State College ends Mifflin County’s inspirational season

By Kenny Varner Jr.
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Updated: November 4, 2018

By BRIAN CARSON

STATE COLLEGE – The State College football team is ranked seventh in the state for a reason. With talent and speed all over the field, the Little Lions are a matchup nightmare for most schools.

Speed kills in all sports and State College used it for all its worth in a 42-7 win over Mifflin County to capture its fifth consecutive District 6 Class 6A title Friday night at Memorial Field.

The season ends where it began for the Huskies, who saw their six-game winning streak snapped. Mifflin County lost in the season opener to State High by a 35-12 score and end the season with a 6-5 mark.

“We have a really good football team. We really do,” Sechler said. “They have an elite team and that’s what we are trying to get to.”

State College (10-1) moves on to face District 10 champion Erie McDowell in a state play-in game at a date and site to be determined. This is the fifth district title for coach Matt Lintal in six years at the helm of the Little Lions.

“These kids are brought into the process, they trust the process and know that it works,” Lintal said. “It took us a while to get going. Credit to Mifflin County. They came ready to play.”

Sophomore tailback Dresyn Green ran for 196 yards and a score to lead the Little Lion attack. Quarterback Tommy Friburg threw for three touchdowns and Penn State-bound Keaton Ellis had two touchdown receptions.

Mifflin County hung with the Little Lions for a quarter and a half before the floodgates opened. State College seized the momentum with 21 second-quarter points to take a commanding 28-0 lead.

“It’s very frustrating. We were able to move the ball around pretty well, we just couldn’t capitalize on things,” Sechler said.

The Little Lions opened the scoring on a 10-yard strike from Friberg to Ellis with 2:45 left in the first quarter for the 7-0 lead.

Ellis made a beautiful one-handed grab in the back of the end zone for a seven-yard touchdown to make it 14-0 with 10:16 to go in the half. After a failed fourth-down try by the Huskies, State College made it 21-0 when Friberg connected with Cohen Russell for the 15-yard TD reception at 8:23 mark of the second

Isaiah Edwards ran it in from 20 yards out to make it 28-0 with just over five minutes left in the half. Edwards finished the game with 92 yards rushing on only nine carries.

Mifflin County finally got on the scoreboard late in the second quarter when Gage Schaeffer took it in from the 7 to make it 28-7 with 1:41 left in the first half. The Husky sophomore had 85 yards to lead the Mifflin County offense. Nathan Poche added 68 yards on 13 carries for the Huskies.

State College salted the game with two touchdowns in the second half – the first on a 31-yard run by Green and the other on a three-yard TD run by Edwards, his second of the game.

“Our guys never give up,” Sechler said. “That’s one thing we learned about them this year. We have a lot of heart, we don’t quit, we keep fighting and we’re going to use that going forward.”