ALTOONA, Pa. — A stellar second half propelled District 3 champion Lampeter-Strasburg past District 7’s Thomas Jefferson 20-16 in the PIAA Class 4A semifinals at Mansion Park Stadium in Altoona on Friday afternoon.
The Pioneers scored 17 unanswered points over the final two quarters to turn a 13-point halftime deficit into Lampeter-Strasburg’s first-ever trip to the state title game.
Thomas Jefferson was able to quickly gain momentum after Lampeter-Strasburg’s Peter Fiorello converted a 19-yard field goal to open the game’s scoring at 5:46 of the first quarter. Christian Nolt’s 52-yard interception return set up the Pioneers’ points.
After a Jaguars’ punt, a Shep Turk sack of Pioneers quarterback Caileb Howse and a false start penalty pushed Lampeter-Strasburg back to its own 2-yard line. The Pioneers attempted to punt, but Matt Martinis blocked the kick out of the back of the endzone for a safety, cutting Thomas Jefferson’s deficit to 3-2 with 23 seconds left in the first quarter.
With Thomas Jefferson’s first two offensive possessions resulting in an interception and a punt, the Jaguars turned to their workhorse in running back Tyler Eber.
The Sophomore spearheaded a 13-play, 58-yard drive, all being runs, to put Thomas Jefferson ahead 9-3 with 6:05 remaining in the first half after Eber scored on a 1-yard run.
Eber tallied a 20-yard score on the Jaguars’ next possession, giving Thomas Jefferson a 16-3 lead at the half. The Jaguars ran the ball 19 times out of 21 plays on their two scoring drives in the second quarter, totaling 114 yards.
Lampeter-Strasburg was limited to 12 total yards of offense on 15 plays in the first two quarters, with nine of the yards setting up the Pioneers’ field goal. The Pioneers ran just four offensive plays in the second quarter.
However, the Pioneers quickly changed their fortunes.
After forcing a Thomas Jefferson turnover on downs to open the third quarter, Lampeter-Strasburg scored just five plays later on a 45-yard run from Howse to pull within 16-10.
The Jaguars, despite driving to the Pioneers 45 and facing a 4th and 2, punted on their next possession, and Lampeter-Strasburg capitalized once again to move in front.
Howse found Nolt for a 70-yard touchdown pass along the left sideline to put the Pioneers ahead 17-16 after three quarters following Fiorello’s extra point. Lampeter-Strasburg, after having just 12 yards of offense in the first half, totaled 153 in the third quarter alone.
Fiorello extended Lampeter-Strasburg’s lead with another field goal, this time from 32 yards, to put the Pioneers in front 20-16 with 9:48 left in the game.
Thomas Jefferson engineered another strong drive off the legs of Eber, getting all the way to the Lampeter-Strasburg 32, but turned the ball over on downs for the second time in the half at the 4:30 mark.
The Pioneers were then able to run the remaining time off the clock to secure the comeback victory.
Eber finished with 207 yards and two scores on 43 carries for the Jaguars. Brayden White hauled in eight passes for 61 yards.
Howse ran for 94 yards and passed for 83. The Pioneers will face the winner of District 12 champion Bonner Pendergrast and District 11 champion Southern Lehigh in the state title game on Thursday night.
