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Little Lions score 33 straight, erase 14 point deficit to win first Beaver Stadium Classic.

Tagged under: Centre County Report, District 3, District 6, Gameday Hub, News

| October 26, 2019

Both teams pose together after a memorable game at Beaver Stadium

Before Cumberland Valley scored their first touchdown, before the first kick off in a high school football game played at Beaver Stadium since Cathedral prep won a State Title there in 1988, before the National Anthem was played, and before the first fan found a seat on the east side of the famed home of Penn State Football, there was a huge amount of excitement taking place. As the teams exited their buses, you could see it in their eyes. You could hear it in their voices.  The State College Little Lions and the Cumberland Valley Eagles were getting ready to enter the stadium where their hero’s play, where past and current teammates play, and where they’ve been wanting to play since they were able to pick up a football.

Pregame photo as teams await their chance to enter the stadium

But once the crowd of over 5,600 fans got their first look at the teams on the field, when the game started, it was all business on the field. “I told them this field is the same as ours. A yard is a yard, it’s 100 yards from goal line to goal line, and we’re going to play football” said Cumberland Valley head coach Mike Whitehead as they waited to enter the locker room. The Eagles jumped out to a 14-0 lead, but with just under four minutes to play in the first half State College began a roll of 33 straight points on their way to a 33-21 win to close out the regular season.

 

“We just had to focus. They kept getting the edges, we missed some tackles, we just had to so what we do” said State High running back Isaiah Edwards. I was his 62 yard touchdown reception from Brady Dorner that got things rolling for the “home team”. Trailing 14-0 after Dante Rogan intercepted his previous pass and returned it 16 yards to the endzone, Dorner dropped back and found Edwards streaking down the left sideline. “Both sides of the football we weren’t very good in the first half. Our coaches made some good adjustments, the kids bought in and they started to believe” said State High head coach Matt Lintal.

 

William “Lokey” Howell tied the score at 14 with a 13 yard run on the opening drive of the second half. The drive included a big gain on a Dorner to Nathan Lusk to get to the 13. The on the ensuing Eagle drive, Edwards delivered a jarring hit to Maximos Dell’anno, knocking the ball loose where it was recovered by State High defensive end Kevin Kurzinger at the 45. On the very next play Edwards took the hand off, pulled up and heaved a bomb to Conrad Moore putting the ball at the Eagle three yard line. Dreysn Green put the Little Lions on top for good and State College was on their way to the win before a pleasantly raucous and loud crowd. “We’ve been saving that one, we repped it a whole bunch all year. Isaiah wanted to run it last week and I said no, we’re saving that one. He said for Beaver? And I said yep. We had to find the right moment, the right time and that was it, it was a big play that turned the momentum for us.” said Lintal

 

State’s defense took over in the second half. Forcing an Eagle three and out, they once again had the ball on the 45. Dorner found Lusk again for another big gain and several played later hit Howell from 13 yards out in the back of the endzone. With 11:57 to play in the fourth quarter, State held a 26-14 lead.

 

Green finished the scoring for State with a 16 td run.  Cumberland Valley’s Logan Ramper capped the scoring for the day on a 58 yard pass from Alex Kovach.

State College will await to see if they will play Mifflin County next week while Cumberland Valley will play at Manheim Township Friday night in first round playoff action.

NOTE:  We will have a full gallery of all the action posted on Sunday, and we are working on a documentary version of the game with hours of footage taken by Circle W Sports and The Homepage’s Ed Weaver. We’ll notify everyone of it’s release.

Follow PA Football News on Twitter @PaFootballNews

 
 
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