WESTMINSTER, Md.- The Juniata football team suffered a 27-9 defeat on the road at Centennial Conference foe McDaniel, Saturday afternoon at Gill Stadium.
The Eagles started with the ball, starting at their own 27. A Charles Debose (Tonawanda, N.Y. / Cardinal O'Hara HS) four-yard run got the drive off to a good start. Aaron Golberg (Westminster, Md. / Westminster H.S.) found Isaiah Collison (Chandler, Az. / Chandler HS) for three yards and Debose for an 11-yard gain & a first down. Three more Debose carries of five, four, and four yards meant another set of downs to work with for JC. Golberg found Clay Spencer (Hummelstown, Pa. / Lower Dauphin H.S.) for 14 yards, but the drive stalled from there at the Green Terror 25. Juniata lined up for a field goal, but disaster struck as a bobbled snap was fumbled, and the hosts took the ball the other way for a 58-yard touchdown.
The Eagle offense couldn't get going over the next two drives, while a Green Terror drive ended in a 27-yard field goal as JC trailed 10-0 after one.
The Juniata defense got a stop in the second, highlighted by a seven-yard sack by Noah Jacks-Waters (Chesapeake, Va.). Juniata took over at their own 19, but the ensuing Eagle drive was brief as Golberg's pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown as the deficit grew to 17-0.
The next JC drive ended at the McDaniel 45, and the Green Terror used a 25-yard pass to get into the RedZone. JR Harrison (Windsor Mill, Md. / Dulaney HS) had other ideas; however, forcing a fumble that Dan Drop Jr. (Hatfield, Pa. / North Penn HS) recovered.
The teams traded punts the rest of the half, with the Juniata taking over at the McDaniel 45 with 34 seconds left. Passes to Collison and Debose helped get JC down to the 23, and Beckett Leary (Fulton, Md. / Reservoir HS) booted it from 40-yards to get the Eagles on the board as they trailed by 14 at halftime.
The Green Terror opened the third with a long 19 play drive that lasted over eight minutes and resulted in a field goal to make it 20-3.
Neither team scored again until early in the fourth when the Green Terror took over at the JC 25 and ran the ball in to make it 27-3.
With 04:54 to go in the game, Noah Wright (Lewistown, Pa. / Mifflin County H.S.) threw a 15-yard touchdown to Collison, which made it 27-9.
Harrison led the team in total tackles with nine, to go with a forced fumble and a pass breakup, while Ethan Hurst (Lancaster, Pa. / Manheim Township H.S.) had eight total tackles. Spencer had four receptions for 52 yards, while Collison had five catches for 44 yards and a TD.
Juniata will host Johns Hopkins, Saturday at 2:00.