Ligonier Valley football stumbles in District 6 finals

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, November 17, 2018 | 10:39 PM

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ALTOONA — Richland extended the Rams’ winning streak in the District 6 Class 2A football championship to three but actually won the title for the first time.

Sound confusing?

Well, the Ligonier Valley Rams were the two-time defending champions but fell short Saturday night against the Richland Rams.

Freshman running back Kellan Stahl rushed for one touchdown and threw for the clinching score in the closing minutes to lead Richland to a 21-12 victory at Mansion Park Stadium.

“That’s a great football team,” Richland coach Brandon Bailey said of Ligonier Valley, which advanced to the PIAA semifinals in 2016 and the quarterfinals in ‘17. “They won almost 50 games over the last couple of years. Our defense rose to the occasion. Defensively, to hold that team to 12 points is something else.”

Richland blanked the Ligonier Valley offense after the first quarter, though LV was without record-setting wide receiver Aaron Tutino for much of the second half after the 5-foot-11, 170-pound senior was helped from the field with an apparent leg injury.

“He’s an excellent football player. We have a lot of respect for him,” Bailey said. “It was a factor. But we lost a pretty good player, too, in (tight end/linebacker) Zack Vogelsberger, who went down in the first half. He’s the heart and soul of our team, so we understand that injuries are a part of the game.”

Richland (13-0) will face District 12 champion West Catholic (11-2) in the PIAA quarterfinals on Nov. 23 or 24 at a site to be determined.

After Ligonier Valley (12-1) jumped to a 12-0 lead in the first quarter, Richland chipped away, scoring touchdowns in the second, third and fourth.

“We were down a couple of points early,” Bailey said, “and we just said we’ve got to keep playing football, and our kids trusted each other and believed in each other.”

Stahl also had an apparent 67-yard touchdown run in the first quarter nullified by a penalty. He finished with 34 yards on six carries but would have eclipsed the 100-yard mark had the play stood.

But perhaps the statistic that meant the most from Stahl was the 6-yard scoring pass to Koby Bailey with 2:50 left in the fourth quarter on fourth down that sealed the victory.

“There was some confusion there on our part,” Ligonier Valley coach Roger Beitel said. “We were shuffling guys in and out, and we blew the coverage. It was a great call on their part. It was run, run, run, run, run with 15 back there and then, boom, he hits the pop pass.”

Both teams wasted several key scoring chances by committing turnovers, most notably Ligonier Valley’s Kyrie Miller, who rushed for 106 yards, fumbling the ball at the Richland 12 after LV was poised to build on a 12-0 lead in the second quarter.

“The turnovers were huge,” Beitel said. “We usually win the turnover battle, but we didn’t tonight. When you play a great football team and turn the football over, they’re going to capitalize on it.”

Both teams lost a fumble, and Ligonier Valley quarterback John Caldwell threw a pair of interceptions.

The 5-11, 170-pound Stahl’s 9-yard scoring run in the third quarter put Richland ahead for good after Joe Hauser, who was 13 of 24 for 176 yards passing, threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Trevor Tustin in the second quarter to cut Ligonier Valley’s lead to 12-7.

Tutino, who holds the PIAA record for career touchdown receptions and entered the game tied for second all time in receiving yards, left the field after catching 36-yard pass to the Richland 1 in the third quarter.

But the play was erased by a penalty and Richland clinging to a 14-12 lead.

Tutino, who entered the game 176 yards shy of tying the PIAA record for receiving yards, caught touchdown passes of 1 yard from Sam Sheeder and 56 yards from Caldwell to stake Ligonier Valley to a 12-0 first-quarter lead.

Tutino finished with 95 yards receiving on seven receptions and extended his state-record total for touchdown receptions to 61.

“It was a great football game between two really good football teams,” Beitel said. “And now, we’ll learn and we’ll come back.”

Dave Mackall is a freelance writer.

Tags: Ligonier Valley