylvania when Dakota Krygier (Pioneer) got to the ball carrier for back-to-back losses. Pennsylvania would shake off the two bad plays and pick up thirty-four yards on a nice hook and ladder play, with Archer picking up most of the yards after taking the pitch. Blaze Maholic (Otto-Eldred) would get to Draven DeJesus (Frewsburg) for a short loss, with a ten-yard flag thrown on New York to bring up a second and sixteen. The final big play of the long quarter came on a nice fifty-four-yard catch by Carter Chadsey (St. Marys).

We would have a 7-6 game after Ricky Zampogna (Kane) rumbled in from seven yards out as he easily broke a tackle. New York would use a 26-yard catch by Sover on fourth and long that gave the offense a first and goal from the five. From there, Stover broke tackles on his way to the four-yard score, making this a 14-6 game at the 6:08 mark. The final 1:12 of the half brought two scores, one from each team. Charlie Coudriet found Blaine Moses (Port Allegany) to make this a 14-12 game, and then Nuzzo hit Swalcy for a 16-yard score.

The third quarter seemed to go by at a steady clip, with some outstanding plays. Swalcy would gallop for a 23-yard run to get things started, but he threw the ball at the tackler, costing his team fifteen of those yards. A 12-yard pass to Cade Anastasia (Olean) kept things going for New York. Pennsylvania might have only owned the final 50.7 seconds of the quarter, but they did so in a gigantic way. It started with a 17-yard run from Coudriet to set up a touchdown run from Blaine, which was followed by a two-point conversion run by Coudriet, making this a 21-20 game. Then, on the ensuing kickoff, Sover showed that he was human by fumbling the ball, with Archer pouncing on it like an alleycat taking down a mouse. Maybe the best runningback on this night, Benji Bauer (Eisenhower), broke a tackle, made a move, and then scored on a John Riggins-like 26-yard run. Drew Evans (Port Allegany) converted the two-point run to give Pennsylvania a 28-21 lead entering the final stanza.

Giancarlo connected with Stover on a 59-yard touchdown pass, but the point after was blocked by Gavin Burgess (Port Allegany), keeping this a 28-27 game with 12:55 left. A 23-yard pass from Mosses helped set up the final score of the game, which was an 11-yard run by Zampogna to give us the final score of 34-27. Baur helped ice the game with his 21-yard run.

My Stats

NY

58 Plays

298 yards

Passing, 11-18, 2 TD’s

Pennsylvania

66 plays

412 yards

Passing, 15-23, 1 TD

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