By: Matt Farago – EasternPAFootball.com
ALTOONA, Pa. – Second chances both in life and football are hard to come by and when they do it is imperative that you do all that you can with them.
Bishop McDevitt took theirs with a 41-32 win over Montour in the PIAA semifinals Friday at Mansion Park Stadium to advance to their second straight state title, and a shot at redemption from last years heartbreaking championship loss.
The game was one of the highest scoring 1st half PIAA semifinal games in history, in what was a classic offensive showcase with five lead changes.
Montour opened up the scoring frenzy when Dillion Buechel found Jullian Durden on a screen pass, Durden fumbled the ball forward and an alert Aaron Reed picked up the lose ball and took it in for the games first score.
The Crusaders took a 7-6 lead when Alec Werner found Brian Lemelle for a 36-yard touchdown strike. Lemelle caught two of Werner’s three touchdowns going for 36 and 34 yards respectively.
Darnell Holland ran in two touchdowns, with runs of 3 and 5 yards both in the third quarter. Freshman tailback Andre Robinson also scored twice for the Crusaders, including the go-ahead score on a screen pass with 9:44 left in the third making it 27-26.
The high scoring first half was far from anything experienced after halftime. It was all Crusaders…most notably Crusaders defense.
Bishop McDevitt shut down Spartans running back and Kent State recruit Julian Durden after he rushed for 99 in the first half, Durden did not record a single yard in the second.
Noah Spence did what you would expect the top ranked defensive end in America to do, wreak havoc in the backfield, including recording his 50th career sack.
Montour’s Dillon Buechel passed for 324 yards passing and three touchdowns, but also threw 3 interceptions all in the second half. Darren Massey set a PIAA Class AAA semifinal record with 9 catches and 200 receiving yards.
Bishop McDevitt will return to Hershey for the second straight year, and will look to raise a golden football for the first time since 1995. The Crusaders will have a tall task next Friday night at 7pm at HersheyPark Stadium going up against Archbishop Wood who defeated Allentown Central Catholic 70-13.
No one ever said the second chance would be easier than the first.
