Freshman QB’s Final-Second Heroics Earn Comets 16-14 Victory on “Ernie Widmar Day”

Tagged under: District 6, Gameday Hub, News

PFN Staff | August 26, 2019

Luke Rainey

The opening game of the 2019 football season was a night of celebration for the Blairsville community. To kick it off, the Bobcats commemorated their highly successful former Head Coach Ernie Widmar by renaming their field in his honor. In addition to a parade before the game, the ceremony took place during halftime, in which August 23rd, 2019, officially became “Ernie Widmar Day” in Blairsville. Shortly after the rename was set in stone, Widmar spoke to Blairsville’s crowd. “My name may be associated with the field, but I’m not the only one who put my name there,” Widmar humbly said. “I’m honored to be here, I’m honored to be a Bobcat. I used to be a Lion, but after years with Blairsville, this is the place I always wanted to coach.”

The game itself was just as memorable, but not in an ideal fashion for the Bobcats. In an evenly-sided contest between Blairsville and the Penns Manor Comets, both defenses shut out the opponent for the entire first half, but they eventually gave way to a 4th quarter thriller between the offenses. After allowing the Bobcats to take the lead with 1 minute to go, Freshman Quarterback Max Hill connected with Dimitri Lieb for a 33-yard touchdown at the eleventh hour to win over Blairsville in an unforgettable season opener.

The Comets deferred the coin toss and kicked to Blairsville to start the 2019 season. Runningback Sincere McFarlin was in total control of the Bobcats’ first possession, gaining 51 yards on 7 carries to put Blairsville at the 11-yard line. Quarterback Zac Artley tried to do the same thing by running out of the pocket, but was stymied by the Comets’ defense to force a 4th-and-long situation. On the conversion attempt, Artley was sacked in the backfield by Zack O’Neal for a Turnover on Downs.

Both teams went three-and-out on their next possessions towards the end of the quarter. The Comets slowly battled through Blairsville for nearly 11 minutes, with Dimitri Lieb picking up 37 yards before reaching goal-to-go territory. From there, Penns Manor fizzled out and faced 3rd & Goal from the 6-yard line. Quarterback Bryce Chiodini tried connecting with Lieb in the end zone, but Defensive Back Jacob Mocek leaped in front of him and secured the interception.

The silver lining for Penns Manor was the strong field position, however. They had the Bobcats pinned at the 2-yard line near the end of the half. Though Blairsville picked up 4 yards on the first play of the drive, they were still at the 6-yard line on 3rd Down. Artley was brought down in his own end zone for a Penns Manor safety, and with that, the first points of the game. The Comets ran out of time on their final drive of the offensively scoreless first half.

Right after the halftime ceremonies to honor Ernie Widmar, the Comets came out of the gates with a massive return by Mason Engel to the Bobcats’ 25-yard line. Similar to their 2nd quarter drive, a strong chance of getting the offense on the board evaporated because of an interception deep in Blairsville’s territory, with Middle Linebacker Cole Townsend getting the pick at the 18-yard line. The Bobcats went three-and-out, but after the Comets ran only one play, an electrical issue caused the lights on Blairsville’s sideline to shut off for over 20 minutes.

As the Bobcats’ sideline illuminated again, play resumed. On the first snap, Chiodini suffered an injury that kept him sidelined for the rest of the game, allowing Freshman Quarterback Max Hill to line up under center in his first game at the Varsity level. He was unable to convert a 3rd & 13, and Blairsville left their first mark on the scoreboard with Devon Witmer returning the punt for a touchdown. With a failed 2-point attempt, the Bobcats had a 6-2 lead over Penns Manor.

The Comets went three-and-out on Hill’s first full set of downs. The situation did not look any better for Penns Manor, as they allowed the Bobcats to reach the 36-yard line after 3 handoffs to open the drive. A penalty at the end of the 3rd quarter pushed the Bobcats into a 1st & 20 situation, but an enormous catch-and-run by Witmer appeared to put the Bobcats at the goal line. Unfortunately for Blairsville, the play was called back as a result of a holding penalty. Instead of lining up in scoring position, they had to deal with 3rd & 34, and Artley threw an incomplete pass. The Comets received the punt with 10 minutes remaining, still trailing by 4 points.

Halfback Kevin Baum began the Comets’ drive with a 13-yard carry from the 30-yard line. They stuck with the ground game for the next 10 plays, mostly with Conner Keith getting slow, but productive yardage in a time-consuming drive. With 3 minutes to go, Penns Manor had 4th & 7 and needed to convert if they would have a realistic chance to win the game. On the play, Max Hill threw a pass to his older brother Austin, who fought for the completion at the 1-yard line. The play was ruled a catch, even though the ball security appeared to be questionable. On the next play, Max kept the ball and snuck past the goal line for a Penns Manor touchdown. A successful field goal by Freshman Justin Marshall put the Comets ahead by a score of 9-6 over the Bobcats.

Blairsville immediately made it clear they were going to give Penns Manor a challenge. Starting from the 35-yard line, they opened the drive with a completion to Witmer, and combined with a penalty against the Comets, the Bobcats found themselves 28 yards away from the end zone. Witmer helped convert 3rd & 10 on the next set of downs, but his work was not over. After 3 consecutive incompletions, the Bobcats faced 4th & 10 from Penns Manor’s 18-yard line. Artley connected with Witmer for the completion, who battled past Lieb outside the end zone to score his 2nd touchdown of the night. With a successful 2-point attempt, Blairsville held a 14-9 lead with just over a minute to go.

In an attempt to finish the game, Blairsville tried to recover an onside kick. However, Penns Manor beat them to the punch, establishing their drive at their own 44-yard line. Following an incompletion, Hill scrambled for a 13-yard gain to put the Comets in positive territory. A Pass Interference call on the next play against the Bobcats continued Penns Manor’s progress to the 27-yard line. In the next two plays, they were pushed back to the 33-yard line and had less than 30 seconds to score a touchdown. On 3rd & 16, Hill threw a perfect spiral to Lieb. In man-to-man coverage, he made the catch at the 5-yard line and scored the touchdown with 17 seconds left. Blairsville ran out of time after 2 plays to secure a 16-14 victory for the Comets.

After the game, Lieb explained how he was able to score the game-winning touchdown. “The play before, I knew I had the defensive back locked,” he said. “I knew he was locked up 1-on-1 and I knew I could take him. I had faith in Max Hill that he could give me a good ball, and he did.”

On the losing side, Bobcats’ Head Coach Rick Artley was disappointed with the outcome, but proud of the effort from his team. “I told those guys in the huddle, ‘It’s not going to define us.’ We let one get away, but this team has also stuck together and they fought,” he stated. “We get the ball back with 2-and-a-half minutes to go and we drive right down the field. And honestly, I’ve told Zac for a long time–the last 2 months–that it’s about managing the game…he did a heck of a job in that last drive, and that was a great throw on 4th down to hit Devon for the score. He played above my own expectations, and he’s my own son.”

Scoring Summary

2nd Quarter – PM (1:48): Safety: 2-0

3rd Quarter – BL (4:10): Devon Witmer Punt Return TD (Failed 2-point attempt): 6-2

4th Quarter – PM (2:40): Max Hill 1-yard QB Keep TD (Marshall Kick): 9-6
4th Quarter – BL (1:06): Devon Witmer 18-yard Receiving TD (Successful 2-point attempt): 14-9
4th Quarter – PM (0:17): Dimitri Lieb 33-yard Receiving TD (Marshall Kick): 16-14

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