SELINSGROVE 48, BRADFORD 14

Nov. 24, 2006

PIAA Class AAA Playoffs - First Round at Shamokin

SHAMOKIN – Selinsgrove scored two late first-half touchdowns to break open a close game on its way to a 48-14 win over Bradford in the opening round of the PIAA Class AAA Playoffs Friday night at Shamokin High School.

The Owls (8-3) trailed Selinsgrove (13-0), the No. 2 ranked team in Class AAA, 13-7 with just over three minutes left in the first half.

But the Seals scored two touchdowns in the final three minutes of the half to take a 28-7 lead into the lockerroom.

The first came on a 7-yard run by Matt Cook with 1:26 left in the half and the second on a 45-yard touchdown pass from Eric Deckard to Mike Ritter. The Ritter score came moments after Braden Klinger had picked off a Ben Walter pass.

The Owls tried to rally at the start of the second half cutting the lead to 28-14 on a 1-yard touchdown run by Taylor O’Brien, but Selinsgrove scored the final 20 points to seal the victory.

Deckard and Ritter, who had missed most of the last four games with an ankle injury, put on quite a show for the Seals hooking up six times for 151 yards and four touchdowns while helping Selinsgrove rack up 504 total yards of offense. 

In addition to the 45-yard scoring pass late in the first half, Deckard also threw scoring strikes of 8, 30 and 8 yards while going 7-for-12 for 184 yards. 

Selinsgrove jumped out to a 13-0 lead thanks to the first 8-yard scoring toss to Ritter and a 1-yard sneak by Ritter.

The Owls took flight to cut the lead to 13-7 when Ben Walter hit Tyler Hopkins with a 40-yard touchdown pass late in the first half. It was Hopkins’ first scoring catch of the season.

But after Bradford cut the lead to two touchdowns early in the third quarter, Deckard found Ritter twice more and Tony Troutman added a 23-yard touchdown run to set the final score.

Cook led Selinsgrove on the ground with 20 carries for 159 yards.

The Seals will meet top ranked Thomas Jefferson in the PIAA quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Saturday in Altoona.

O'Brien led Bradford with 11 carries for 57 yards, while Walter was 5-for-11 passing for 128 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Score by Quarter 0 28 14 6 – 48

Bradford 0 7 7 0 – 14

Scoring Summary

Second Quarter

S – Mike Ritter 12 pass from Eric Deckard (Tim Walls kick)

S – Deckard 1 run (kick failed)

B – Tyler Hopkins 40 pass from Ben Walter (Steve Butler kick)

S – Matt Cook 7 run (Deckard run)

S – Ritter 45 pass from Deckard (Walls kick)

Third Quarter

B – Taylor O’Brien 1 run (Butler kick)

S – Ritter 30 pass from Deckard (Walls kick)

S – Ritter 8 pass from Deckard (Walls kick)

Fourth Quarter

S – Tony Troutman 23 run (kick blocked)

TEAM STATISTICS

B S

First Downs 10 21

Rushing-Yards 33-121 46-325

Passing Yards 128 184

Passing: Comp-Att-Int 5-12-1 7-12-0

Totals Yards 249 509

Fumbles 4-1 1-0

Punts-Avg. 4-32.3 1-27.0

Penalties-Yards 1-10 5-50

Rushing – Bradford: Nick Johnson 9-30, Taylor O’Brien 11-57, EJ Moore 9-26, Ben Walter 3-9, Jim Milbrandt 1-(-1). Selinsgrove: Matt Cook 20-159, Tony Troutman 14-94, Eric Deckard 7-57, Teighler Doak 2-5, Trevor Kerstetter 2-8, Josh Moore 1-2.

Passing – Bradford: Ben Walter 5-for-11, 128 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception. Jim Milbrandt 0-for-1, 0 yards. Selinsgrove: Eric Deckard 7-for-12, 184 yards, 4 touchdowns.

Receiving – Bradford: Tommy Morris 1-35, Tyler Hopkins 1-40, Taylor O’Brien 1-(-5), Nick Johnson 1-33, EJ Moore 1-25. Selinsgrove: Mike Ritter 6-151, Braden Klingler 1-33.