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Forever Etched in Stone. A PIAA record and W for McD and Saunders

Tagged under: District 3, District 6, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

| September 28, 2024

As the saying goes, “Records are made to be broken,” and there’s one record within PIAA competition that’s been broken now two years running: the career TD pass record. Tonight, Kentucky pledge Stone Saunders broke the record of friend and ex-counterpart Alex Erby. “I’m relieved we got it out of the way. They (Altoona) played an amazing game. 12 on their team was a dawg; he’s a great dude, and their coach definitely had them ready. They did a great job. Ya know, they came here to play, we overlooked them. I mean, I’m not gonna lie. I’ll say it is what it is, but they can beat some teams in this division; they played a great game.” For McDevitt, they got the record and escaped with a close 28-21 win over a determined Altoona team.

Stone Saunders would get the metaphorical monkey off his back on just the game’s second play, connecting with a streaking Domonic Diaz-Ellis for a 40-yard scoring strike. (PAT good, 7-0, 1st, 11:52) The Crusaders forced a 3-and-out on their first defensive series and scored yet again on a Nazir Jones-Davis 13-yard score. (PAT good, 8:25, 1st, 14-0). Altoona, not unlike the Goonies, never said die; however, they came back on the next drive and scored on their first play: an 82-yard scamper from Amar Emeigh-Ballos on a flawlessly executed option pitch. McDevitt came down the next drive, utilizing both the run and the pass, on the way to a 4-yard connection between Saunders and sophomore wideout Jontai Quick with 4:27 remaining in the 1st quarter.(21-7)

 

The Mt. Lions came back with a vengeance, opening up quarter number three and gashing the McDevitt defense via the run, driving down and capping off their scoring drive with a 3-yard TD run from Julian Hazlewood. (9:52, third, 21-14). The slippery conditions led to a McDevitt fumble at the mesh point of a handoff on their first play, giving Altoona the ball right back at their own 47-yard line. They would take nearly eight minutes to trek the remaining distance exclusively on the ground, knotting up the game at 21 after QB Mark Harrington scored on a sneak from 3 yards out. (21-21, 1:59, 3rd). The Crusaders managed to really get the run game going the following drive, as Nazir Jones-Davis scored again from 19 yards out, carrying a slew of Mt. Lions. (10:02, 4th). That would prove all the Crusaders needed, as the game went final at 28-21.

Coach Weachter on his team’s performance: “Uhh, I’m happy for a W, but I’m not real happy. We went up 21-7 and we left the foot off the gas. Give them credit; they fought. Big props to Altoona. We got sloppy; we didn’t have the ball the whole second quarter—penalties, missed assignments. Again, I’m not taking anything away from them, but we gotta play better. We were trying to make plays when we just needed to do our jobs.”

Stone Saunders’ message to the McDevitt fans: “I love all of them. McDevitt’s been the biggest thing in my life, ya know? I never could’ve thought what would’ve happened these past couple of years without them. I played in Midgets; coaches didn’t want me, high school coaches didn’t want me, and they took me in. They’re a really great group of people, and they care about everyone.”

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