PINE GROVE — If Upper Dauphin has any hopes of getting back to the postseason, Friday was a must-win game.
Especially against a team that is struggling like Pine Grove. It wasn’t easy, but the Trojans got it done.
Quarterback Aaron Cleveland had a hand in all five Upper Dauphin touchdowns to help lead the Trojans to a 34-13 victory over the Cardinals in a Tri-Valley League contest Friday at Cardinal Stadium.
Upper Dauphin (3-3, 2-2 TVL) came into Friday ranked at No. 7 in the District 3 Class A power rankings in what will be a four-team field. Reaching districts might be the tougher road, so Upper Dauphin could find itself in the Eastern Conference playoffs for the second straight year.
“We felt we could come in and perform well,” Upper Dauphin coach Brent Bell said. “This was a game that was very important to us. We worked hard this week and I think it showed on the field.”
Cleveland, a senior, finished the night 6-of-10 passing for 141 yards and three touchdown passes. He hit Donny Gelnett on scoring strikes covering 31 yards in the first quarter and 53 in the third. Later in the third quarter, Cleveland hooked up with Colton Laudenslager for 32 yards for his third touchdown pass of the game.
Cleveland added 62 yards on the ground on 14 attempts. He scored the Trojans’ first touchdown of the game on an 11-yard scramble in the first quarter. Cleveland later went over from a yard out late in the first half to give the Trojans a 20-7 halftime lead.
Overall, Upper Dauphin finished the night with 274 yards of offense, 133 rushing and 141 passing.
“I think in general this year we’ve been able to be more balanced and mix it up,” Bell said. “Our game plan every week is to be balanced unless something is working that well we stick with it, but I just felt tonight we needed to keep that balance and mix it up a little.”
Defensively, the Trojans gave up two touchdowns to a team that had scored only one all season.
Upper Dauphin’s defense especially stepped up early in the second half. The Trojans held Pine Grove (0-6, 0-5) to minus-11 yards on the Cardinals’ first three possessions of the third quarter.
Friday was another loss for the young Cardinals on what’s been a tough season. Still, there were plenty of positives Friday.
After Millersburg held Pine Grove to minus-4 yards of offense last week, the Cardinals had one of their better games of the season, finishing with 212 yards.
The Cardinals also scored their first, first-half offensive touchdown of the season when, under heavy pressure, quarterback Jacob Leininger heaved a pass that was pulled in by Colin Knoll for a five-yard score with 8:43 left in the first half.
It pulled the Cardinals to within 14-7.
“We try to build on the positive things we see each game,” Pine Grove coach Jeff Sampson said. “It’s been a difficult year, no one is going to lie. We try to build on what we have and what we are doing positive.”
Austen Ney finished with 61 yards rushing for the Cardinals, while Leininger was 7-of-12 for 130 yards. Austin Luckenbill also had three receptions for 89 yards.
“I saw some emotion from the players tonight, which I told them here after the game has been lacking,” Sampson said. “That emotion needs to spread throughout the team and more than one series.”
Game Summary
UDA (3-3, 2-2) 14 6 14 0 — 34
PG (0-6, 0-5) 0 7 0 6 — 13
UD — Cleveland 11 run (Uhler kick)
UD — Gelnett 31 pass from Cleveland (Uhler kick)
PG — Knoll 5 pass from Leininger (Fidler kick)
UD — Cleveland 1 run (kick failed)
UD — Gelnett 53 pass from Cleveland (Uhler kick)
UD — Laudenslager 32 pass from Cleveland (Uhler kick)
PG — Luckenbill 27 pass from Leininger (kick blocked)
UDA PG
First Downs 12 13
Rushes-Yards 36-133 38-82
Passes 6-10-0 7-12-2
Passing Yards 141 130
Total Yards 274 212
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 5-0
Penalties 8-69 7-69
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Upper Dauphin — Cleveland 14-62, M. Wiest 12-60, Gelnett 2-7, T. Wiest 7-6, Hoffman 1-(-2). Pine Grove — Ney 23-61, Levan 3-33, Rittenbaugh 2-10, Leininger 10-(-22).
PASSING: Upper Dauphin — Cleveland 6-10-0, 141. Pine Grove — Leininger 7-12-2, 130.
RECEIVING: Upper Dauphin — Gelnett 3-90, Laudenslager 2-40, Rebuck 1-11. Pine Grove — Luckenbill 3-89, Rittenbaugh 2-22, Fidler 1-14, Knoll 1-5.
INTERCEPTIONS: Upper Dauphin — Barge 2.