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ALTOONA 13, DUBOIS 7 |
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Oct. 28, 2005 |
| By Rich Rhoades DuBOIS — Despite a near miraculous comeback that fell short at the Altoona 19 in the final moments of the game, the DuBois Beavers' charge for its first undefeated regular season in 53 years ended with a 13-7 loss on Senior Night at E.J. Mansell Stadium. Altoona (4-5) scored on its first two possessions, limited DuBois to minus-4 yards rushing and held off a late Beavers rally. After nearly scoring on a long Ryan Liddle pass to Brian Stuby, the Beavers (8-1) had the ball at the Altoona 13 with 1:23 remaining. But three incomplete passes and a sack killed the last-ditch drive at the Mountain Lions’ 19 with 20.5 seconds on the clock. Obviously, the Mountain Lions talked about how to shut down the DuBois running game. Even taking out three Mountain Lions sacks of DuBois quarterback Ryan Liddle for minus-16 yards, the Beavers still managed just 12 yards on 20 attempts. Playing without injured starting quarterback A.J. Alexander, the Mountain Lions called on senior Chris Koch and promising sophomore Alphonso Lewis to do most of the work running the ball. Quarterback Chris Jubeck threw just three passes, all of them incomplete. Lewis led the Mountain Lions with 71 yards on 14 carries, Koch finished with 68 yards on 20 attempts, all of his work coming in the first three quarters. After holding DuBois to a punt to start the game, the Mountain Lions went on a 13-play, 59-yard drive to find the end zone on Koch’s 3-yard run. On its next possession, Altoona went 79 yards on 10 plays and scored on another Koch 3-yard run. Jubeck’s 39-yard run helped set up the second score. DuBois did recover somewhat and went to the passing game. Liddle completed 12 of 24 passes for 222 yards and was intercepted twice. The Beavers actually outgained the Mountain Lions, 218-194. DuBois finally found the end zone when Liddle hit Mark Malacarne down the middle for a 40-yard touchdown pass with 58.5 seconds left in the third quarter. D.J. Smith’s point-after kick put the Beavers within 13-7. Meanwhile, the Beavers defense tightened up, limiting Altoona to just 64 yards rushing in the second half. That made a comeback possible. Liddle recovered a Lewis fumble at the Beavers’ 34 with 3:26 left, but four plays later, Wes Plummer intercepted Liddle and advanced to the Beavers’ 28 with 2:37 remaining. DuBois would spend its final two timeouts before Altoona called on Arin Noonan to kick a 40-yard field goal. Without any timeouts and the ball at their own 24, the Beavers nearly hit paydirt on the first play. Liddle threw deep to Stuby down the Altoona sideline. Stuby got behind the Altoona defense and hauled in the pass, racing toward the end zone, but he was brought down from behind at the Altoona 12. The 64-yard play set up a tantalizing finale. On first down, Liddle’s pass was just short of a diving Hanzely in the end zone. Initially, it appeared he made a scooping catch, but the ball hit the ground. Then on second down, Liddle was sacked by Lewis for the second time for a 7-yard loss. Lewis also had a big sack of Liddle on fourth-and-3 at the Altoona 18 in DuBois’ possession before scoring. Liddle’s third-down pass fell incomplete, then on the Beavers’ final play, Liddle pass down the middle to Malacarne near the end zone was broken up by Jon Yerty with 20.5 seconds on the clock. One play later, the Mountain Lions kneeled to end the game. The Beavers have two weeks to bounce back, including an off-week before playing the District 10 champion — McDowell or Cathedral Prep — on Nov. 11 or 12.
Score By Quarters Altoona 7 6 0 0 - 13 Scoring Summary First Quarter A – Koch 3 run (Noonan kick), 5:04. Second Quarter A – Koch 3 run (kick failed), 8:01. Third Quarter D – Malacarne 40 pass from Liddle (Smith kick), 58.5. A
D INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Passing — Altoona: Chris Jubeck 0-for-3. DuBois: Ryan Liddle 12-for-24,
222 yards, 2 Ints.; Team 0-for-1. Receiving — DuBois: Mark Malacarne 5-112, Brian Stuby 2-71, Rob
Hanzely 3-31, Taylor Kriner 1-7, Emile Khoury 1-1. Interceptions — Altoona: Steve Pierce, Wes Plummer. Sacks — Altoona: Alphonso Lewis 2, Matt Rickabaugh. DuBois: Josh
Sullivan 2. Kick returns — Altoona: Joe Mummert 1-15. DuBois: Mark Malacarne
2-58, Taylor Kriner 1-23. Punt returns — Altoona: Joe Mummert 4-25. DuBois: Mark Malacarne
2-15. |
