HEGINS — Since he was a freshman, Chase Schaeffer and his Tri-Valley teammates have been taught by their coaches to never quit.
Schaeffer and the Dawgs could have folded a pair of times in Friday’s Tri-Valley League showdown with Juniata at Bulldog Stadium.
Their resiliency and determination, however, paid off in a dramatic victory in front of a large Homecoming crowd.
Schaeffer scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns and plunged in for the game-winning two-point conversion with 25 seconds left as Tri-Valley rallied to upend Juniata 29-27.
The Dawgs (5-1, 4-0 TVL) capitalized on a strange series of plays to score 23 points in the fourth quarter and remain unbeaten in league play.
“We were raised all through our freshman, sophomore and junior years never to quit,” said Schaeffer, a senior wingback. “Our freshman year, we had 18 kids on the team. But we never stopped fighting.
“We’ve been taught by our coaches to never stop fighting. It showed tonight.”
Schaeffer’s heroics capped a wild, back-and-forth fourth quarter.
Juniata (4-2, 3-2) appeared in control after Chantz Swartz scored the third of his four touchdowns on a 35-yard sweep four plays into the fourth quarter. Noah Burns’ conversion kick gave the Indians a 21-6 lead with 10:23 remaining.
Swartz had scored on a 93-yard run in the second quarter and raced to the end zone with a 65-yard screen pass in the third quarter. He finished with 202 yards rushing on 15 carries and 94 yards receiving on five receptions.
Tri-Valley answered with a nine-play, 79-yard drive that was capped by a 4-yard pass from Jaden Buchanan to Ashton Buchanan. A pass interference penalty on a third-and-4 play kept the drive alive, and a 46-yard pass from Jaden Buchanan to Dawson Schwalm set up the touchdown.
After the conversion kick, the Dawgs trailed 21-13 with 7:40 left.
On the ensuing kickoff, Juniata’s Zac Piper caught the ball at the 1-yard line, slipped and fell. The Dawgs stuffed three straight running plays, forcing a Juniata punt.
Kicking into a stiff wind, Patrick O’Donell’s punt went straight up into the air. It landed at the 12-yard line and rolled back into the end zone, with Juniata covering it for a safety.
Tri-Valley’s Hunter Herb came within inches of falling on it for a touchdown.
“Thank God we finally got a break,” Tri-Valley coach Mike Ulicny said. “I’m kind of a pessimist, that something is going to go wrong. For most of the game, things were going wrong. We finally got a break and we took advantage of it.”
The safety fired up the Dawgs, who took the free kick and went 43 yards in four plays. Schaeffer had a 13-yard run to open the drive, then ended it with a 6-yard run with 3:27 left.
Jaden Buchanan connected on a 27-yard pass to Tyler Lucas on the drive, then scrambled for 11 yards.
After a rough third quarter in which Tri-Valley gained just 25 yards on three possessions, Jaden Buchanan completed 9-of-13 passes in the second half for 153 of his 185 passing yards. Lucas finished with six receptions for 112 yards.
“Our seniors came through for us,” Ulicny said. “Chase, Tyler; Jaden started throwing the ball well; our line gave him time.”
Colby Harner’s conversion kick, however, was blocked, leaving the score tied. Juniata capitalized, needing just six plays to regain the lead.
Swartz’s 9-yard TD run with 1:07 made it 27-21, but Tri-Valley blocked the extra point.
Instead of folding, the Dawgs rose to the occasion.
Four straight Jaden Buchanan completions, including 25-, 6- and 22-yard passes to Lucas, put the ball at the 2 with 28 seconds left.
Schaeffer dove in from there to tie it. After Juniata was offsides on the conversion kick, Tri-Valley elected to go for two and Schaeffer plunged in to win it.
“I told coach I wanted the ball in my hands in big situations,” Schaeffer said. “It’s my senior year, it was Homecoming. I just wanted to get the win tonight.
“This is the biggest win. It was our Homecoming, support the fans that come out and support us.”
Juniata still had 19 seconds to mount a comeback, but Dan Opozda sacked Indians quarterback Tyler Clark on the second play and forced a fumble that Bryon Rusinko recovered.
The win keeps Tri-Valley tied with Newport atop the TVL standings.
“This is a good win for our guys. A big win for our program,” Ulicny said. “When they scored (to make it 27-21), because our guys had scored prior to that, they had confidence that we were going to go right down the field and score.
“It keeps us in the Tri-Valley race. It gives us confidence that we can play with good teams.”
Game Summary
Jun (4-2, 3-2) 0 7 7 13 — 27
TV (5-1, 4-0) 0 6 0 23 — 29
Jun — Swartz 93 run (P. O’Donell kick)
TV — D. Schwalm 1 run (run failed)
Jun — Swartz 65 pass from Clark (Burns kick)
Jun — Swartz 35 run (Burns kick)
TV — A. Buchanan 4 pass from J. Buchanan (Harner kick)
TV — Safety, punt downed in end zone
TV — C. Schaeffer 2 run (kick blocked)
Jun — Swartz 9 run (kick blocked)
TV — C. Schaeffer 2 run (C. Schaeffer run)
Jun TV
First Downs 16 17
Rushes-Yards 33-260 38-134
Passes 8-10-0 11-20-0
Passing Yards 121 185
Total Yards 381 319
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties 9-72 5-30
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Juniata — Swartz 15-202, Page 7-48, Hart 7-41, Clark 4-(-31). Tri-Valley — D. Schwalm 17-67, J. Buchanan 14-41, C. Schaeffer 7-16.
PASSING: Juniata — Clark 8-10-0, 121. Tri-Valley — J. Buchanan 11-20-0, 185.
RECEIVING: Juniata — Swartz 5-94, Zendt 2-25, Page 1-2. Tri-Valley — T. Lucas 6-112, D. Schwalm 2-52, C. Schaeffer 1-12, A. Buchanan 2-9.
INTERCEPTIONS: None