Bishop McDevitt Takes Down State College in Special Teams Explosion

Tagged under: District 3, District 6, Gameday Hub, News

Noah Radio | October 25, 2025

On the coldest Friday night of the season to date, State College traveled to the defending 5A state champions of Bishop McDevitt for a huge Mid-Penn Commonwealth clash and lost, 36-20. McDevitt was propelled by two kick return touchdowns and the power running of senior Nazir Jones-Davis, and even while forcing four turnovers, the Little Lions couldn’t keep up.

The first 23 minutes of the game yielded just nine points, all for the Crusaders. McDevitt opened the scoring with a 28-yard field goal with 4:53 left in the first quarter. The Crusaders scored again with 9:27 left in the second quarter, when Maurice Barnes Jr. punched it in from the one-yard line to bring the score to 9-0. Adding to the night’s special teams chaos, State College, led by senior Hank Lustig and junior Rowan Walker, blocked the extra point to hold the Crusaders to six.

Part of the reason for the slow start was the first two McDevitt turnovers. First, State College forced a red zone fumble in the first quarter, then, Walker tipped McDevitt quarterback Sebastian Williams’ pass right to senior Trayce Brennan, who made the interception.

State High Head Coach Matt Lintal commented on his team’s four forced turnovers after the game. “We certainly emphasize it [causing turnovers] all the time, and we certainly emphasized it this week,” he said. “Our defensive staff does a tremendous job, and that was all we talked about all week, getting multiple guys to the ball, trying to get that ball out, and obviously they did a tremendous job with that.”

State College scored its first points of the game off that Brennan interception. A deep pass from sophomore quarterback Connor Kulka to junior AJ Fry put the Little Lions in scoring position, then senior running back D’Antae Sheffey punched in a five-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 9-7 with 44 seconds left in the half.

On the following kickoff, McDevitt’s Ishmael Palmer had the ball ripped away from him, and it was recovered by sophomore Mike Yourey. State College took over on the McDevitt 25, and on the very next play, Kulka hit Fry in the end zone on a sweet corner route to take a 14-9 lead with 26 seconds to play.

State High’s 14 points in the final 45 seconds of the half provided a huge momentum swing, and Little Lion spirits were high heading into the locker room.

However, those high spirits didn’t last long. McDevitt senior Patrick Wright took the opening kickoff back 75 yards for a touchdown to retake the lead, 16-14. State College went three and out on its next possession, leaving it up to the defense to recapture the momentum. For the third time, they did just that. Junior Kellen Williams forced a fumble, and junior Keen Furmanek recovered on the McDevitt 37.

The offense again couldn’t get anything going, and after McDevitt senior Zach Brown rejected Kulka’s third down pass in the backfield, State High was forced to punt.

Jones-Davis then led McDevitt down to the one-yard line where he finally added a touchdown to his great night on the ground. He went down with an injury early in the game and was clearly bothered all night, but it didn’t stop him from slicing through the State High front seven for consistent gains.

“It’s a mindset thing,” Jones-Davis said. “Where I come from, I’m hungry. I see my mom, my grandma, all of ‘em, go to work while they was hurting, so why can’t I do it.”

Jones-Davis also had high praise for the Crusader offensive line and run game in general after the game. “We got the best running back core in the state, so we definitely ran the ball and did whatever we wanted. We definitely can’t go nowhere without our o-line, they definitely stepped up and did what they had to do,” he said.

McDevitt took its 22-14 lead into the third quarter break, but State College came out firing in the fourth. With 11:09 left in the game, Kulka hit Lustig over the top with a 38-yard touchdown pass to bring State College within two, 22-20.

State College’s good feelings again didn’t last long, because Jerome Laure Jr. took Shane Markowski’s kickoff back 98 yards for a touchdown. The senior night crowd went wild, and McDevitt extended its lead to 29-20.

The Little Lions kept fighting, but after a turnover on downs, a rare Kulka interception, and a 20-yard rushing touchdown by Laure, they fell 36-20.

“We really were due for a test,” Lintal said. “This was a good test, playing against a well-coached football team with a bunch of great talent is going to prepare us for down the road.”

In terms of “down the road,” State College has already been crowned District VI Champions, because Altoona chose not to enter the playoffs for a second straight year. The Little Lions will be back in action in two weeks, likely for a trip to Erie McDowell.

Senior captain and lineman Luke Milito explained how his team will prepare: “Angry, I think. This doesn’t feel good, and I told the guys after the game that if you take a rep off at practice, you don’t go 100% at practice, you’re not dialed in a practice, this is the feeling that you should have, and this is the feeling that you will get after a football game.”

As State College looks to bounce back, Bishop McDevitt enters the District III 5A playoffs with a seed to be determined.

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