CURWENSVILLE — The Curwensville football team was right in the game with ICC North Division co-leader Juniata Valley Friday night at Coach Andy Evanko Stadium, taking an 8-0 lead midway through the second quarter and trailing just 13-8 at the half.
But a Tide offense that piled up 186 yards on the ground in the first half got derailed after the break and the Hornets scored the lone touchdown in the third quarter and added another in the fourth to pull away for a 27-14 victory.
Tide senior running back Sammy Gustafson led the Curwensville ground attack with 171 yards and a TD on 23 carries. He picked up 133 of those in the first half. Unfortunately for the Tide, Gustafson’s backfield mate Reed Hawkins was hurt in the first quarter and ended the game with just two runs for 14 yards. Hawkins was able to return and play defense, but did not have another carry after his injury.
Curwensville struggled to get the rushing attack on track in the second half, gaining just 15 yards on 14 carries over its first three possessions after the break.
“We came out and were really able to move the ball in first half,” Curwensville head coach Brad Sopic said. “When Reed got hurt it changed the dynamic of what we were doing, and they made some adjustments in the second half that gave us trouble. Reed really gutted it out to come back in the game.”
After a scoreless first quarter, Gustafson got the Tide on the board with a 2-yard burst with just 5:28 left to play in the first half. Caleb Hendershot ran in the 2-point conversion after the Hornets jumped offside on the initial PAT attempt, staking the Tide to an 8-0 lead.
But Juniata Valley had a swift answer following the Gustafson score, needing just three plays to move from its 30 to the Tide end zone with quarterback Jett Rand getting loose for a 47-yard scamper at 4:44 of the second quarter. The 2-point conversion failed, keeping the Tide in front 8-6.
Curwensville got to the Hornet 44 on the ensuing drive that started at its 40, getting a 15-yard burst from Gustafson to move the chains.
But Tide QB Dante Lezzer was picked off by Konner Harker on third down, and the Hornets marched 58 yards in seven plays to take a 13-8 lead with 1:21 to play in the half.
Rand connected with Gavin Smith for a 24-yard gain early in the possession and found Andrew Clark in the flat on the final play of the drive. Clark took it in from 20 yards out on the TD reception to give the Hornets the lead, which they never relinquished.
Thanks to the final two first half drives, as well as one earlier in the half that ended with Rand throwing an interception to Colby Proud in the end zone, Juniata Valley outgained the Tide 251-198 heading to the locker room.
Juniata Valley scored on its first series of the second half, traveling 50 yards in 11 plays after a 23-yard punt return set it up at midfield.
Rand was 3-of-3 for 25 yards on the drive, and Clark carried the ball seven times for 30 yards, including an 11-yard jaunt to the end zone with 4:46 left in the third quarter that made the score 20-8.
Clark finished the night with 114 yards on 24 carries.
Juniata Valley put the exclamation point on the game with a 14-yard Rand to Anthony Neri TD pass with 2:43 to play, giving the Hornets a 27-8 lead. Rand completed 11 of his 23 pass attempts for 183 yards and two scores.
Elah Glenny led the Hornets in receptions (4) and receiving yards (79).
Curwensville put together one final drive, covering 77 yards in seven plays.
Lincoln Hoyt busted off a 44-yard run to get the Tide into the Red Zone, and Lezzer capped the drive with a 1-yard sneak with seven seconds remaining to set the final.
Curwensville ended up with 282 yards on the ground. Hoyt picked up 51 on 10 carries. Hendershot gained 43 yards on 12 runs as he saw his role expand in the backfield.
Juniata Valley totaled 377 yards of offense and had 18 first downs to the Tide’s 14.
“The kids played hard all game,” Sopic said. “In the second half we had to ask kids to play positions they hadn’t practiced all week, but they stepped up and played. Again we were right there against a good team but couldn’t quite pull it out. We’ll keep working, make adjustments and get ready to go next week.”
The Hornets improved to 6-2, while the Tide slipped to 2-6.
Curwensville hosts Glendale in Week 9 in its final home game of the season.
Juniata Valley hosts Southern Huntingdon.
JUNIATA VALLEY 27
CURWENSVILLE 14
Score by Quarters
Juniata Valley;0;13;7;7;—;27
Curwensville;0;8;0;6;—;14
Second Quarter
CU—Sammy Gustafson 2 run, (Caleb Hendershot run), 5:28.
JV—Jett Rand 47 run, (pass failed), 4:44.
JV—Andrew Clark 20 pass from Rand, (Nate Rodkey kick), 1:21.
Third Quarter
JV—Clark 11 run, (Rodkey kick), 4:46.
Fourth Quarter
JV—Anthony Neri 14 pass from Rand, (Rodkey kick), 2:43.
C—Dante Lezzer 1 run, (kick failed), 0:07.
___
;JV;CU
First downs;18;14
Rushes-yards;35-194;50-282
Comp-Att-Int;11-23-1;4-7-1
Passing Yards;183;14
Total Plays-Yards;58-377;57-296
Fumbles-Lost;1-0;2-1
Punts;2-31.5;3-31.0
Penalties-Yards;3-19;1-5
___
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
Juniata Valley—Andrew Clark 24-114, Jett Rand 5-61, Konner Harker 4-16, Trenton Norris 1-4, Team 1-(-1).
Curwensville—Sammy Gustafson 23-171, Lincoln Hoyt 10-51, Caleb Hendershot 12-43, Reed Hawkins 2-14, Dante Lezzer 3-(-1).
PASSING
Juniata Valley—Jett Rand 11-of-23, 183 yds., 2 TD, 1 Int.
Curwensville—Lincoln Hoyt 1-of-1, 9 yds., Dante Lezzer 3-of-6, 5 yds., 1 Int.
RECEIVING
Juniata Valley—Elah Glenny 4-79, Anthony Neri 3-48, Gavin Smith 2-19, Andrew Clark 1-20, Trenton Norris 1-7.
Curwensville—Lincoln Hoyt 3-5, Reed Hawkins 1-9.
INTERCEPTIONS
Juniata Valley—Konner Harker.
Curwensville—Colby Proud.
