While the remnants of hurricane Isaac flow slowly northward, State College had their own Hurricane to deal with. And the hurricane hit fast after churning up the Little Lions field in the first quarter. The opening period featured only one drive from each team, both with unsuccessful results. But you could feel that wind a blowing and knew something had to break.
Just one minute into the second quarter highly touted Liberty receiver K.J. Williams blew the roof off with a 94 yard touchdown easily out running the Little Lion defense after the pass from Derek Byrd. “He’s a talented kid, no doubt,” said Hurricane coach Dave Brown.
But State College would quickly downgrade the Hurricanes to a light drizzle, outlasting the Hurricanes with a 26-7 win. With a defensive line that could be one of the better units State College has seen leading the way, the Little Lions held Liberty deep in their own territory and forced a short punt. State college would drive 46 yards to tie the score at seven on an eight yard run from Andrew Kelly . That defensive line again punished Liberty, this time stopping them at their own 13 with just 1:46 left in the half. Talented quarterback Patrick Irwin would lead his team down field with a precision passing attack twice hitting Sean King on the sidelines to manage the clock. King would finish the drive on a one yard touchdown run. The PAT failed and State College led 13-7 at the half.
In the second half the hurricanes were beaten down and before long the sun was shining in Happy Valley. “We played a great team from a tough conference and the kids responded well. We have a great group of athletes that don’t know how to slow down” said Little Lion leader Al Wolski.
Once again Irwin would lead his team down field, this drive resulting in a short field goal from stand out kicker Ian Fennessey, who missed one from 35 out in the second quarter.
Wolski then inserted another cog into the lineup using Ebrahim Britton to clear the skies. The Senior RB touched the ball only 4 times but the results were great: 4 carries for 37 yards and 1 td. “It was nice to be able to spread the ball around, we have a lot of talent in the backfield this year,” said Wolski.
Fennessey would close the scoring for the night, booting a 48 yard field goal with 9:00 left in the game.
