ORWIGSBURG — Senior defensive back Adam Hull opened the scoring on a 38-yard fumble return, sophomore linebacker Mike Kalyan capped the scoring on a 62-yard interception and in the overall scheme of things those two touchdowns were the difference for Blue Mountain in a 35-21 Eastern Football Conference Class AAA semifinal victory Friday over visiting Wilkes-Barre Coughlin at the Eagles’ Nest.
This was a game of missed opportunities for both teams, but it was their imperfections, combined with a driving will to win, that made this first meeting between the schools so memorable and downright exciting.
While the season ends for the Crusaders (6-5), the Eagles (9-2) will be back home next Friday at 7 p.m. to take on Fleetwood, a 57-27 winner over Honesdale, for the EC championship.
“When you get two defensive touchdowns, that’s pretty good,” Blue Mountain coach Cory Mabry said. “Those were the two biggest plays we made, but there were a lot of plays we didn’t make, and we made it tough on ourselves with five turnovers.”
Blue Mountain lost five of its six fumbles, including 2-of-3 in the third quarter and another in the fourth as the Crusaders scored a pair of touchdowns to cut their deficit to 28-21.
Quarterback Jacob Soller capped a 10-play, 50-yard drive with 1:27 left in the third quarter to make it 28-14, and Tyler Layton scored on a 3-yard run with 3:23 left to cap a six-play, 59-yard drive to make it 28-21.
Layton finished with a game-high 80 yards on 24 carries, giving him 1,031 yards rushing for the season in 10 games, but the Crusaders had to rely on the passing game when they got the ball back with 2:18 left at their 26.
An 11-yard completion to Layton and a 21-yard scramble by Soller, who had 15 carries for 73 yards, moved the ball to the 42, but on second-and-10, Kalyan intercepted an underthrown pass and scored the clinching touchdown.
This was expected to be a matchup of two solid running attacks, but the Crusaders went with the passing game more than expected. That strategy helped the Eagles build a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter when quarterback Sean Greenawalt scored on a 1-yard run, capping a four-play, 40-yard drive after an interception by linebacker Troy Moyer.
Hull scored on the fumble return on the game’s opening series, and that was the first of five turnovers for the Crusaders. Later in the quarter the Eagles also benefited from a high snap that sailed over Soller, but had a touchdown nullified by a holding penalty and failed to score.
“They were doing a good job of taking away our perimeter speed, so we thought the pass was there and wanted to take advantage of some things they were giving us,” Coughlin coach Ciro Cinti said. “Their defense did a good job of pursuit.”
Coughlin cut the lead to 14-7 with an 11-play, 80-yard drive that spanned the first and second quarters, converting a fourth-and-10 on a 21-yard option pass from Tom Mitchell to Nick Zalaffi. Late in the quarter the Eagles regained their two-touchdown lead when Will Horn scored on a 1-yard run to cap a six-play, 47-yard drive that was set up by a 9-yard punt into the wind.
Greenawalt made the score 28-7 on the opening drive of the second half, which was highlighted by a 17-yard run by Lucas Forbes on a fourth-and-4 fake punt. Shortly after Greenawalt’s touchdown, he left the game with an injury, which aided the Crusaders in their comeback.
“We don’t think it’s serious,” Mabry said. “We just didn’t want to take any chances.”
Game Summary
Eastern Conference Class AAA Semifinal
Coughlin (6-5) 0 7 7 7 — 21 Blue Mtn. (9-2) 14 7 7 7 — 35
BM —Hull 38 fumble return (Puzzi kick)
BM —Greenawalt 1 run (Puzzi kick)
C —Zalaffi 21 pass from Mitchell (Butry kick)
BM —Horn 1 run (Puzzi kick)
BM —Greenawalt 1 run (Puzzi kick)
C — Soller 2 run (Butry kick)
C —Layton 3 run (Butry kick)
BM —Mi. Kalyan 62 interception return (Puzzi kick)
Cou BM
First Downs 17 11
Rushes-Yards 46-172 39-189
Passes 11-28-3 3-8-0
Passing Yards 137 32
Total Yards 309 221
Fumbles-Lost 2-2 6-5
Penalties 9-35 5-43
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Coughlin — Layton 24-80, Soller 15-73, Mitchell 6-40, Team 1-(-21). Blue Mountain — Greenawalt 8-61, Horn 11-41, Forbes 3-33, Gosch 10-31, Roberts 7-23.
PASSING: Coughlin — Soller 10-27-3, 116; Mitchell 1-1-0, 21. Blue Mountain — Greenawalt 3-8-0, 32.
RECEIVING: Coughlin — Zalaffi 4-61, Layton 4-45, Hvozdovic 1-16, Brown 1-9, Miraglia 1-6. Blue Mountain — Hull 1-15, Martin 1-12, Forbes 1-5.
INTERCEPTIONS: Blue Mountain — Moyer, Mi. Kalyan, Donovan.