PINE-RICHLAND ENDS BRADFORD'S DREAM SEASON

WARREN – As the old saying goes, all good things must eventually come to an end.

For the Bradford Owls, the end of a magnificent season came Friday night at Warren’s War Memorial Stadium, as they fell to a strong Pine-Richland team 37-7 in the PIAA Class AAA Semifinals.

With both teams appearing in their first-ever PIAA Western final, Pine-Richland (14-0) used a smothering defense and an unstoppable offense to overwhelm the Owls (10-3).

Bradford managed just two first downs and 118 total yards on the night, 89 of which came on the opening play from scrimmage.

On the other side of the ball, the Rams had far too many weapons for the Owls to stop. Jake Long, Bradford’s starting quarterback of a year ago before transferring to Pine-Richland for the 2003 season, completed 7 of 16 passes for 144 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.

When asked about Long’s performance and the possibility that he transferred for athletic intent, Bradford’s Steve Ackerman declined comment.

Long found wideout Neil Walker time and again, and he finished with six catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns. Walker, headed to Clemson on a baseball scholarship, is an athlete the likes of which Bradford had not encountered this year.

"We probably haven’t faced someone who can do all that he can," Ackerman said. "He can catch the ball, run with it, jump, you name it. We’ve got some strong athletes in the area, but nobody like him."

Pine-Richland also moved the ball well on the ground picking up 211 yards on 40 carries. Greg Hough led the Rams’ rushing attack with 17 carries for 108 yards.

"They just controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides," said Ackerman, "When you’re this deep in the playoffs, that’s the key."

After defeating Perry 13-7 a week ago, it looked early on like Bradford might pull off another shocker.

The Rams took the opening kickoff back to the 29 and immediately put the ball in Walker’s hands. He took the left end pitch and gained 21 yards to the 50. Tim Newman was stopped for no gain on first down before Long hit Walker for a 6-yard gain. A holding penalty and Long incompletion forced a Rams punt to the Bradford 11.

Just as he has all year long, Sean Hvizdzak stepped to the forefront. He ran a sweep off left tackle and raced untouched for 89 yards and the score. Kyle Macfarlane added the extra point and Bradford led 7-0 with 9:24 to go in the first.

Unfortunately for the Owls, it was all Pine-Richland from there.

Behind strong running from Hough and Newman and the Long-to-Walker connection, the Rams marched 70 yards in 12 plays. Long hit Walker for the final nine on a play that had Bradford fans screaming for offensive pass interference. The Owls blocked the extra point to keep the score at 7-6 with 3:42 to go in the first.

A three-and-out punt by Bradford was returned to the 12 by the Pine-Richland returner. After Walker had a 7-yard touchdown called back by holding, Patrick Humes booted a 34-yard field goal to put the Rams up 9-7 after one quarter.

Bradford continued to struggle on offense, with a pair of three-and-out possessions, while Pine-Richland hit its stride.

Long went in from a yard out to cap an eight-play, 62-yard drive with 4:55 to go in the half. The key play came on fourth-and-inches from the Bradford 39. Hough broke through the line for 32 yards and set up the touchdown run.

Less than two minutes later Pine-Richland hit the killshot.

A Bradford punt was downed at the 40, and on the first play of the drive, Long went deep to Walker. The 60-yard bomb and ensuing extra point put the Rams up 23-7 nearing the half.

Bradford picked up their second first down of the game with about 1:30 to go in the half. On second-and-13 from its own 28, quarterback Mike Austin scrambled for 12, and, on third down, Dave Snyder crashed ahead for the first down. Austin fumbled the ball away three plays later.

"It’s no secret that if we fall behind, we’ve got problems because we’re not a throwing team," Ackerman said. "When we tried to pass, we couldn’t keep them off the quarterback."

The second half saw Pine-Richland continue their brilliance on defense, while Bradford dodged several bullets to stay close. Hvizdzak picked off Long at the Bradford 10 on the Rams’ opening possession. Later, after the Owls failed on a fake punt from their own 15, they held the Rams to a field goal attempt which was blocked.

The inability to move the ball caught up with Bradford however, and Pine-Richland put it away early in the fourth. Hough scored on a 1-yard plunge with 11:06 to go. The Rams had moved the ball 52 yards in nine plays with the key play being Long finding Brian Overton for 28 on third-and-18 from the 35.

The final score came with 5:28 to go. Austin scrambled and lost the handle on the ball. It bounced several yards behind him into the end zone where Tom Cannon fell on it for the score. Humes added his final extra point to make it 37-7.

Hvizdzak led the Owls once again with 101 yards on 10 carries, although 89 of those yards came on the first play. He also intercepted a pair of passes from Long. Dave Snyder was next with just 14 yards on 6 carries.

The field position game that Bradford played so masterfully against Perry killed them this week. The Owls average start was at their own 22, while the Rams started on average at their own 49.

Still, despite the loss, Ackerman was somewhat upbeat.

"These guys have a lot to be proud of," Ackerman said.
Ten win seasons don’t come very often, and they went further than any Bradford team ever.

"It’s hard to appreciate what they did this season right now after getting waxed like that. But in a few weeks they can sit back and see what they accomplished." 

PINE-RICHLAND 37, BRADFORD 7

Score by Quarters

Pine-Richland 9 14 0 14 - 37

Bradford 7 0 0 0 - 7

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

B – Sean Hvizdzak 89 run (Kyle MacFarlane kick), 9:24.

P – Neil Walker 9 pass from Jake Long (kick blocked), 3:42.

P – Patrick Humes 34 field goal, 0:02.

Second Quarter

P – Long 1 run (Humes kick), 4:55.

P – Walker 60 pass from Long, 3:02.

Fourth Quarter

P – Greg Hough 1 run (Humes kick), 11:06.

P – Tom Cannon 0 fumble return (Humes kick), 5:28.

P B

First Downs 11 1

Rushes-Yards 40-211 31-116

Passing Yards 144 2

Passes: Comp-Att-Int 7-16-2 1-5-0

Total Yardage 355 118

Punts-Average 3-35.3 7-32.6

Fumbles-Lost 1-0 3-2

Penalties-Yards 8-75 4-25

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing – Pine-Richland: Greg Hough 17-108, Tim Newman 12-38, Jake Long 4-7, Neil Walker 1-21, Wes Smallwood 2-16, Ryan Conley 1-8, Brandon Elijah 1-6, Matt Marcello 1-4, Ryan Breen 1-3. Bradford: Sean Hvizdzak 10-101, Dave Snyder 6-14, Mike Austin 8-(-14), Aaron O’Toole 1-10, Jon Colts 2-10, Scott Abrams 2-5, Jake Wells 2-(-10).

Passing – Pine-Richland: Jake Long 7-for-16, 144 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT. Bradford: Mike Austin 1-for-4, 2 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT; Jake Wells 0-for-1, 0 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT.

Receiving – Pine-Richland: Neil Walker 6-116, Brian Overton 1-28. Bradford: Sean Hvizdzak 1-2.

Interceptions – Bradford 2 (Sean Hvizdzak 2).