By BILL ALBRIGHT
EasternPAFootball.com Writer
SELINSGROVE — Former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Tug McGraw always said, “you gotta believe.” After Friday night’s District IV Class AAA championship football game, the Jersey Shore Bulldogs not only made believers in themselves, but also their fans and followers.
Maybe the most amazing thing about the championship is when Shore captured its last district crown (1997), some of the current members of the Orange & Black squad weren’t even born.
Four weeks ago with a 2-6 record, the Jersey Shore Bulldog football team began believing in itself and as a result, won four games in a row, including Friday night’s 20-16 win over the Selinsgrove Seals for the title.
“We didn’t talk much about playoff points all year,” said Shore head coach Tom Gravish. “But it came to a point in our season with four games left when we said, hey guys, if we beat Selinsgrove the first time, we are right in the mix with this points thing. What we told the kids was that we had a four-game season. We played a pretty good game (against Selinsgrove) the first time, but it just slipped away from us. When we didn’t get it, we again told them we were playing a four-game season. The big win over Milton was the one that brought us around.”
“That was our goal last year,” said Shore head coach Tom Gravish about winning a district title. “It might have sounded crazy because when we came off that Central Mountain field last year, even they took it to us, we felt we had enough kids coming back with the right character to get the job done. They (Central Mountain) might have buried us, but that was the big motivational factor in why we are standing here as champions.”
The win over Selinsgrove marks the second time this season the Shoremen have reversed a decision, having lost to the Seals by a 14-6 margin four weeks ago at Thompson Street Stadium.
In the regular season game, the Bulldogs held a 6-0 lead at halftime before the Seals scored 14 unanswered points in the second half for their 14-6 win. One week ago, Shore trailed Shikellamy 14-0 at the intermission before coming on strong to post 24 unanswered points for their 24-14 win and their trip to the district final.
Friday night, the Bulldogs once again performed their come-from-behind magic as they scored the winning points with four minutes left in the game.
With their backs to the wall and the offense less than prolific, Troy Rowan got the call and the senior delivered when he hauled in a beautiful pass from quarterback Logan English for a 13-yard connection with 4:00 on the clock.
“I really didn’t know what to expect,” explained Rowan about the play. “I just cleared my head and told myself, hey make the play. Make the play for the team. Not for myself, but for the team. We came together as a family and tonight’s win was one hundred percent a team effort. We couldn’t have done it without everybody contributing.”
As one of seven seniors on the squad, Rowan admitted that it might have meant a little more to him than some of the younger players.
“Going through the one-and-nines and last year 0-10, now to stand here holding the district championship trophy, it is just an amazing feeling. Right now, I can’t express it in words, Rowan said proudly displaying the championship plaque.”
You score points with offense, but you win championships with defense and the Bulldogs put that adage to good use Friday night.
Jordan Tawney got the first points for the Bulldogs as the senior quarterback/wildcat ripped off a 64-yard jaunt to the house on the Bulldogs’ second possession following a three-and-out to give Shore a 6-0 Shore lead.
Selinsgrove placekicker Branden Shaefer cut the Bulldog lead in half when he drilled a 35-yard field goal.
After a couple of exchanges of possession, it was the Bulldog defense’s turn to make its presence known as defensive end Zach Miller stepped in front of an Isaiah Rapp pass and took the interception to the house for a pick-6.
“The feeling right now is unexplainable,” said Miller. “We work hard week in and week out and somehow we just find ways to put it all together. Right now it feels wonderful. As for the interception, I just saw the backs rolling out and we ran that play over and over in practice. I just saw the ball coming my way and I knew I had to make the play.”
Miller’s pick didn’t surprise Gravish in the least.
“He had done that about four or five times in practice this past week,” said Gravish with a big smile on his face. “I kept telling him that if he did that Friday night, he could get one or two of those and we would win the district championship.”
Trailing 14-3, Selinsgrove kept itself in the game in the final minute of the second period when Mason Pope caught a 9-yard scoring aerial from Rapp. The Rapp-to-Pope connection cut the Shore lead to 14-9 at the break.
Selinsgrove did manage to take a 16-14 lead on a 4-yard run by Angelo Martin with time running out in the third period, but all that did was set up the English-to-Rowan heroics for the game-winner.
In addition to Miller’s pick-six, the Shore defense, which played tough all night long, also came up with two more interceptions, one by Brody Smith and the third by Boone Costa that all but put the game into the books as a Bulldog win.
Jersey Shore 6 8 0 6 — 20
Selinsgrove 3 6 7 0 — 16
Scoring Summary:
First Quarter
JS — Jordan Tawney 64 run. (rush failed)(8:37)(6-0)
SEL — Branden Shaefer 35 FG. (2:36)(6-3)
Second Quarter
JS — Zach Miller 35 interception return. (Logan English to Brody Smith pass)(8:37)(14-3)
SEL — Mason Pope 9 pass from Isaiah Rapp. (rush failed)(:33)(14-9)
Third Quarter
SEL — Angelo Martin 4 run. (Shaefer kick)(2:42)(14-16)
Fourth Quarter
JS — Troy Rowan 13 pass from English. (pass failed)(4:00)(20-16)
Team Statistics JS SEL
First Downs 7 14
Rushes-Yards 35-150 44-95
Passing Yards 9 102
Passing 2-4-1 10-25-3
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 0-0
Penalties-Yards 7-40 11-70
Individual Statistics
Rushing
JS: Jordan Tawney 10-72, 1 TD; Utoa Agae-Naipo 18-64, Bryce Charles 1-2, Boone Costa 1-minus 2, Logan English 4-minus 16.
SEL: Connor Liesenfeld 15-56, Angelo Martin 19-42, 1 TD; Ethan Trautman 2-10, Colin Hoke 1-2, Isaiah Rapp 7-minus 15.
Passing
JS: Logan English 1-4, 11 yards, 1 interception.
SEL: Isaiah Rapp 10-25, 111 yards, 1 TD, 3 interceptions.
Receiving
JS: Boone Costa 1-minus 2, Troy Rowan 1-13, 1 TD.
SEL: Ethan Trautman 4-50, Mason Pope 2-22, 1 TD; Colin Hoke 1-17, Ben Kahn 2-16, Angelo Martin 1-6.
