CHAMBERSBURG — Chambersburg kept it close for more than a half Friday night, but State College broke through with a 19-point advantage in the second half.
That led to a 29-7 victory for the Little Lions in a Mid Penn Commonwealth football victory at Trojan Stadium.
Evan Brown
“We played with a lot of fight, and we’re not giving up,” Chambersburg coach Mark Luther said. “But to win football games, you have to find a way to make plays and we didn’t do enough of that. We got to third down and we can’t convert for a first down, but we get them third-and-long and they find a way. We can’t seem to make anything happen.”
Imari Watson returned the opening kickoff 54 yards to the Little Lion 40, but the Trojans (1-4, 0-4 MPC) stalled there.
The Chambersburg defense held State College (4-1, 3-1 MPC) to only a field goal in the first quarter and had a chance to tie it with a Trever Luther field goal. The first kick was good, but the Trojans were called for a penalty for the line interlocking their feet. The second try was then blocked.
After State College went up 10-0, Chambersburg mounted a drive that was helped by several Little Lion penalties. Eventually, after a pass interference call in the end zone, quarterback Ceagan Truett scored from the 1 to make it 10-7.
“It was nice we were able to get that touchdown there,” Luther said. “So it was only 10-7 at the half.”
State College scored on its first possession of the second half on a run by Lamar Wilson, and added another TD later on a pass from Kellen Williams to Ty Salazer. Williams hit Michael Gaul for a TD pass to end the scoring.
Truett had a decent game, connecting on 15 of 23 passes for 139 yards, with Jason Chambers (4-50), Evan Brown (4-38) and Trever Luther (3-36) leading the way. But the Little Lion defense held the rushing attack to just 4 yards net.
Coach Luther said, “Offensively, we missed too many blocks. Defensively, we missed too many tackles.
“I told the team we just got through the tougher part of the schedule, with four hard games in a row (2 unbeaten teams, 3 that are ranked in the state). We’re at the halfway point of the season and we have to find a way to win some games.”
NOTES: Watson returned 3 kicks for 107 yards … On defense, Stanley Lozius was in on 15 tackles and Dylan Panfili made 7 … Harrison Benedict and Brady Rosenberry made 8 tackles each … State College was penalized numerous times for unsportsmanlike conduct and had a player ejected from the game … The Trojans host Cedar Cliff on Friday for Homecoming.
State College 29, Chambersburg 7
State College 3 7 13 6 — 29
Chambersburg 0 7 0 0 — 7
First Quarter
SC — Shane Markowski 28 field goal
Second Quarter
SC — Cooper Brushwood 1 run (Markowski kick)
CH — Ceagan Truett 1 run (Trever Luther kick)
Third Quarter
SC — Lamar Wilson 6 run (pass failed)
SC — Ty Salazer 10 pass from Kellen Williams (kick failed)
Fourth Quarter
SC — Michael Gaul 4 pass from Williams (pass failed)
Individual Statistics
Rushing — Chbg, Antonio Harrison 11-22, Imari Watson 5-(-2), Truett 11-(-16).
Passing — Chbg, Truett 15-23-139.
Receiving — Chbg, Jason Chambers 4-50, Evan Brown 4-38, Trever Luther 3-36, Brycen Murray 3-15, Watson 1-0.