CURWENSVILLE — The hard luck Curwensville Golden Tide football team outgained the Juniata Valley Green Hornets and didn’t allow the visitors an offensive score over the last 30 minutes of Friday night’s game at Andy Evanko Stadium, but still fell ended up on the losing side of a 35-21 final score.
With the loss, the Tide dropped to 1-7 on the season while the Green Hornets upped their mark to 6-2.
Things didn’t start off well for the hosts as the visitors scored with only a minute running off of the game clock. Bryce Weirich connected on a 50-yard scoring strike to Luke Uplinger off of an option pass. The PAT was missed, giving the Green Hornets an early 6-0 lead.
That score remained until over halfway through the second quarter, when Hornet quarterback Uplinger scored his second touchdown of the game, this one being a one yard run. The 2-point conversion made it 14-0 with five minutes remaining in the half.
That’s when momentum swung clearly in the Tide’s favor for the next 20 minutes or so of game time.
Once getting the ball back after the Green Hornet score, Tide quarterback Tyler Dunn hooked up with receiver Cael Butler on a 74-yard scoring strike. Everett Addleman’s point after cut the lead in half at 14-7.
However, the Tide was not finished with their first half comeback as Sammy Gustafson scored with under a minute to play on a 25-yard run. Addleman’s second PAT of the half knotted the score at 14 at the break.
The Tide rolled to their 21st consecutive point early in the third quarter when Dunn threw his second TD pass of the game, this one to Braden Holland covering 17 yards. Addleman was true once again, giving the Tide a 21-14 lead that held up through the entire stanza.
The final quarter was when things went south for the Tide. The 21-0 run that the Tide had managed through the last quarter and a half was answered by a 21-0 Green Hornet run of their own. None of it against the Tide defense.
Two minutes into the final quarter, Weirich stepped in front of a Dunn pass and returned it 30 yards for a “pick 6”. The successful 2-point conversion gave the visitors the lead back at 22-21.
Halfway through the quarter, Adrian Prough returned a Tide punt 65 yards for a score. The PAT gave the Hornets an 8-point lead at 29-21, still leaving the Tide with the hopes of a tie and overtime.
Unfortunately for the Tide, Prough iced the game with yet another punt return for a touchdown, this one covering 35 yards, giving the visitors an insurmountable two score lead with only a few minutes remaining in the game.
Gustafson led the Tide ground game with 65 yards. Holland had 98 yards of total offense with 52 on the ground and another 46 through the air. Dunn completed 10 passes for 195 yards, 105 of which went to Butler.
The Tide return home one last time for the 2023 season next Friday night when they host the Glendale Vikings, 2-6 on the season after their identical 35-21 loss Friday night to the West Branch Warriors.
Juniata Valley 6 8 0 21 35
Curwensville 0 14 7 0 21
GOLDEN TIDE SCOREBOARD:
Date Opponent Score Record
08/25 @ Meyersdale 20 – 39 0 – 1
09/01 WINDBER 7 – 42 0 – 2
09/08 @ Mt. Union 15 – 36 0 – 3
09/15 @ Southern Huntingdon 54 – 13 1 – 3
09/22 CLAYSBURG KIMMEL 20 – 55 1 – 4
09/30 WEST BRANCH 14 – 43 1 – 5
10/06 @ Mo Valley 7 – 34 1 – 6
10/13 JUNIATA VALLEY 21 – 35 1 – 7
10/20 GLENDALE
10/27 @ Tussey Mountain