State College Recovers Late to Beat Cedar Cliff

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Noah Radio | October 4, 2025

State College and Cedar Cliff provided one of the most surprisingly entertaining games of the weekend for nearly three quarters, but a shutout fourth quarter by the State High defense squashed the Colts’ upset bid. The Little Lions were led by their defense and three touchdowns by senior running back D’Antae Sheffey to a 36-21 victory.

A punt-fest in the first quarter led to a 7-0 Cedar Cliff lead after 12 minutes, courtesy of junior Jalen Hinton on a quarterback sneak. Sheffey got State College going on the very first play of the second quarter with a 15-yard touchdown run to tie the score at seven.

Less than two minutes later, it was Sheffey again with the score, this time from 24 yards out. The Colts blocked the extra point, so State College led 13-7 with 9:59 left in the second quarter. Cedar Cliff marched down the field on its next drive, but State College junior AJ Fry picked off Hinton in the end zone with 7:56 left in the half.

Sophomore quarterback Connor Kulka capitalized on the turnover with a 55-yard touchdown pass to senior Daimear Coad down the sideline to take a 20-7 lead. Kulka threw for 169 yards on just 10 attempts, and 104 of those yards went to Coad.

Junior Landon Howell’s powerful ground game led to back to back touchdowns for Cedar Cliff, with halftime sandwiched in between. Howell punched it in from the one late in the second quarter, then on the first possession of the second half, he slipped through the State High defense for a two-yard touchdown to take a 21-20 lead.

At this point, the Little Lions were being eaten up by Howell on the ground, struggling to move the ball and racking up penalties. Luckily for the hundreds of State College faithful who made the trip, Head Coach Matt Lintal and his team buckled down and came up with 16 unanswered points.

“Really proud of our kids, the resiliency, football is a game of ups and downs, so when we got down early, our kids kept their cool,” Lintal said. “Turnovers certainly helped. Credit to Cedar Cliff, they’re certainly a tough football team, a very well-coached football team, and they’re gonna win a lot of football games, so they should be very proud of their effort. I’m very proud of our kids’ resiliency and effort tonight.”

The run started with a Shane Markowski 25-yard field goal to cap off a penalty-ridden drive and take a 23-21 lead with 3:56 left in the third quarter. A big punt return by Lustig, who contributed in all three phases of the game, and a field flipping scramble by Kulka then set State College up for Sheffey’s third touchdown of the game, a three-yarder off a direct snap.

Sheffey, who ran for 146 yards, talked about how the team bounced back in the second half.

“Definitely just trusting the team, [getting through] adversity comes with just the teamwork and the bond we all have with the guys, and we just play how we play,” Sheffey said.

A thirteen-yard touchdown connection from Kulka to Lustig capped off the scoring, then Lustig slammed the door with an interception to seal the 36-21 victory. State College now moves on to senior night against Central Dauphin East next week.

“It’s definitely important, I started out at State College, I mean, it’s my last time on the field, so I’d like to go out with a blowout,” Sheffey said.

While State College looks to improve on its 6-1 record, Cedar Cliff will look to get back to .500 on the road against Carlisle.

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