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Knight cook Titans in OT
Saturday, October 01, 2011
By Jon Christoff Sports Writer
SAXTON - Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, shame on you.
Reverses typically only work once, but Moshannon Valley wide receiver Logan Cook and the Black Knights got the last laugh on Friday night at Tussey Mountain.
The Mo Valley senior, who ran in from 14 yards out to help tie the game in the third quarter, scored his second rushing touchdown in overtime, as he took a reverse around the right side of the Titan defense for the game-winning score.
Cook's scamper helped the Knights overcome a 14-point halftime deficit to deny upset-minded Tussey Mountain (1-4), 20-14.
"We worked on it all this week," said Cook of the reverse. "After I got the first one, I told coach (Murray Fetzer) going into overtime, ‘run it again ... I guarantee it will work.'
"I never thought I'd score two (rushing touchdowns) because I'm a receiver and never carry the ball, (but) I saw I had a couple of nice blocks out there and took advantage of it."
With games against Inter-County Conference Northern Division foes Juniata Valley and Glendale back to back in their rear-view mirror and Bellwood-Antis lying ahead on Friday, the Titans proved to be pesky for the Knights in a trap game.
To make matters worse, Mo Valley was without Dylan Ludwig this week, but sophomore Kent Stewart made the successful transition from strong safety to defensive end to fill Ludwig's void on the defensive side of the ball.
Not only did he help fill the void, but Stewart also came up with the stop that gave the Knights the win.
Tussey Mountain's Alex Mock - who scored the game's first touchdown after a 13-play, 60-yard drive to open the contest - tried going around Stewart's end on fourth-and-5 following Cook's touchdown, but the first-year starter stopped him in his tracks for no gain to end the contest.
"What can you say about Kent," Fetzer said rhetorically. "He's very mature (for a sophomore) and he had the expectation that he wanted to be a part of this football team. He didn't want to watch, he wanted to play.
"He demonstrates week after week what he can do, and he did it again tonight."
The Titans entered the game on the heels of a last-second win over Everett, and their momentum carried them to a 14-0 lead heading into halftime.
Josh Corbin ran in Tussey Mountain's second touchdown from 5 yards out midway through the second quarter, as all the bounces were going his team's way.
Until late in the third quarter, that is.
Mo Valley's Derek Southern, who gained 119 yards on 26 rushes, cut the deficit in half on a 1-yard plunge on fourth down, and the Knights forced the first punt of the game before needing to boot the ball away on their next possession.
Tyler Martin's punt soared into the air and plunked Mock on the back as he was trying to get away, though, and Caleb Campbell recovered the ball for the Knights on the Titan 37.
Cook was in the end zone for the first time just three plays later.
"They're a very good team and they exploit the things you do wrong," said Tussey Mountain head coach Josh Smith. "We were just unfortunate on the punt return. It was a bad break, but it didn't cost us the game.
"We hadn't worked on (defending the reverse), and you have to credit (Mo Valley) for taking advantage of it."
Despite the unfortunate bounce, the Titans had a chance for another dramatic win at the end of regulation.
A late-hit penalty gave Tussey Mountain first-and-10 from the Knight 30 with 38 seconds to go, but junior defensive back Tanner Dipko picked off a pass attempt in the end zone with eight seconds left on the clock.
Fetzer opted to take a knee and play overtime, where Cook and Stewart came up big for Mo Valley (4-1).
"The coaches just told us to go play with heart," said Cook of what was said at halftime. "They always say the second half is ours, so we went out and showed it."
EXTRA POINTS: Cook finished the game with four catches and an additional 51 yards. ... Mo Valley quarterback Joel Martin completed nine of 16 attempts for 119 yards with James Stodart hauling in the other five aerials for 68 yards. ... Mock ended the contest with 17 totes for 92 yards, while teammate Tyler Husick added 61 on 16 carries. ... The Titans gained 148 of their 225 yards through the first two quarters. ... Corbin also had an interception for Tussey Mountain, which will travel to Northern Bedford on Friday. ... Mo Valley's J.J. Bacher also had a fumble recovery to his credit.
Moshannon Valley 20
Tussey Mountain 14 (OT)
Score By Quarters
Mo Valley 0 0 14 0 6-20
Tussey Mountain 8 6 0 0 0-14 First Quarter
TM-Mock 4 run, (Carroll run), 4:18.
Second Quarter
TM-Corbin 5 run, (run failed), 6:45.
Third Quarter
MV-Southern 1 run, (T. Martin kick), 6:57.
MV-Cook 14 run, (T. Martin kick), 1:11.
Overtime
MV-Cook 4 run, (kick failed). TEAM STATISTICS
MV TM
Total First Downs 14 12
Rushes-Yards 38-140 44-198
Comp-Att-Int 9-16-1 2-8-1
Passing Yards 119 27
Total Plays-Yards 54-259 52-225
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 1-1
Punts-Avg 2-32 2-20.5
Penalties-Yards 5-51 2-10 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Mo Valley-Southern 26-119, Cook 2-18, Campbell 1-4, J. Martin 7-0, T. Martin 1-0, Team 1-(-1).
Tussey Mountain-Mock 17-92, T. Husick 16-61, Sipes 3-16, Duvall 5-12, Corbin 2-9, E. Husick 1-8.
Passing
Mo Valley-J. Martin 9-of-16, 119 yds., Int.
Tussey Mountain-E. Husick 2-of-7, 27 yds., Int; Team 0-of-1.
Receiving
Mo Valley-Stodart 5-68, Cook 4-51.
Tussey Mountain-T. Husick 1-14, Duvall 1-13.
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