Phillipsburg-Osceola Grounds Penns Valley 34-21
Tagged under: District 6, Gameday Hub, News, pfn
Kerry Shawley | September 14, 2024
Given the quality of the players lost to graduation, including Ty Watson, Centre County’s all-time leading scorer, it was expected the Rams might struggle. Facing a schedule that has seen Penns Valley play teams with just one loss between them through the first three weeks of the season, the young Rams have been overwhelmed. Seeking their first win of the season, Penns Valley welcomed a Philipsburg-Osceola team that had dropped their previous two games after an opening the season with a victory over Huntingdon. While winless in the 2024 season, the Rams entered tonight’s contest having won their last eleven games against Phillipsburg, with the last Mountie victory in the series coming in 2011.
It would not take long to find out that this year would be different. Phillipsburg’s Sam McDonald fielded the opening kickoff and raced 85-yards for a touchdown to give the Mounties a 7-0 lead just twelve seconds into the contest. Phillipsburg-Osceola would thoroughly dominate the first quarter and after McDonald gathered a short pass from Archer Baughman, he would race 70-yards to give the Mounties a 21-0 lead just nine minutes into the contest.
To their credit, the Rams did not go quietly into the night. Starting from their own 30-yard line, they would finally mount a drive of their own. Carter Ironside connected with senior tight end, Richard Wasson for twenty yards. Koltin Shawver would follow with a first down run, moving the ball to the Phillipsburg 38-yard line as the first quarter ended.
On the first play of the second quarter, Spencer Althouse gathered an Ironside pass and took the ball 31-yards to the Mountie 7-yard line. On the very next play, Ironside found Shawver over the middle for a touchdown and following the Riley Winkelblech extra point, the Rams cut the lead to 21-7 just 20 seconds into the second quarter.
The Mounties would start their next possession on their own 36-yard line and would embark on the first of several time-consuming drives. Except for a 26-yard Baughman to McDonald reception, the Mounties relied on their punishing rushing attack to move the ball steadily down the field. Following a Jaden Jones carry, the Mounties had first and goal at the Ram 4-yard line. On first down, Baughman dropped back to pass and his throw into the end zone was picked off by Althouse who raced 102-yards for a touchdown to make the score 21-14, following the extra point.
With 6:50 remaining in the half, Philipsburg would embark on a drive that used up all but nine seconds of the clock. Baughman, McDonald, and Parker Lamb would all have first down runs during the drive, but it would be Jones who would plunge in from the one-yard line to give the Mounties a 28-7 halftime lead, following the Carson Long extra point.
The third quarter would be scoreless, but the Mounties continued to dominate time of possession. After the Rams failed to do anything on their opening possession, the Mounties took possession on their own 22-yard line with 10:05 remaining in the 3rd quarter. Once again, Philipsburg would move the ball into Ram territory behind the unrelenting ground attack led by McDonald and Jones. After chewing up almost six minutes of clock on the ground, and with the Rams unable to stop them, the Mounties inexplicably went to the air. This time Tripp Watson stepped in front of the pass and would weave his way 60 yards to the Mountie 17-yard line. Unfortunately for the Rams, the Phillipsburg defense stood tall and following a fourth down sack, the Mounties took over on their own 28-yard line with 3:40 remaining in the quarter.
Relying heavily on the legs of McDonald, Phillipsburg would end the quarter on the Rams one-yard line. McDonald would score from there on the first play of the fourth quarter. The two-point conversion failed, and the Mounties led 34-14 with 11:57 remaining in the game.
Following a Robert McClenahan interception, Phillipsburg took over on their own 24-yard line with 9:40 remaining in the game. The Mounties would grind almost eight minutes off the clock before the Rams forced a turnover on downs with just 1:42 remaining in the game.
Colby Miller would take over at quarterback for the Rams. Starting from their own 41-yard line, passes to Fletcher Ironside and Shawver would move the ball to the Mountie 22-yard line with 18 seconds remaining. From there, Miller would find Althouse in the end zone, and following the extra point, the final score was set and Phillipsburg walked away with a 34-21 victory.
This game was dominated by the Phillipsburg ground attack. By my unofficial count, Phillipsburg possessed the ball for 29 minutes over the last three quarters of the game. Sam McDonald was outstanding for Phillipsburg. His two long touchdowns were certainly impressive, but just as impressive was the hard nose running that he provided along with Jayden Jones. While Phillipsburg impressed offensively, it was their defense that really stepped up following the Watson interception. The Mounties will be back in action next week at home against Bald Eagle Area.
Penns Valley deserves a lot of credit for not folding after falling behind 21-0 so quickly. While this team may be physically undersized, they continue to play extremely hard. Spencer Althouse had an outstanding game both offensively and defensively, and the Rams continue to have some success moving the ball through the air. They will continue searching for their first win of the season when they travel to Bellefonte next week.
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