Richland Rams are the District 6 2A champions with a 21-12 win over Ligonier Valley @rhsfootball @LVRamsFootball

Tagged under: District 6, News

Billy Splain | November 18, 2018

Richland fell behind quickly on two Aaron Tutino td receptions but battled back, scoring once in the second quarter, once in the third to take the lead then got the insurance td with just 2:50 to play, earning them the District Six Class 2A crown. “This is something I’ve wanted my whole life” said Richland QB Joe Hauser. “It’s just an incredible feeling.  The Richland defense held Ligonier without a point and frustrated the Ligonier offense all night, constantly pressuring QB John Caldwell. “Oh man, this is awesome. Losing records the last three seasons, and this one we just pulled out, everything came together. Our coaches just told us get at that quarterback everytime and we did what we did” said defensive lineman Collin Instone.

Ligonier started the game by methodically marching 63 yards on the games opening drive, with Kyrie Miller carrying the load most the the plays. Aided by a pass interference penalty, the LV Rams got to the 4 yard line, then Sam Sheeder found Tutino on the edge and he battled in for the score. The pat failed but it was 6-0 LV early. Richland gave up the ball on downs during their first series, and 6 plays later Tutino again scored, this time on a 56 yard run after the catch. This time they went for two but that attempt failed, leaving LV with a 12-0 lead late in the first quarter.

Richland struck back in the ensuing drive. Teon Reed rumbled off a 26 yard run, then Hauser dropped a perfectly place pass over the shoulder of Trevor Tustin to cut the lead to 12-7 after the pat.

The first half was fast and furious. Following a nice return the the Richland 49, Ligonier drove to the 26 where Miller ripped off a 17 yard run, reaching the 5 yard line but he lost the handle on the ball and Caleb Burke pounced on the loose prize, thwarting the LV drive. Later in the first half another Ligonier drive was halted by an interception, but more importantly Tutino was injured trying to make a play on another drive when he went down the sidelines and tried to get into the endzone. That play was called back on a holding penalty, but it was costly. He would not return to the game in the second half. “We  made mistakes, we didn’t win the special teams battle, we get to the one, we fumble even though it came back on a penalty. When you play a great football team, and you don’t win those battles, you don’t win” said Roger Beitel. “When he went down that changed the complexity of the game for us.”

Richland started the second half on a mission. Starting at their 37, Hauser found Burke for 32 yards, hit Joey Kovachick for a 9 yard gain, then several plays later from the 9 freshman Kellan Stahl burst up the middle to give Richland their first lead of the night, 14-12.

“Kellen gives us that spark” said Bailey. “We’ve been using him all year, he gives us a different dimension”. “I think it’s just a matter of the coaches trusting me” said Stahl. Ligonier then got good field position on a short kick off at the Richland 49. They got to the 7, but a trick play on third down didn’t work and the field goal attempt dropped short. LV never got close again as the Richland defense turned up the heat. “Our defense rose to the occasion. Coach Beitel said they won something like 50 games, and to stop a great program like this is special” said Bailey.

Both teams battled for the remainder of the game but it was Richland that landed the final blow. Starting at their own 20, they drove the distance of the field. Reed carried for a 25 yard gain, then Hauser and Burke hooked up on three straight plays before Stahl drove the final nail in the Ligonier season, hitting Kobey bailey for a short scoring pass with just over 2 minutes remaining.

Richland moves on the play West Catholic in the PIAA State playoffs, date and location TBA.

Stats courtesy Phil Cmor

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Ligonier Valley 12 0 0 0 — 12

Richland 0 7 7 7 — 21

First quarter LV–Aaron Tutino 1 pass from Samuel Sheeder (kick failed).

LV–Aaron Tutino 56 pass from John Caldwell (pass failed).

Second quarter R–Trevor Tustin 23 pass from Joe Hauser (Tim Bodenschatz kick).

Third quarter R–Kellen Stahl 8 run (Tim Bodenschatz kick).

Fourth quarter R–Koby Bailey 6 pass from Kellen Stahl(Tim Bodenschatz kick).

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing Ligonier Valley: Kyrie Miller 21-105, Samuel Sheeder 5-13, Aaron Tutino 1-1, John Caldwell 3-(-15). Richland: Teon Reed 14-89, Zack Vogelsberger 7-48, Kellen Stahl 6-33, Jordan Kocsis 2-14, Joe Hauser 4-0, Owen Marsh 1-(-1), Team 2-(-2).

Passing Ligonier Valley: John Caldwell 12-25-2-161. Samuel Sheeder 1-2-0-1. Richland: Joe Hauser 13-21-0-161, Kellen Stahl 1-1-0-6.

Receiving Ligonier Valley: Aaron Tutino 6-87, Samuel Sheeder 5-46, Sullivan Schueltz 1-9, Kyrie Miller 1-14. Richland: Caleb Burke 6-99, Teon Reed 1-19, Jordan Kocsis 1-19, Trevor Tustin 2-29, Joey Kovachick 3-10, Koby Bailey 1-6.

TEAM STATISTICS

LV R

First downs rushing 7 7

First downs passing 6 8

First downs by penalty 0 2

Total first downs 13 17

Total yards 276 348

Yards rushing 114 181

Yards passing 162 167

Passes attempted 27 22

Passes completed 12 14

Interceptions thrown 2 0

Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-1

Penalties-yards 4-30 5-40

Punts-avg. 3-46.3 4-28.0

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