BRADFORD, Pa. – Pennsylvania rode defense and two big passing plays to a 13-6 win over New York in the 36th annual Big 30 Don Raabe Charities Classic football all-star game Saturday night at Bradford’s Parkway Field.
Pennsylvania, which has now won two straight and five of six to inch closer in the series (New York leads 18-16-2), limited the Empire State to 65 total yards of offense including zero passing yards, four first downs and two long field goals. The zero passing yards and four first downs were both the fewest allowed in game history.
Paul Burdick
Ridgway's Elliot Pontious
“There is no doubt about it, our defense deserves the MVP trophy for tonight’s game,” Pennsylvania coach Mark Morelli, the former Ridgway head coach who was recently named defensive coordinator at Cameron County after spending last year on the staff at St. Marys, said. “You can’t say enough about the kids that played defense for Pennsylvania tonight. That was the biggest difference in the game as far as I was concerned.”
The defense had to be solid considering the offense wasn’t able to take advantage of great field position early in the game. Pennsylvania started its first three drives and four of its first five in New York territory including twice from the New York 14, but couldn’t muster any points on any of the possessions that started in the Empire State’s end.
“I wasn’t too worried,” Morelli said. “We were just waiting for a break. We played the game on their half of the field almost the whole first half. It was just that we needed to do a better job of executing. The little things were hurting us.”
Pennsylvania did execute on the one drive out of the first four that didn’t start in New York territory getting a great individual effort from Cameron County’s Andrew Kesterholt to take a 6-0 lead early in the second quarter.
With Pennsylvania facing a third-and-6 from its own 40, Kane’s Kenny Kane unleashed a pass down the middle of the field that looked like it was going to be intercepted by New York’s Worth (Allegheny-Limestone). But Kesterholt tipped the ball away from Worth at the last second and then miraculously pulled it in himself around the New York 40 and outran a stunned Empire State defense for the game’s first touchdown.
“That play was just something we put in the second week of practice,” Morelli said. “Kenny Kane suggested it because they had success with it at his school. So we took a chance on it, and the football gods were looking down on us. Fortunately, the tipped pass went our way, and it was a big play that ended up helping getting us on the scoreboard first.”
After Pennsylvania squandered its second possession of the game that started at the New York 14 on its next drive and punted on its next to last possession of the first half, the Keystoners made it 13-0 with just 26.8 seconds left in the half on a trick play. Johnsonburg’s Craig Carrow took a pitch out in the backfield and pulled up before lofting a 30-yard touchdown pass to St. Marys’ Mitchell Straub that ended a two-play, 73-yard drive.
“The halfback pass was something I always ran at Ridgway for a little bit of a surprise play,” Morelli said. “The way New York was pinching hard inside, we thought that play was available.”
The game remained 13-0 until late in the third quarter when Cattaraugus-Little Valley’s Rigel Johnson, who earlier in the quarter missed a 44-yard field goal wide left despite having plenty of distance, was true on a 47-yard field goal to put New York on the scoreboard trailing 13-3. The 47-yard boot tied the game record set by New York’s Gerald Carlson in 1992.
Following the field goal, New York had two golden opportunities to either tie the game or take the lead but came away with just three points.
First, the Empire State started a drive at the Pennsylvania 33, but three plays lost five yards and New York had to punt. Then, New York got a 30-yard punt return from Bolivar-Richburg’s Anthony Poole to set it up at the Pennsylvania 26. A penalty and a first-down run gave New York the ball at the 12. But the Empire Staters earned a penalty and three plays that went nowhere leading to a 39-yard field goal by Johnson cutting the Pennsylvania lead to 13-6 with 6:06 to play.
“They threatened several times, and our defense came up big,” Morelli said.
New York looked like it would have one more golden opportunity to tie or win the game when Pennsylvania’s Ren Yonker of Johnsonburg fumbled the ball at the Pennsylvania 20 with about five minutes to play and Seth McClory of Franklinville Central recovered at that spot. But a 5-yard facemask penalty on New York negated the turnover, and Pennsylvania took advantage of the new life driving to the New York 31-yard line before giving the ball away on downs with approximately two minutes left.
“That’s the breaks of the game,” Morelli said. “I’m sure they all even out in the end. That’s the way it goes sometimes.”
Without a passing game, New York’s hopes looked bleak, and an intentional grounding call on the Empire State on the first play after the turnover on downs didn’t help. Then Poole fumbled a pitch back with just over a minute left, and Pennsylvania’s Ben Wilston of Eisenhower recovered it setting off a celebration on the home sideline.
“You can’t beat this experience,” Morelli said. “The atmosphere and the experience of it all, unless you win a state championship, this is about as best as you are going to get.”
Pennsylvania had 272 yards of offense including 209 through the air.
Kane was 2-for-7 passing for 87 yards, a touchdown and an interception, while Yonker was 4-of-6 for 82 yards. Straub hauled in three catches for 91 yards and a score while also running four times for 17 yards before leaving the game with an injury in the second half.
Elliot Pontious of Ridgway led the ground game with 13 carries for 38 yards, while Sheffield’s Jesse Parsons added 10 totes for 32 yards. Cattaraugus-Little Valley’s Kyle Wittrock paced New York with 10 carries for 27 yards, while Ellicottville Central’s Donny Moore had 24 yards rushing and Portville Central’s Luke Hellwig 23 yards.
NOTES – The previous record for fewest first downs allowed was six set by the New York defense in 1980. The fewest pass completions prior to Saturday was set in 1995 by New York’s offense when it completed one pass for five yards … In addition to his two field goals, Johnson punted eight times for an average of 36.5 yards including a pair of 55-yard boots.