CURWENSVILLE-Those at Coach Andy Evanko Stadium got treated to an instant classic on Friday night. The Curwensville Golden Tide welcomed in the Conemaugh Valley Blue Jays, and for a majority of the game it looked like the visitors were going to be dominating the night. The Blue Jays, in fact, truly pounded the Tide defense on the ground as they would rush the ball all but one time on the night.
However, the Tide roared back, battling hard to tie the game as time expired, showing that their night in camouflage meant they were ready for battle. Alas, the Tide’s bid for a comeback ultimately fell short in a 28-27 heartbreaker in overtime.
Curwensville struggled with the ball all night, leading to several turnovers. It allowed the Blue Jays to get out to an early advantage with Tommy Stiffler giving the visitors a 12-0 lead early in the second quarter. By the third quarter, Conemaugh Valley increased the lead to 20-7, having gotten another rushing score by Elio Darr, who led the team with 136 yards rushing.
But, the Golden Tide would not go quietly, and would roar back in a big way.
Curwensville quarterback Danny McGarry found his footing, and began hitting his receivers. First, connecting with Nik Fegert with just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter, and Fegert connecting on the extra point to cut the lead to a touchdown.
It would be the fourth quarter when the Tide made their biggest stand of the night. A pair of key stops by the defense gave Curwensville the ball with just over 20 seconds left in the game, but working downhill as the final drive started at the Blue Jay 43. After getting to the Blue Jay 24, a pair of incomplete passes left a 3rd-and-10 at the 19, with literally no more time to do anything. As the clock struck all zeroes, McGarry scrambled and found a lapse in the Conemaugh coverage.
He found a wide-open Hunter Tkacik for the go-ahead touchdown, with only an extra point away from victory.
The Blue Jays iced Fegert before the attempt, which seemed to do some good, as the ensuing snap went high, messing up the timing. The kick would fall under the crossbar, and instead of celebrating a win, the Tide went to the sidelines to prepare for a little extra football with a 20-20 tie at the end of regulation.
Curwensville won the toss, and with so much momentum, elected to go on offense. They wasted no time as McGarry connected to Chase Irwin for a 10-yard strike, his third touchdown pass on the night where he threw for 136 yards, going 11-for-22. Fegert connected on the extra point to put the Tide in the lead for the first time all night, but now had to stop the imposing Blue Jay offense one more time.
The visiting offense pushed to the 5-yard line, and then quarterback Adam Jasper elected to take care of business himself, plunging in for the score to bring the Blue Jays within tying the game once again. However, the Blue Jays only attempted one extra point all night long, and rather than go for the tie, they decided to end the game by either glory or defeat, as they lined up for the two-point conversion.
Conemaugh Valley, as stated earlier, only passed one time on the night. Despite that, a two-point conversion attempt does not fall on the stat line. Curwensville lined up to play the run, and instead Jasper pulled a fake as he would toss the ball to Noah Hendershot in the end zone for the successful try, handing the Tide a heartbreaking loss in their final home game of the year.
Curwensville fell to 3-5 on the year, and will try to rebound next Friday on the road against Mount Union.