HARRISBURG – Friday night’s Mid-Penn Commonwealth showdown at Landis Field was all about big plays. The Cumberland Valley defense came up with big stops to lead them over Central Dauphin 30-17.
The Eagles came up with huge defensive stops when Central Dauphin went for fourth-down conversions. They came up with two interceptions and a tackle for a loss each time.
Cumberland Valley head coach Tim Rimpfel said about his defense, “Our defense played pretty well. They really came up big.”
In the first quarter Cumberland Valley’s Jeremy DiPietro had a six-yard score that made it 7-0. Central Dauphin countered with a 27-yard field goal from Evan Bandes to cut the lead 7-3.
Central Dauphin would take their only lead of the night on a Zayd Issah touchdown run in the second quarter. The Eagles responded quickly. Lance Geesey kicked a 47-yard field goal to tie the game up at 10.
The Eagles would strike right before halftime. Kyle Brubaker’s interception setup a six-yard touchdown run by quarterback Eric Sawyer and the Eagles led 17-10 at halftime.
The Eagles broke the game wide-open in the fourth quarter on two big runs. Jeremy DiPietro carried the ball just three times in the second half but two of them went for big runs. With 8:22 remaining in the game DiPietro went 50-yards for a touchdown putting the Eagles up 24-10.
DiPeitro put the nail on the coffin as he broke free for the 67-yard score. The extra point was missed and the Eagles led 30-10. He finished the night rushing for 143 yards on eight carries.
DiPeitro talked about his touchdown runs, “It was the exact same play. First time it was wide open. The second time I saw a seam and had to cut back.”
The Rams added a late touchdown when Brandon LaVaia hit Brian Morris for the four-yard score with 1:03 remaining.
Central Dauphin outgained the Eagles 407-331 total yards of offense and they ran more plays.
Eric Sawyer completed 8 of 12 passes for 93 yards for the Eagles. The Rams were led by Zayd Issah 173 yards on 32 carries.
Cumberland Valley plays at Central Dauphin East. Central Dauphin hosts Harrisburg.
