Indians ousted in semis

“We showed we’re not onedimensional. There’s been talk about big plays, big plays, big plays. Today we showed another side of what we can do,” Cougars coach Calvin Everett said. “We faced some adversity in the game, we bounced back, and we made history.”

West Allegheny tied the score at 7-7 with 1:33 left in the second quarter when White, in the shotgun, faked a run into the line and lofted a jump pass to Mateo Vandamia for a 6-yard touchdown. The play capped a 97-yard drive that started with White runs of 8 and 28 yards.

Nick Ross also was 3-for-3 passing for 29 yards on the drive that was further aided by two Harrisburg pass-interference penalties. White finished with 50 yards on 16 carries, while Ross was 13 for 21 for 110 yards.

West Allegheny was limited to 198 yards of offense. The Indians were denied on a couple of threats in the first half, getting stopped short on a fake punt at the Harrisburg 49 and then getting picked off by Donnell Henriquez after driving to the Cougars 30 in the second.

“Sometimes you just have to tip your hat to the other team and say, ‘ Congratulations. You’re the better team than us today,’ ” Palko said.

Indians kicker D.J. Opsatnik broke the Pennsylvania career field goal record, booting his 36th with 1:02 to play. He shared the mark with Peters Township’s Bob Milspaw and Manheim Township’s David Soldner entering the contest.

“Normally, I would have [the reserves] in, but I thought the kid deserved the opportunity,” Palko said. “The kids felt good about it.”