State College Smokes McDowell in Subregional

Tagged under: District 10, District 6, Gameday Hub, News, Playoffs

Noah Radio | November 8, 2025

On a cold, rainy night in Erie, explosive plays and a strong road crowd powered State College to a 41-7 blowout victory over Erie McDowell. In a game that took place three and a half hours from Happy Valley, the State College crowd, marching band, and dance team provided a unique “home-field” advantage for the Little Lions.

Head Coach Matt Lintal gave all the people outside the fence a huge shoutout after the game: “I just want to shout out our band, to drive three and a half hours, put on the rain gear, and get out there and just absolutely be a difference maker as well. They were unbelievable, you know, it’s pretty neat when you see our kids dancing, but with McDowell not having a band here tonight, their kids were dancing to our band, that’s how good they are. Their atmosphere and just their support, I’m so appreciative, so it was truly a fun night.”

On the field, it was a sluggish start. The first score of the game didn’t come until the 4:35 mark in the first quarter when State High senior running back D’Antae Sheffey took a wildcat snap 15 yards for a touchdown.

On the next possession, junior Keen Furmanek picked off McDowell quarterback Evan Kuhn, but Connor Kulka threw an interception of his own to Kameron Bastow just one play later.

No harm was done by Kulka’s interception, as McDowell punted it away and State College took a 7-0 lead into the first quarter break. Early in the second quarter, Kulka floated a screen pass to Sheffey for a 16-yard touchdown to take a 14-0 lead.

Sheffey got the ball in a number of different ways throughout the game, including traditional runs, screen passes, and out of the wildcat. Lintal explained the plan to get his best playmaker involved.

“Get him the ball any way you can, that’s the thing. Obviously, tonight you could see what he can do in space, he really made a lot of people miss, outran a bunch, he just is dynamic. [I’m] Proud of his effort, proud of his overall football knowledge,” he said. “Super excited for his success because it’s selfless. He just shows up and he works, and it’s not ego-driven, it’s team-oriented, and I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

That Sheffey score started a barrage that continued through the end of the half. With 7:59 to play, Kulka hit senior Hank Lustig with a 40-yard touchdown pass, then McDowell’s next offensive snap turned into an interception by junior Rowan Walker. Junior kicker Shane Markowski capitalized on the turnover with a 44-yard field goal to extend the lead to 24-0.

The Little Lions caused another Kuhn turnover on McDowell’s next drive. This time, it was a fumble forced by senior Trayce Brennan and recovered by freshman Noah Williams. It was Markowski again putting points on the board, this time with a 33-yarder.

Lustig picked off Kuhn one more time for good measure with 10 seconds left in the half, and the Little Lions went into the break with a commanding 27-0 lead.

The second half was more of the same. AJ Fry began the half by supplying Kuhn’s fourth interception of the night, and the Little Lions capitalized just a few plays later with a 42-yard touchdown connection from Kulka to senior Daimear Coad.

The final State College score came with 5:27 left in the third quarter. On his first carry of the game, junior running back Zach Spicer took a handoff 41 yards to extend the lead to 41-0. Lintal had high praise for his reserve after the game.

“It was unreal, just so proud. There’s nobody that works harder than Zach; he is just such a quiet kid that shows up and works his tail off each and every day. The sideline erupted, and it wasn’t just because it was a long run, it was because it was Zach Spicer, and I couldn’t be more proud for him to go out there and get a big time touchdown in a playoff game,” Lintal said.

With a patchwork defense on the field for State College, McDowell finally broke through with a one-yard rushing touchdown by Nico Sargent on the first play of the fourth quarter, but it was way too little, way too late, and State College iced the 41-7 lead the rest of the way.

Kulka was cautiously optimistic after his three touchdown performance.

“I think we go back and watch film and review [the game], clean up a lot of the little things, the penalties, and just capitalizing on the ones we get, and I think we can come back next week and put up even more,” he said.

This loss ended McDowell’s season with a 3-8 record, and State College now moves on to face the District 2 champion, Wilkes-Barre, at home next week.

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