Written by John Hartsock
jhartsock@altoonamirror.com
Cambria Heights High School’s football program carved out an unprecedented niche Friday night and got off to a fast start in achieving it.
Heights took advantage of a purchase line mistake to jump out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, and the Highlanders held serve throughout a downpour in the second half to capture District 6 and claim the first district championship football in school history. We became a team. They won the 1A title with a 27-13 victory at Mansion Park.
“This is amazing. It’s something our football team has never done before,” Heights junior tight end Garrett Jasper said. His team will advance to the PIAA quarterfinals next weekend at the same venue against District 4 South Williamsport. time to be determined.
“People always want to do something that’s never been done before, and tonight we did it,” Jasper added.
The Highlanders (10-3) set the tone for the first quarter by advancing 66 yards in eight plays for a touchdown on their first offensive possession.
Junior Steven Nelen threw a 47-yard pass down the middle of the field to his older brother, senior Hunter Nelen, giving the Highlanders a first down at the purchase line 19. Seven plays later, Jasper jumped into the end zone off left tackle. A 1-yard, fourth-down run gave Heights an early 7-0 lead.
“We came out hot tonight,” Stephen Nehlen said. “We knew they were a strong physical team, so we did what we had to do to play a great game. We worked hard as a team for this, but for the first time in school history we won a district football championship.” It’s great to be on the winning team.”
An interception by Heights sophomore Dawson Werner gave the Highlanders the ball at the purchase line 38 on the purchase line’s first possession of the game, with Steven Nellen eventually scoring a 23-yard run with 3:24 left in the first quarter. The touchdown run gave Heights 14 points. -0 lead.
The Highlanders extended their lead to 21-0 when the Purchase Line took an errant snap on a punt attempt, and Jasper picked up a loose ball at the Purchase Line 14 and took it to the end with 17 seconds left in the first quarter. I entered the zone.
“We did a good job early in the game tonight, scoring two TDs and Garrett Jasper had a fumble recovery to bring it home,” said Heights junior center nose guard Braylon Rydebom. “I’m so proud of this team. We worked hard in the offseason and had great practices this week as well, but it’s still very hard to accept all of this right now.”
Heights coach Jarrod Lewis said the team has been resilient throughout the season and community members have provided the team with unwavering support.
“Before we left town tonight, we had a big send-off with a fire truck,” Lewis said. “The community has been great to us. I’m so proud of these guys. It feels great to be able to get this done tonight.
“This team is a resilient team,” Lewis added. “These kids played hard all year and never gave up. We lost to Purchase Line and Northern Cambria in the regular season, but we avenged both of those losses. Our goals are It was about improving every week, and we accomplished that.”
The holes were too deep early in a game where Heights committed four turnovers with three fumbles and one interception, and Purchase Line committed three with two interceptions and one fumble. The purchase line could not be broken out.
Senior Jaylin Robertson’s 81-yard fumble return in the second quarter scored a touchdown, and Robertson’s 1-yard scoring run after Purchase Line recovered the fumble at the Heights 30 sent the Dragons into halftime. We were able to catch up to within 21-13.
However, a purchase-line fumble recovered by Highlands junior defensive end Tristan Weakland midway through the fourth quarter gave the Highlanders possession at the purchase-line 30 with less than nine minutes left in the game. The turnover ultimately led to junior fullback Jackson Klein bursting for a 1-yard touchdown with six minutes remaining, putting the game on ice for Heights.
“We can’t give them a 21-point lead and then call a play,” Purchase Line coach Matt Falisek said. “Obviously, that was the difference in the game.”
How the game unfolded: A 47-yard passing connection between the Nelen brothers in the first quarter set the tone, giving Heights an early advantage. Jasper, along with the purchase line in a punt formation, recovered a fumble and scored a touchdown late in the quarter, and Heights powered forward.
Players of the game: Stephen Nellen threw for 47 yards and rushed for 51 yards on 14 carries and one touchdown; Jasper had two touchdowns and rushed for 13 He rushed for 49 yards on a carry.
The unsung hero: The Highlanders defense shut down the purchase line in the second half, holding the Dragons to just 48 yards of offense.
The most important statistic: Three buy line turnovers directly or indirectly led to touchdowns for Cambria Heights.
Lewis said of the downpour in the second half: “It was raining really hard and made things really difficult at times, but both teams had to face the same situation. The rain seemed to get heavier as the game went on. .”
Notably, junior Luke Malaney intercepted a pass from Heights and sophomore Victor Bartlebaugh intercepted a pass from the purchase line.
Records: Buy Line (9-4); Cambria Heights (10-3).
Next week: Purchase Line season completes. Cambria Heights advances to the PIAA quarterfinals and will face South Williamsport.
Score per quarter
Purchase line 0 13 0 0–13
Cambria Heights 21 0 0 6–27
1st quarter
CH-Jasper 1 run (abrams kick), 8:07.
CH-S. Nelen 23 runs (abrams kick), 3:24.
CH-Jasper 14 runs (Abrams kick), 0:17.
Second quarter
PL-Robertson 81 fumble return (mountain kick), 6:24.
PL-Robertson 1 run (missed kick), 3:16.
4th quarter
CH-Klein 1 run (failure to pass), 6:00.
Team statistics PL CH
first down 4 12
Total yards 48 182
Rush Yards 31-38 51-152
Passing Yards 10 60
path (comp.-att.-int.) 2-12-2 3-8-1
Punt/Average 2-34.5 2-32.5
Lost fumble 2-1 4-3
Penalty Yards 8-50 1-5
personal statistics
Rushing: Buy Line: Small 11-78, Robertson 2-4, Eric 17-(-1). Team 1-(-43). Cambria Heights: S. Nelen 14-51, Jasper 13-49, Tribus 5-27, Malaney 7-16, Klein 9-9, Eckenrode 1-0, Wayland 2-0.
Pass: Purchase Line: Eric 2-12-2-10. Cambria Heights: S. Nelen 1-1-0-47, Wayland 2-7-1-13.
Received: Purchase line: Small 2-7, Robertson 1-3. Cambria Heights: H. Nelen 2-51, Eckenrode 1-9.