CARLISLE, Pa.- The Eagle defense shutout Dickinson in the second half as Juniata won handily, 38-14, Saturday afternoon at Biddle Field.
Mitchell Shober (Stevens, Pa./Cocalico Sr. High) led the defense with 10 tackles, including a tackle for loss and seven solo to go with his three pass breakups. Anton Morrow (Boiling Springs, Pa./Boiling Spring) had eight tackles, a half sack and 1.5 tackles for loss. Peyton Edwards (State College, Pa./State College Area HS) had eight tackles as well, with a sack and a tackle for loss. Evan Imgrund (Claysburg Pa./Claysburg-Kimmell HS) had three tackles and an interception.
Austin Montgomery (Bedford, Pa./Bedford Area HS) was 17-27 with 159 yards and two touchdown passes. He added a season-high 70 yards to go with his two rushing two touchdowns. Matt Lehr (Dover, Pa./York Catholic HS) ran for 126 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. AJ Brocato (Abingdon, Md./Patterson Mills HS) had four catches for 45 yards and a score while Justin Helsel (Martinsburg, Pa./Central) had five catches for forty yards and a touchdown.
After forcing the Eagles to punt to open the game, the Red Devils lit up the scoreboard first with a 34-yard touchdown pass. With the ball at their own 27, Lehr helped move the Eagles down the field as he accounted for 40 yards on the ground. With first and goal at the seven, Montgomery hit Brocato for a touchdown to tie things at 7-7. On the ensuing kickoff, Dickinson fumbled and the Eagles recovered at the Red Devil 33. Juniata got down to the Dickinson seven, but couldn't get in the end zone so they settled for a Sam Craig (Mullica Hill, N.J./Kingsway Regional) 20-yard field goal and a 10-7 lead with 3:42 to go in the first.
Dickinson responded with a 11-play 63-yard drive that culminated in a five-yard touchdown run and the Devils back on top 14-10. Neither team scored on their next drive, and a short punt by the Red Devils set the Eagles up at the Dickinson forty. Montgomery hit Jake Notestine (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin HS) for 11 yards before he hooked up with Helsel for 29 and a touchdown to make it 17-14 with 8:40 to go in the half.
The Juniata defense forced another punt and the offense took over at their own 23. Lehr again sparked the offense, with a 20-yard catch and a 31-yard run getting the Eagles to the Dickinson two. Montgomery ran the ball in from the two as Juniata went into the half with a 24-14 lead.
The Eagles dominated the second half. They tacked on another Montgomery rushing touchdown in the third. Later in the fourth, following the Imgrund interception, Lehr ran for the final score of the game with 7:08 left. The Eagle defense only allowed the Red Devils onto their side of the field twice in the second half and never let them past the Juniata 37.
Juniata held Dickinson to 1-13 on third downs and only 87 yards passing. The Eagles held a 427-321 edge in total yards. The 268 rushing yards are the most rushing yards for the Eagles since they ran for 350 at McDaniel in 2013.
Head Coach Tim Launtz talked about how proud he was with the team's performance today. "We finally played a complete game, offensive, defensive and special teams, together. They fed off of each other and we haven't had that happen enough this year. We played all 60 minutes, which was our goal for the week, and the players action on the field speaks for themselves," he said. "We had a couple tough weeks, and I am very proud of this team with the toughness they showed today. It shows this teams commitment to each other hasn't wavered, they didn't give up today and that's why we were successful, because of their efforts."
Juniata is now 3-5 and will play at Johns Hopkins, Saturday at 12:00.