HUNTINGDON, Pa. McDaniel's Bamasa Bailor caught a 10-yard touchdown pass with 4:16 remaining in the fourth quarter as the visiting Green Terror defeated Juniata 20-13 on Saturday afternoon at Knox Stadium. The loss evens Juniata's record at 4-4 overall and 3-3 in the Centennial while McDaniel improves to 3-5 and 3-4 in the CC.
The Eagles were driving deep into McDaniel territory with 2:15 to play to try and even the game up. Hank Coyne (Royersford, Pa/Spring-Ford) completed a 14-yard pass for Jake Notestine (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) who fumbled trying to extend the play and the ball went out of bounds to give possession to McDaniel. The Green Terror then ran out the clock to secure the win.
Coyne completed 16-of-20 passes for 206 yards and three one touchdown. He was sacked three times and intercepted twice. Kirby Breault (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) caught seven passes for 108 yards and a score. He went over 1,000 yards receiving and became the fourth player to Juniata history to achieve that mark and the first since Lance Tippett in 2007 to do so. Matt Lehr (Dover, Pa./York Catholic) led in rushing with 90 yards on 16 carries.
Mitchell Shober (Stevens, Pa./Cocalico) and Jake Diviney (Altoona, Pa./Altoona Area) both totaled nine tackles on defense. Diviney also had half a sack and a QB hurry.
The Green Terror scored on their first possession of the game. Will Koester passed to Andre Henry for a 25-yard touchdown with 10:27 remaining in the first quarter.
The two teams exchanged punts. Juniata began its third drive of the opening quarter on its own 18. Lehr rushed for four yards and then broke off a 33-yard run to the McDaniel 45. David Vidovic (Hohenfels, Germany/Hohenfels) then powered his way for a 12-yard gain to the Green Terror 33. From there, Coyne connected with Breault for the touchdown and Kevin Bonalle's (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest) extra point tied the game at 7-7 with 5:42 remaining in the quarter.
McDaniel added a field goal with time winding down in the quarter to take a 10-7 lead. Juniata started its drive at its down 27. Back-to-back completions to Aaron O'Brien (York, Pa./York Catholic) and Brealt moved the the Eagles into Green Terror territory. The drive ended, however, with Coyne tossing a pick to McDaniel's Chris Inge at the Green Terror 14.
Juniata didn't have to wait long for its next crack at the ball as Koester was himself intercepted by John Michael Maclay (Reedsville, Pa./Mifflin County) and the Eagles got possession back. Coyne completed four passes with a big 31-yard gain to Breault putting JC on the McDaniel 11. Faced with a third and 11, Coyne hit Notestine for nine yards to the three-yard line but the Eagles were short. Bonalle came on and converted a 20-yard field goal to tie the game at 10-10 with 6:16 to play in the second quarter.
McDaniel looked to take the lead back with a drive deep into Juniata territory. The Eagles defense came up with a big stop to force a field goal. Spencer Wiersberg's attempt would be blocked by Maclay to set JC up at their own 25. Juniata could not take advantage of its opportunity and two teams went into halftime with the score tied at 10-10.
The Green Terror received the second second half kickoff and Perry Stenfanlli raced 64 yards all the way down to the JC 18. The Eagles defense was able to keep McDaniel at bay and held it to a Wiersberg field goal as the Green Terror took a 13-10 lead.
JC got a big return on the kickoff as Vidovic brought the ball up to the JC 37. Lehr than ripped off a 33-yard run on the first play to move the Eagles to the McDaniel 30. After Lehr was stopped for no gain, Coyne completed a 20-yard pass to Breault to put Juniata at the Green Terror 10. Lehr was able to get the Eagles to the six but could not score. Bonalle came on for a 24-yard field goal and made it to once again tie the score, this time at 13-13 with 10:46 remaining in the third quarter.
McDaniel had two chances to go ahead but Wisterberg missed from 28 yards with 1:55 left in the third and hit the left upright on a 44-yard attempt with 10:48 to go in the fourth quarter. Another attempt, this time with just over seven minutes showing on the clock, was thwarted when a bad snap got away from Green Terror holder Luke Lynes and McDaniel recovered well short of the first down marker to give Juniata the ball.
The Eagles could not get any offense going and had to punt the ball away. With the ball at the McDaniel 45, Koester competed a 45-yard pass to Andre Henry to give the Green Terror a first down at the JC 10. From there, Koester found Bailor for the go-ahead touchdown.
The Eagles attempted to come back. On third and 10 from the JC 25, the game seemed over when Coyne was intercepted by the Green Terror's Chris Inge but a pass interference on Inge gave JC new life and a first down at its own 40. Coyne converted a second and nine with an 18-yard run to the McDaniel 41. Lehr rushed for four yards but an incomplete pass to Notestine and a sack backed Juniata to the McDaniel 46. On fourth and 15, Coyne completed a 14-yard pass to Notestine but a fumble that went out of bounds gave possession to McDaniel.
McDaniel outgained Juniata 406-346. JC did outrush McDaniel 140-110. The Green Terror controlled the ball for 34:37 compared to 25:23 for the Eagles.
Juniata hosts Moravian in its home finale next Saturday on Senior Day. Kickoff is slated for 12:00 p.m.
