Playing for Pride; Both Sides Show
Kearney; 25 OCT 2024| An overcast fall skyline hovered over Coach Andy Evanko Field, as Curwensville Football celebrated their seniors coming into the contest, for their second out-of-conference test of the year, and their first such at home. Visiting was Tussey Mountain who, themselves, had a less than pretty season coming in at a 3-6 record while Curwensville had compiled a less than stellar 2-7 mark, but at home for the first time since October 5th.
Tussey Mountain, would walk away with a 23-14 victory on the road, after a strong second half, not allowing a score against a Curwensville team that has struggled in that half of action this season. Curwensville came out swinging, drawing first blood as junior Sammy Gustafson would block a Tussey Mountain punt, setting his offense up at the Titans’ 7 yard line for their first offensive possession. Senior Tyler Dunn would make good on the field position, throwing an 8 yard touchdown to fellow senior Hunter Tkacik to scoop up an early lead.
After a long completion, the Titans would ram the ball home for an early second quarter touchdown rush by QB Landon Myers, and a complementary 2-point conversion caught by junior Isaiah Gambol to take an 8-7 lead. Curwensville wouldn’t waste time answering back, where Tyler Dunn would throw a second touchdown pass of the night, a 52 yard completion to Cael Butler to reclaim a slim lead after an Everett Addleman kick.
Curwensville had the ball to start the half, with a chance to go up multiple scores, Lincoln Hoyt would haul in a pass down to the Titans’ 21 yard line, but would stall out and set the Titans up with possession. Set up by a bursting Gavin Hall rush, Landon Myers would cruise home with a 26 yard touchdown run to tie the game at 14, the PAT would soar through and the Titans suddenly held a 1-point lead in the waning moments of the third quarter. Early in the fourth frame, Landon Myers would find the end zone on the ground for a third time in the contest, completing the 2-point conversion with his feet to round out the scoring for the game.
Down two scores, the Golden Tide would not be able to recover the points they needed for a gutsy comeback- the flare would instead be reserved for the defenses in the final minutes of the game. Curwensville Senior Andrew Pentz took home two interceptions, one in the first quarter and one in the fourth, rounding out a solid night on defense for the Tide. Tussey Mountain would also force a fourth quarter turnover, as Sophomore Jax Garner put a halt to a mounting Curwensville drive late in the game, holding them off of the board at a critical point in the game. After forcing a turnover on downs, Tussey Mountain would take possession in the dying moments of the fourth quarter and would run the clock out, capping off a 23-14 victory.
One Autumn Ends, Questions Ahead
Tussey Mountain took the game to Curwensville in the second half, with a solid game on the ground as they would cap off what was initially a poor season with a three game win streak, two of which were on the road. The Titans started 1-1 on the year with two out-of-conference battles, both of which were at home, but would then drop five straight including painful blowout losses to Windber, North Star and Northern Bedford County; they’d be held to single digits three times in that span as well. Faced with that, they would hit the 20 point mark in all of their final three contests, after beating Clear Spring 20-13 last week and salvaging a 4-6 season, an impressive showing of life to end a sour start to their year.
For the Golden Tide, it was a uniquely brutal way to punctuate another in a stretch of rough seasons for them. To start the year being outscored 127-13 in their first three contests, they roared back to win two of their following three; a blowout win over Southern Huntingdon, a gutsy effort in a close one visiting Claysburg-Kimmel, and a convincing win over West Branch to pull themselves back to 2-4. From there, they would unfortunately struggle generating much of anything, dropping all of their final four contests including a tough loss in Juniata Valley and a close loss to Glendale the very next week.
After a long and hard season of football, one that often wasn’t kind to them, the Golden Tide are a team that could be counted on to play their hearts out all year long. Among their boys are seven seniors; running back and linebacker Andrew Pentz, wide receiver Hunter Tkacik, quarterback Tyler Dunn, kicker Everett Addleman, defensive lineman Gavin Straw, offensive lineman Matt Shaw, and wide receiver and defensive back Connor Luzier. Each of these young men have played terrific football in their years at Curwensville, and on behalf of Gant Daily, it’s an honor to wish them each and all the best in the rest of their high school days, and certainly beyond as well.