Whether the Cumberland Valley Eagles told you or not, the game with Lower Dauphin was circled on the calendar in the off season. The Falcons surprise win over CV last year obviously gave the Eagles extra motivation. Led by its powerful running game, Cumberland Valley ground past Lower Dauphin 24-14 Friday night.
The Eagles star Penn State recruit Charlie Katshir dressed but did not see action. That did not hinder Cumberland Valley’s performance at all. Jake Palmer and Cole McCoy paced a solid running attack. McCoy and Christian Arrington led the defensive effort for the Eagles.
Eagles Head Coach Mike Whitehead would not elaborate on star Charlie Katshir’s return. Katshir did play a very active roll encouraging and even doing some coaching from the sidelines. “He (Katshir) is a great teammate, great player,” said Coach Whitehead after the game. Chris Arrrington, who’s blocked punt really got things rolling early, referred to the Mid Penn conference as one of the toughest conferences. “If your going to play in this conference you have to be ready to play ball.”
Cumberland Valley ground down most of quarter one with their solid running attack. A productive drive ended deep in the Lower Dauphin end. Tim Kissinger booted through a 30-yard field goal and it was 3-0 as quarter one ended.
Early in quarter two, Chris Arrington blocked an LD punt to give CV good field position. Cole McCoy then darted 50 yards for a score. 10-0 CV with 10:50 till half. CV controlled the ball most of quarter two but could not produce any scores. An LD interception deep in their own end kept the score 10-0 CV at half.
Two plays into the second half Cumberland Valley took command. Jake Palmer’s 20-yard score made it 17-0 at the 11:07 mark, but Lower Dauphin kept up the pressure. One minute later Cole Etchberger’s nifty 53-yard TD reception got it close again. 17-7 CV. In typical Eagles style they got the ball back and marched down the field. A gutsy call on fourth and goal yielded a Galen Wilmer TD making it 24-7 with 6:23 left in quarter three. Lower Dauphin would not go quietly. They struck back quickly on a TD pass from QB Aiden Klassen to Brent Spenser and it was 24-14 with 4:10 left in the third.
Cumberland Valley kept mounting drives but could not produce points. Two drives ended with lost fumbles in the Lower Dauphin end. Another as turned over on Downs inside the LD one-yard line. The CV defense played tough down the stretch and preserved a 24-14 victory.
Cumberland Valley moves on through the mine field that is the Mid Penn Commonwealth. They are on the road next week vs Central Dauphin East. Lower Dauphin tangles with Bishop McDevitt at Hershey Park Stadium.
