HUNTINGDON, PA- The Juniata football team welcomed Dickinson College to Knox Field on Saturday afternoon. In what turned out to be an offensive showdown, the Eagles scored late in the fourth quarter to hold off the Red Devils 38-35 and improve to 2-0 on the season. Dickinson falls to 0-2.
The Red Devils went ahead 35-31 early in the fourth quarter on quarterback Cole Ahnell's one-yard touchdown plunge at 13:31. After both teams exchanged possessions, the Eagles started at their own 13 with 10:50 to play. Juniata marched down the field with quarterback Ward Udinski (Doylestown, PA/Central Bucks West) running for 28 yards on the drive and ending with his 10 yard score with 4:01 to play for the game winner.
Udinski had a big day on the ground and in the air. He completed 16 of 28 passes for 249 yards and threw for two touchdowns while totaling 152 yards rushing and three touchdowns.
"Ward is the trigger man, said head coach Tim Launtz after the game. "If you want to do well in football, you put the ball in the playmaker's hands and we put it in the playmaker's hands."
Dickinson took the first lead of afternoon on its first possession. Ahnell tallied 22 yards rushing on the drive and capped it off with a 10-yard touchdown pass to James Ward with 10:50 on the clock to go ahead 7-0.
On the ensuing kickoff, Isaiah Slutter (Philadelphia, PA/Wallenpaupack Area) returned it 40 yards to the Juniata 45. The Eagles quickly moved into Dickinson territory on Deonte Alston's (Bel-Air, MD/Patterson Mill) six-yard scamper. An offsides penalty on the defense moved the ball to the DC 44. A Udinski-to-Kyle Schuck (Selinsgrove, PA/Selinsgrove) 21-yard connection got the Eagles down to the 23-yard line. An Alston four-yard run made it 3rd and six but Udinki's pass to Michael John (Osceola Mills, PA/Phillpsburg Osceola) only went four so Kevin Bonalle (Lebanon, PA/Cedar Crest) came on to kick a 32-yard field goal to make it 7-3.
The teams exchanged punts and Dickinson regained possession at 4:28. With half a field to work with, the Red Devils had little trouble moving the ball and Ahnell's two-yard score put the visitors ahead 14-3 at 2:25.
The Red Devils looked to run away with the game but Juniata was not out. The Eagles got back into the contest in a big way as Udinki broke off a 59-yard touchdown run with 11 ticks on the clock as Juniata trailed 14-10.
The defense came up with a big stop on the next Dickinson possession. Juniata took over on its own 36-yard line. On a second and 12, Udinski found Hunter Phillips (Funkstown, MD/South Hagerstown) for 25 yards to move down to the DC 29. On third and goal from the six, Udinski punched it in and the Eagles took their first lead of the game, 17-14, with 8:15 left in the half.
Juniata struck again later in the frame when Udinski connected with Kirby Breault (Elizabettown, PA/Elizabethtown Area) for 40 yards and the touchdown as the Eagles were up 24-14. The Red Devils would close the gap with time winding down as a Ahnell-to-Devin Gaby touchdown made is 24-21 at the half.
In the third quarter, both teams exchanged punts and the Eagles had a drive start at their own 20 at 9:51. On third and nine, Udinski hit Slutter who raced down the sideline and into the endzone for a 79-yard play as Juniata was back up by 10 points, 31-21, with just under eight minutes left in the period. Dickinson would respond with a big play of its own as Ahnell passed to Anders Overhaug for 64 yards and the Juniata lead was back down to three, 31-28, at 7:08.
After Juniata's next drive resulted in a punt, the Red Devils started its drive at its own 26. Two Juniata penalties aided Dickinson as it moved to the Juniata 19. From there, the Red Devils got down to the JC 1 and Ahnell called his own number from the one yard line as DC sprang ahead 35-31.
After the Eagles took the lead on Udinski's touchdown, DC had the ball on its own 28. The JC defense stood firm as it allowed only 20 yards and forced the Red Devils to punt.
The Eagles got the ball back with just over two minutes remaining. The Red Devil defense thought it forced a three and out on Juniata and a punt but a penalty for 12 men on the field was called and instead the Eagles were awarded a first down. From there, Juniata ran out the clock and held on for the win.
Offensively, the Eagles totaled 465 yards and had 22 first downs. Dickinson nearly matched it with 410 total yards and 21 first downs.
Juniata finished with 249 net passing yards. Slutter had three grabs for 95 yards and a touchdown. Phillips tallied four catches for 48 yards.
On the ground, Alston had 16 rushes for 43 yards. John added 34 yards.
On the defensive side, Ethan Wilt (Altoona, PA/Altoona Area) totaled 11 tackles with Ryan Bologa (Douglassville, PA/Daniel Boone) adding 10.5. Demetrius Floyd (Coraopolis, PA/W. Alleghany) chipped in 7.5 while Kweku Parker (York, PA/Central York) had six tackles and two sacks.
The defense received praise from Launtz afterwards. "Anytime when the scoreboard is in your favor, that means the defense made plays when they had to make plays," he noted. "This defense is very capable and hung in there and didn't push the panic button."
For Dickinson, Ahnell passed for 190 and three touchdowns. Cedric Madden ran for 115 yards while Ahnell added 99 yards and two scores. Ward led in catches with four and totaled 36 yards with a touchdown. Ned Emala led the defense with 11 tackles.
The Eagles look to remain undefeated when they go on the road to face Gettysburg next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
