The Vikings and Tide Trade Blows
Kearney; 18 OCT 2024| The Golden Tide were on the road for a second straight week, hosted by the Glendale Vikings in what will be their final home game of the year, and they played up to the occasion in a big way. Glendale held tight in a bold win over West Branch last week, and they would be tested again by Curwensville, as after surging to a 14 point first half lead.
The Tide would put themselves back in the game, putting fourteen points on the board in just five minutes of game time. Glendale would not be silenced however, when faced with a 4th down early in the fourth quarter, within striking distance, they would gain the first down marker, and finish it off with a second touchdown for Senior running back Jimmy Sutton, propping up a 21-14 victory for Glendale, and another in a frustrating string of defeats for the Golden Tide.
The two defenses reigned for the better part of the contest; out of the five touchdowns scored, two of them were set up by stand-up defense. A first quarter interception by Cameron Dreibelbis would be returned 31 yards for a touchdown, which opened the scoring right out of the gate, and was supported by an onside kick recovery.
The defenses held firm all game, as the pair of teams would trade turnovers throughout the first half, playing much safer football in the second quarter resulting in just three changes in possession all quarter. The name of the game was the rushing attack, long drives held back by physical, angry rushing defenses ate the large majority of the first half, in a game that ticked away fairly quickly, but surely felt like an eternity on both front seven units.
The low-scoring profile of this game was nothing shy of the expectation, as Curwensville has averaged just shy of 16 points per game, to Glendale’s 21, aligning closely with the type of game it wound up to be. Glendale has proven to be the better second half team offensively, and while they got outscored 14-7 in that frame, they held Curwensville off of the board in the fourth quarter where the Glendale offense has been at its best and, largely, Curwensville’s has been at its worst.
Glendale’s put-away drive took 60 well-earned yards, and one called back touchdown from QB Logan Skebeck, and was the pace-setter for the remainder of the contest. Curwensville had the majority of possession, starting at their own 22 yard line, they would turn it over on downs at the Glendale 22 after possessing the ball for 7 minutes, unable to tie it up. The Vikings would run out the clock at their own discretion from the 4 minute mark, right down to the final seconds, as they would protect the 21-14 mark for their fourth home victory of the year.
Opposite Trajectories; Looking Back and Ahead
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Glendale turned around a tough middle stretch, where they lost three of four contests, two of those losses on the road, now having taken two straight and looking to finish off strong on Friday, October 25th. They now sit at 6-3, having clinched their first winning season since 2012-13, going into their season closer where they will visit Northern Bedford County, looking to snag a seventh win, which would secure them their best record since all the way back in 2006, when they went 8-3.
After tonight’s tough defeat, Curwensville has now dropped four of their last five, including their only home game in that stretch to Moshannon Valley. They’ll be back home next week on October 25th for their home closer, as the Tussey Mountain Titans come together having struggled in their own right to this point in the year. The two inter-conference programs will butt heads, each seeking to end a rough season on a higher note than it started on—the Titans endured a 5-game losing streak, while Curwensville has weathered separate 3-game skids.