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Penns Valley earns playoff birth with hard fought win over Central Cambria

Tagged under: District 6, Gameday Hub, News

| October 28, 2023

With a slim 21-14 lead, Penns Valley running back John Meyer fielded a punt at the 30 yard line, reversed field, shook off a tackler and then decided he wanted to see what the endzone looked like. That return eventually became the difference in the score and helped place Penns Valley into the playoffs with a 41-34 win. ” That was a big momentum swing for us” said Rams head coach Marty Tobias. “It was a playoff-type atmosphere for us, We knew that we needed to win to have a chance to get in, and they came out pretty determined. It was a really balanced and evenly matched game that we made a couple of plays that made the difference.”

Both teams battled the entire first half with the Rams jumping out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter only to see that lead evaporate in the second quarter. Danin Kerstetter, who returned for the first time in several weeks after being injured, got things rolling right away returning the opening kick to the Red Devil 15 yard line. Ty Watson, who broke the school rushing record last week, scored on the third play of the drive to give the Rams a 7-0 lead.

On the ensuing drive, Central Cambria quarterback Hunter Pittsinger was sacked by Hunter Spochart on fourth down giving Penns Valley the ball on the 43. Watson did the rest going 28 yards for the score. He also kicked the extra point giving the Rams a 14-0 lead. It took a little while for the Red Devil offense to get moving, but once it did it rolled fast. Grady Snyder, who accounted for 221 yards on the night (167 yards on the ground on 19 carries and four catches for 54 yards), carried the ball in from the one to make it a 14-7 game. Then after the CC defense got a stop, Pittsinger hit the talented junior for a 21 yard scoring pass to send the game into halftime tied at 14.

 

““I couldn’t be prouder of these guys,” said Central Cambria head coach Don Fyfe.  “There’s four different times they could’ve cashed it in and quit. We were down 14 three different times, and we fought back. I couldn’t be prouder of the effort of where we come. Great days are ahead.” The Rams, led by back up quarterback Jarrett Stover, put the ball in the endzone on their first drive of the second half. Stover found Meyer for a 20 yard td pass, the Meyer got the punt return to make it 28-14 Rams.

It took just a couple plays for the Red Devils to respond. Snyder broke loose and was off to the races for a 67 yard rushing td to close the gap. Special teams can be good and bad. This time they were bad for Penns Valley. On the kickoff, the Rams made a huge mistake and didn’t cover the ball. Central Cambria recovered the kick but didn’t score on the drive.  The Rams then drove 79 yards an scored when Stover hit Kerstetter for an 8 yard score. Watson missed on the pat leaving the score 34-21 with six second remaining in the third quarter.

With the ball at their own 13, once again the Red Devils fought back. Pittsinger led his team down the field and found Snyder for the 28 yard td pass. They too missed the kick and it was 34-27 Rams.

Penns Valley put the game away when Stover, who threw for 177 yards and three touchdowns, found a wide open Spencer Althouse for a 60 yard td connection.

Pittsinger found Gabe Burkett in the endzone for another td pass but there just wasn’t enough time for the Red Devils to complete the comeback. Penns Valley moves to 6-4 and qualified for the playoffs with the win. The young Central Cambria finishes their season at 4-6.

GALLERY OF GAME HERE

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