State College Blanks Cedar Cliff 38-0

Tagged under: District 6, Gameday Hub, News

Noah Radio | October 4, 2024

On a beautiful Friday night in Happy Valley, the State College Little Lions destroyed Cedar Cliff 38-0. The State College offense started fast and never let up, while the defense never let the Colts inside the 20-yard line.

On the third play of the game, senior quarterback Eddie Corkery hit his favorite target, fellow senior Ty Salazer, over the middle and Salazer took it all the way for a 62-yard touchdown. Before the Colts knew what hit them, they were down 7-0.

Salazer’s night only got better from there. Still less than two minutes into the game, Salazer forced and recovered a fumble at the Cedar Cliff 33-yard line. The Little Lions could not get anything out of Salazer’s big play, but quickly got the ball back.

State College methodically marched down the field and finished with a two-yard touchdown run by senior running back Lamar Wilson. That put the Little Lions up 14-0 with 5:32 left in the first quarter. The fast start on the offensive side of the ball was a sight for sore eyes on the State College sideline. Wilson said, “The last two games we had really slow starts, and that’s not State College [Area] High School at all. We come out fast, we punch you in the mouth first, that’s how we play.”

After Wilson’s first touchdown, the Colts offense finally found a spark and drove into State College territory. A tackle for loss and two incomplete passes ultimately stalled the drive. However, Cedar Cliff quarterback/punter Bennett Secrest booted a perfect punt and State College was forced to take over at its own one-yard line.

Playing to avoid a safety, the Little Lions were conservative, running a quarterback sneak and a dive on first and second down. On third down, Corkery was forced to throw and made his first and only big mistake of the night. Looking deep over the middle, Corkery’s pass was intercepted by Tywaun Byrd, setting Cedar Cliff up at the 31-yard line with 1:09 remaining in the first quarter.

The Colts offense stalled out again and turned it over on downs. The teams traded punts on each of their next drives, but State College eventually returned to the end zone. In the final 7:28 of the first half, Corkery and Salazer connected for scores of 15 and 38 yards and Wilson punched in his second touchdown of the game, this one a one-yarder.

Once Salazer scored his third touchdown with 58 seconds remaining in the half, all of the fight on the Cedar Cliff sideline was gone.

State College played as conservatively as it had all season in the second half, putting up only three points but still dominating the football game. The Little Lions’ defense, consisting mostly of sophomores, bent but never broke and held onto the shutout.

The only score of the second half came with 30 seconds remaining in the game. State College senior kicker Matty Zimmerman made his first varsity field goal, a 23-yard attempt to bring the score to 38-0.

This blowout victory by the Little Lions is even more impressive after not practicing on Thursday due to Rosh Hashanah. Head Coach Matt Lintal said, “A lot of our kids got together yesterday just to do things on their own and I think that says a ton about this group. They have a day off and they find a way to go get together and do that on their own.”

On deck for State College is the 7-0 Central Dauphin East Panthers, which will be the team’s toughest test since it traveled to Harrisburg. CD East has defied the odds at every turn, but will face what is regarded as the best three teams in the Mid-Penn Commonwealth in State College, Bishop McDevitt and Harrisburg to close its season.

The Little Lions are already thinking about next week’s road trip. Lintal said, “We’re going to enjoy tonight, then we’ll get right at it tomorrow. CD East does a great job, they’ve got some tremendous athletes, they’re very well coached, we’ll need a great gameplan, and we have to find a way to put the ball in the end zone and make sure we come out on top next week.”

Cedar Cliff falls to 2-5 with this loss and is back in action on Friday, Oct. 11 when they take on Carlisle.

Cedar Cliff quarterback Bennett Secrest drops back and throws a pass early in the game. (Noah Radio)

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