Tussey improves to 7-1 by Ty R. States

SAXTON — The disparity in records between Tussey Mountain and Glendale didn’t matter in the early going Friday night.

The Vikings led 6-0 after the first quarter, but the Titans’ defense shut down their opponents, and five rushing touchdowns sent them to a 35-6 win on senior night.

The Titans (7-1) couldn’t find any success throwing the ball. So they ran for 264 yards. Cole Weist led the way with 171 yards and two scores.

Glendale (1-7) could find nothing on the ground and very little in the air. Tussey Mountain closed down the running game, hitting the Vikings for minus-12 yards rushing.

Jacob Jasper ended with negative-53 yards on 15 carries. He was 7-of-8 passing for 111 yards, one score and two interceptions.

“Tussey Mountain played a nice game defensively,” Glendale coach Richard Braniff said. “We didn’t get the play out of our offensive line that we wanted. We tried to make adjustments, but nothing was working.”

It was rough going in the first quarter for both teams. Each squad turned the ball over twice.

Lineman Kyle Jasper grabbed a Matt Leonard pass at the Titans’ 19. Tussey Mountain responded when Nicholas Brumbaugh recovered a fumble by Jacob Jasper.

The teams traded turnovers again. Leonard was picked off by Jacob Jasper, but Brumbaugh recovered another fumble at the Glendale 35.

Tussey Mountain’s Havard Straumsheim missed a 27-yard field goal on the ensuing possession.

The Vikings scored with 1:21 left in the first period on a 63-yard pass from Jacob Jasper to Josh Potutschnig. Chad Morningstar blocked the point after.

“We weren’t focused when we came out,” Tussey Mountain coach Anthony Sottasante said. “We did what we had to do to win.”

In the second quarter, the Titans punted and Jacob Jasper fumbled. Jarred Sipes made the recovery for the Titans.

Weist scored on a 3-yard run to put Tussey up 7-6.

Damon Clark and Damon Lemin had sacks for the Titans on Glendale’s next possession. Tussey Mountain got the ball back on the Vikings’ side of the field, and Leonard scored from 1 yard out to go up 14-6 with 35 seconds left in the half.

Tussey Mountain put the game away with 21 points in the third quarter. Brady Villa intercepted Jacob Jasper and returned it 26 yards. Weist hit paydirt from 1 yard out to go ahead 21-6.

The Titans scored on the first play the next time they had the ball. Tyler Rhodes ran the sweep and found open field all around him for a 48-yard scoring jaunt.

Brady Villa stopped Glendale with another interception and ran this one back 40 yards. The next play saw Kaden Lucko score on a 13-yard run. Straumsheim kicked his fifth extra point.

The Vikings had some life when Potutschnig ran the kickoff back 62 yards to Tussey’s 20. Penalties and negative plays pushed Glendale back to the 41.

Glendale got down inside the red zone in the fourth quarter with passes of 27 and 11 yards. The Titans held and got the ball back on downs.

Late in the fourth quarter, Tim Williams recovered a bad pitch for the Vikings at the Titan 42. Glendale could go nowhere and turned the ball over again.

Tussey Mountain plays at Bellwood-Antis next Friday, and the ICC championship could be on the line. Claysburg-Kimmel also only has one loss in the league.

“It’s nice to be playing meaningful games late in the year. I’m happy for the kids, they’ve worked hard and I’m proud of the coaching staff. They’ve done a great job,” Sottasante commented.

Weist is up to 893 yards rushing on the season. Rhodes finished with 74 yards on the ground, while Seth Dudurich led Glendale with 36 yards on 12 carries.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Glendale 6 0 0 0 — 6

Tussey Mountain 0 14 21 0 — 35

First Quarter

G — Potutschnig 63 pass from Jasper (kick fail)

Second Quarter

TM — Weist 3 run (Straumsheim kick)

TM — Leonard 1 run (Straumsheim kick)

Third Quarter

TM — Weist 1 run (Straumsheim kick)

TM — Rhodes 48 run (Straumsheim kick)

TM — Lucko 13 run (Straumsheim kick)

TEAM STATISTICS G TM

First downs 9 10

Rushes-yards 33-(-12) 49-264.

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 8-19-2 1-10-2

Yards passing 138 4

Total yards 126 268

Fumbles-lost 5-3 5-1

Penalties-yards 4-30 5-30

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Glendale, Dudurich 12-36, Kuhn 3-5, Leyo 1-4, Bloom 1-2, McMurray 1-(-6), Jasper 15-(-53). Tussey Mountain, Weist 29-171, Rhodes 8-74, Lucko 5-27, Bishop 1-4, Team 1-(-1), Leonard 3-(-15).

PASSING–Glendale, Jasper 7-18-2-111, Dudurich 1-1-0-27. Tussey Mountain, Leonard 1-10-2-4.

RECEIVING–Glendale, Potutschnig 2-74, Jasper 1-27, Leyo 1-13, Johnston 1-12, McMurray 1-11, Kuhn 1-4, Dudurich 1-(minus-3). Tussey Mountain, Villa 1-4-0.