State College Forces Five Turnovers, Defeats Cumberland Valley

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Noah Radio | September 14, 2024

On Sept. 13, the State College Little Lions traveled to Cumberland Valley to take on the Eagles in a Mid-Penn Conference tilt. The Little Lions’ defense forced five turnovers, including three by senior linebacker Michael Gaul, and defeated the Eagles 30-14.

State College wasted no time getting out to an early lead. On the second play of the game, Gaul picked off Cumberland Valley quarterback Grant Shepley and took it all the way back for a touchdown.

Gaul explained how important it was to come up with turnovers in this road environment. “Whenever you’re playing in a place like this with the crowd cheering and the band playing at all times, it’s nice to get the momentum swings, get the ball on our side, and just control the game,” Gaul said.

Cumberland Valley did settle down following the quick turnover and drove into State College territory. With 7:37 remaining in the first quarter, Shepley got the Eagles on the board with a 31-yard touchdown pass to Erik Barbacci.

After four consecutive punts, State College quarterback Eddie Corkery orchestrated a long drive, finishing with a Lamar Wilson touchdown. Wilson, State College’s senior running back, punched it in for a one-yard touchdown with 8:52 to play in the second quarter.

After serving a two-game suspension, Wilson was thrilled to get back on the field. “It feels great to be back, they welcomed me with open arms,” Wilson said, “Even when I fumbled, they picked me back up and told me to go harder, and that’s what I did for my team.”

State College had another promising drive going, but was derailed by penalties and ultimately turned the ball over. Cumberland Valley’s Ke’aune Green intercepted Corkery’s pass and returned it down to the State College seven-yard line.

Eagles running back Brody Pines then cashed in on the turnover with a seven-yard touchdown run to even the score at 14 with 4:53 to play in the second quarter. State College went three and out on its next drive but wasn’t ready for halftime yet.

With 2:00 remaining in the half, Gaul created his second turnover of the game, this time forcing and recovering a Grant Shepley fumble at the Cumberland Valley 35-yard line. Corkery and the State College offense wasted no time retaking the lead from the advantageous field position. On the first play of the drive, Corkery hit senior receiver Ty Salazer with a 35-yard touchdown down the right sideline to make the score 21-14.

Salazer’s score started a run of 16 unanswered points for the Little Lions spanning the rest of the game. First, sophomore kicker Shane Markowski booted a 30-yard field goal to extend the lead to 10 with 5:34 remaining in the third quarter. Interceptions by Gaul and junior Henry Lustig held the Eagles scoreless in the third quarter.

Wilson slammed the door on the Eagles in the fourth quarter with a seven-yard touchdown run. Wilson finished with 189 yards on 31 carries in his return to action. State College Head Coach Matt Lintal was happy to have his starting running back return to the lineup. “We’re really proud of [Lamar Wilson], he’s one of the guys that’s really the heart of our team and we’ve missed him here these last couple of weeks so we’re super glad to have him back,” Lintal said, “He’s a tremendous leader, tremendous young man, and obviously a workhorse out here for us today.”

With this loss, Cumberland Valley moved to 2-2 on the season. The Eagles are back in action on Friday, Sept. 20 when they travel to Central Dauphin.

State College moved to 3-1 on the season and is back in action next Friday, Sept. 20 when they travel to Chambersburg.

State College’s senior quarterback Eddie Corkery throws a pass in the third quarter. (Noah Radio)

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