SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — There’s a track on Schuylkill Haven’s warm-up disc that features head coach Mike Farr’s comments after the Hurricanes’ 2008 PIAA quarterfinal victory over Riverside.
“Great players make great plays when the time counts,” Farr says on the track.
Danny Lozada took those words to heart.
The Hurricanes’ junior quarterback and defensive back picked off a pass in overtime to set up Nick Kerschner’s 10-yard, game-winning run against Tamaqua on Friday for a 27-21 Anthracite Football League victory at Rotary Field.
It’s the second straight time the two sides went to overtime. Last season, the Blue Raiders won 26-23.
“That (track) was running through my head,” Lozada said. “I didn’t want the same outcome as last year. I was determined to change it.”
Lozada was the star of Friday’s game long before his interception. He ran for 96 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries and completed two passes for 79 yards and a score. His biggest weapon was a lethal option keeper that tore holes in the Tamaqua defense.
Early on, both defenses refused to budge. The Blue Raiders (1-3, 0-3) came close to scoring in the opening minutes of the second quarter, but a fumble in the end zone squashed their hopes of drawing first blood.
The game’s first points didn’t come until 3 minutes remained in the first half, when Lozada ran 18 yards up the middle on a draw play that gave Haven (3-1, 3-1 AFL) a 7-0 lead.
Tamaqua tied it on the first drive of the second half, capped by Bud Moyer’s 3-yard touchdown run.
But Lozada struck again. On the ensuing drive, he put together runs of 11 and 36 before connecting with Preston Gehring on a post route over the middle for a 47-yard passing touchdown, extending the Hurricanes’ lead to 14-7.
Tamaqua couldn’t capitalize on good field position when it got the ball back. Dylan Dannenfelser returned the kickoff to midfield, but the Raiders went three-and-out. They had the ball in Schuylkill Haven territory three times in the first half and had no points to show for it.
“We had a couple dropped passes, a couple missed opportunities, we didn’t score. And I’ve been saying this for the last few weeks,” Tamaqua coach Sam Bonner said. “We seem to be leaving a lot of plays on the field. Right now, we’re not an overly athletic team that makes big plays, so we can’t afford to make those mistakes.”
The Raiders finally caught back up to Haven on a five-minute drive in the fourth quarter. Sophomore quarterback Thad Zuber completed big passes to Daylon Barron and Zeke Wassell to set Tamaqua up at the Haven 19. Moyer took the next five handoffs and scored on a 1-yard push with 5:51 left. But the Hurricanes kept their lead when the PAT failed.
Gehring made that miss sting even more when he took the kickoff that followed 94 yards for a score, juking the kicker to get free and giving Schuylkill Haven a 21-13 lead.
Zuber again drove Tamaqua into Hurricanes territory with completions to Wassell and Eddie Titus to set up Moyer’s 39-yard touchdown run down the left side with 3:27 to play.
After two Haven penalties on the 2-point conversion attempt, Moyer finally leaned in to knot the game at 21.
In last season’s game, Schuylkill Haven won the overtime toss and decided to take the ball first. This time around, Farr knew what his choice had to be.
“You’ve gotta always play defense,” Farr said. “You have to. When you get the ball back, you know what you need to do.”
And they got the ball back sooner than expected. Tamaqua decided to throw the ball to start overtime instead of handing off to Moyer, who compiled 144 yards on 30 carries. The result was Lozada’s interception in the right corner of the end zone.
Likewise, instead of simply going to kicker Dawson Evitts for a game-winning field goal, Schuylkill Haven gambled by giving the ball to Kerschner, who rumbled up the middle and extended the ball over the goal line to secure the victory.
“I have a lot of faith in our field goal kickers,” Farr said. “There was no doubt in my mind that Dawson Evitts was making that to win the game. But Nick Kerschner came to me and said, ‘Give me the rock. I’m going to score.’
“That’s a huge win for our program right now,” Farr added. “That’s a lot of confidence that we needed to get. ... Our players made the plays they needed to make when the time counted.”
Game Summary
Tam (1-3, 0-3) 0 0 7 14 0 — 21
SH (3-1, 3-1) 0 7 7 7 6 — 27
SH — Lozada 18 run (Evitts kick)
Tam — Moyer 3 run (Devlin kick)
SH — Gehring 47 pass from Lozada (Evitts kick)
Tam — Moyer 1 run (kick failed)
SH — Gehring 94 kick return (Evitts kick)
Tam — Moyer 39 run (Moyer run)
SH — Kerschner 10 run (no attempt)
Tam SH
First Downs 14 9
Rushes-Yards 37-145 36-157
Passes 8-15-1 2-4-0
Passing Yards 82 79
Total Yards 227 236
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 3-2
Penalties 1-5 2-15
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Tamaqua— Moyer 30-144, Barron 1-4, Dannenfelser 2-4, Team 1-(-1), Zuber 3-(-6). Schuylkill Haven — Lozada 16-96, Kerschner 10-44, Gehring 8-15, Browne 2-2.
PASSING: Tamaqua — Zuber 8-15-1, 82. Schuylkill Haven — Lozada 2-4-0, 79.
RECEIVING: Tamaqua — Barron 3-39, Wassell 2-32, Titus 1-7, Dannenfelser 2-4. Schuylkill Haven — Gehring 1-47, Browne 1-32.
INTERCEPTIONS: Schuylkill Haven — Lozada.