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Harrisburg Downs State College in 2OT Thriller

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

| September 6, 2025

Pennsylvania’s game of the week lived up to even the wildest expectations. Harrisburg trailed by as many as 13 and State College by 21 before the Little Lions came back and forced overtime. Despite the comeback effort, senior Jaiyon Lewis proved to be too much to handle, scoring both overtime touchdowns for the Cougars, and State College fell 48-45 in double overtime.

The underdog in this top-10 matchup, #10 State College, jumped all over the second-ranked Cougars in the first quarter. First, senior Hank Lustig caught a one-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Connor Kulka, then an interception by senior Trayce Brennan set up a short touchdown run by Kulka to put State College up 13-0.

Harrisburg flipped the script in the second quarter. Rushing touchdowns by Mikal Shank Jr and Princeton Dent brought the halftime score to 13-12, and the Cougars held all of the momentum.

Harrisburg continued its tear in the second half, turning those 12 unanswered into 34 in just 10:20 of game time. The highlight of the third quarter was Shank’s 56-yard touchdown strike over the top to Lewis, which put Harrisburg up 26-13 with 2:41 left in the third quarter.

State College, once flying high up 13-0, faced a 34-13 deficit heading into the final frame. The following comeback orchestrated by Kulka and aided by unbelievable special teams and defensive plays turned this game into an instant classic.

First, State College brought the exceptional Memorial Field crowd back into the game with a blocked punt returned by junior lineman Matt Gaul for a 40-yard touchdown. Gaul, a captain, stands at 6’2,” 270 pounds, and outran the entire Harrisburg offense as he cut the lead down to 34-20 with 9:42 to play.

Junior kicker Shane Markowski then made his mark on the game with a squib kick recovered by junior Mason Evans to give State College the ball right back in Harrisburg territory. The Little Lions couldn’t convert on the great field position and turned it over on downs after a questionable spot on 4th and inches, but Lustig got it right back by recovering a fumbled snap on the Harrisburg 15-yard line.

Just a couple of plays later, senior running back D’Antae Sheffey cut his former team’s lead to 34-26 with a 10-yard rushing touchdown. That set up Harrisburg on its own 20-yard line with 3:39 left and a chance to run out the clock.

However, the State College defense wasn’t done yet, and slowed the Cougar offense down to a 4th and 3 on its own 38 with 56 seconds left. The State College front seven stood up Dent on an inside run and took the ball back down one score with 51 seconds left.

Kulka quickly worked down to the Harrisburg 20-yard line before senior Daimear Coad made a toe dragging catch at the four-yard line with under 30 seconds left. On the very next play, Kulka hit freshman Max Vendemia with a quick touchdown pass to cut the lead to two.

The biggest play to this point, the two-point conversion, was again the sophomore Kulka to the freshman Vendemia to tie the game for the first time since 0-0. The ball was jarred free by a huge hit at the goal line, and Lustig made the veteran play to jump on the ball and secure the State High conversion. Harrisburg took a knee and ran out the clock, sending the game to overtime tied 34-34.

State College Head Coach Matt Lintal was proud of his young quarterback after the game.

“He had bullets flying at him everywhere, and his resolve that last two minute drive, what’d we have, 54 seconds or something like that on the clock? It’s all kind of a blur right now still,” Lintal said. “For him to guide us down the field, it was super impressive, just his calm, his ability to use his feet, being smart enough running down the sideline to get out of bounds. A lot of kids would be tempted to cut back inside and get more yards, but he knew that the clock was the most important thing, and to have that as a 10th grader is really special.”

On the first snap of overtime, Lewis powered into the end zone and took a 42-34 lead. Lewis was the star for the Cougars as a running back, quarterback, and wide receiver.

State College then took its possession, and Kulka hit junior Keen Furmanek for a nine-yard touchdown. Kulka then showed off his toughness and awareness, scrambling right through the Harrisburg defense to keep the game alive with a two-point conversion.

The Little Lions took the ball first in the second overtime and were stuffed at the 10. Markowski drilled a 27-yard field goal, but it wasn’t enough to hold the Cougars at bay. Lewis again showed off his power, blasting into the end zone from ten yards out to win the game for Harrisburg.

In the overtime periods, Lewis said the Cougars just kept up what was working the entire game. He also mentioned his team’s confidence coming out of this game that they can make a deep run in November.

“We knew it was gonna be a great game, State College, they give us a fight every time, but we’ve prepped way too hard throughout the offseason, so we’re very well prepared now to make a long run into the season,” Lewis said.

The Cougars are now through their toughest three games of the season in Imhotep, Bishop McDevitt and State College, and they look to keep rolling when they travel to Chambersburg next week.

Kulka kept his head up after the game and stuck with Lintal’s “win or grow” mindset.

“Just our fight [was great], we came back there at the end, with everyone thinking we were down and out, the team showed who we are and what we’re made of,” Kulka said. “We’ll see a good Cumberland Valley team, hopefully we’ll use this end of the game as momentum and push us forward to next week.”

State College will take on Cumberland Valley back at Memorial Field on Sept. 12 at 7:00.

Key videos can be found @noahradio_state on Twitter/X  —  Cover photo by @KobeFilmedit_X on Twitter/X

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