Breaking News
Late Sports

Danville defeats Montoursville to win District 4 Class AAA championship

By MITCH RUPERT 7 min read

DANVILLE - Rocco Pulizzi hadn’t played a football game in more than a month. He easily could have sat out another game Friday night, but the Montoursville senior running back wanted to play in a district championship game no matter how many good legs he had.

Kayden Frame cramped late in the District 4 Class AAA final against Danville on Friday night because he just wasn’t used to running the ball as much as he did.

The effort was never a question for the Warriors and coach Mike Boughton last night. That was evident. The score just didn’t fall Montoursville’s way.

The Warriors lost a critical fumble late in the first half which led to points, and a last-minute muffed punt ended any chance of a comeback in a 35-28 loss to Danville. The Ironmen won their second consecutive district title last night. They advance to face Neumann-Goretti, a 26-21 win over North Schuylkill in the PIAA Class AAA quarterfinals next week at a site and time to be determined.

"These kids played their heart out," said Boughton, who finished his first season as the Warriors’ coach with a 7-6 record. "It didn’t go the way we wanted, but I can’t ask for anything more. They laid it all out on the line and that’s all we can ask for."

This season has never been easy for the Warriors. They lost four games in a five-game stretch in the middle of the season, three of which came to teams which either won a district title or played in a district final. Pulizzi, Montoursville’s all-state running back, was injured in a shutout win over Central Columbia just shy of a month ago and hadn’t played in a game since before Friday night.

There was always an answer, though, for the Warriors. Whether it was winning four of its last five games entering Friday’s district final, or responding to each second-half Danville touchdown with one of their own to stay in striking distance, there was always an answer. It turns out there just weren’t enough of them.

Danville freshman quarterback Madden Patrick threw for 159 yards and four touchdowns in place of starting quarterback Zach Gordon. Ty Stauffer ran for an 84-yard touchdown, and Mason Raup forced recovered a muffed punt with 45 seconds to go, stopping Montoursville’s final drive before it ever started.

The Ironmen won their second consecutive district title despite losing four of its final five regular-season games. And they did it with their starting quarterback playing in just one of the three district playoff games.

"This validates everything," said Danville all-state receiver Carson Persing, who caught a pair of touchdowns and eclipsed 3,000 career receiving yards. "We know what we’re capable of, but a lot of people around the area forgot about us and didn’t know what we were capable of. So to come out and win a district championship is a great feeling to prove all our hard work paid off."

Pulizzi grinded out crucial yards for the Warriors, carrying 13 times for 44 yards. He lacked the burst of speed which has made him so dangerous as a runner over the last three years, but popped first-down runs at critical times. Frame, who had carried only 19 times all season, ran 10 times for 76 yards last night for Montoursville, hitting holes quickly and producing six runs of 8 yards or more.

It all provided just enough in the run game to open Montoursville’s play-action passing attack. Senior quarterback Maddix Dalena threw for 128 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, including a 69-yard scoring strike over tight coverage to Marco Pulizzi to open the scoring. It was a score Boughton knew the Warriors needed to set a tone early in the game.

"We knew coming in we had to jump on them early and get off to a quick start and hope our defense could play well," Boughton said. "And our defense did play well."

Dalena’s second touchdown pass of the first half, a 7-yarder to Brayden Brown, put the Warriors up 14-7 with 3 minutes, 38 seconds to go in the first half. But that’s where the football game shifted.

Danville embarked on a 68-yard drive which was aided by a 43-yard pass from Persing to Hayden Winn on a trick play. Two plays later Patrick threw the first of his four touchdowns a 5-yard strike to Persing. And on the ensuing kickoff, the Ironmen forced a fumble which Sam Meloy recovered on the Montoursville 27-yard line with 52 seconds left in the half.

Patrick, who completed 11 of 20 passes last night, threw a seed on third-and-2 to Persing for a 19-yard touchdown pass with just 12 seconds left in the half. It was the second consecutive week the Ironmen got a pivotal touchdown pass right before the half. Last week, Gordon found Persing with a dart with just six seconds to go in the half against Loyalsock to take a two-score lead.

This touchdown gave Danville only a 21-14 lead, but it also seemed to give the game’s control to the Ironmen.

"That turned the whole game around," Boughton said. "If that doesn’t happen, we’re talking in a different light probably. But that’s football for you, and it’s tough."

"I don’t know if words and describe how big that was," Persing said. "We knew (Montoursville) was getting the ball in the second half, and that touchdown gave us more confidence and a boost in general."

That boost only grew when the Ironmen scored their third consecutive touchdown on its first possession of the second half. After Montoursville missed a field goal attempt, Danville marched 80 yards in seven plays. Patrick found Aaron Johnson down the seam for a 35-yard pickup on third-and-13 to extend the drive. Two plays later, he hit Johnson on the seam again for a 20-yard touchdown pass.

Patrick and Johnson again converted a pass down the seam in the fourth quarter for another touchdown strike. Patrick’s four touchdown passes were a career high.

"On the first one, Nick Reeder is with him step for step, but that throw is a dime on the money," Boughton said. "That kid (Patrick) is a freshman, but he put some balls right on the money."

"I think (the seam) was there most of the game, we just had to pick the right time to take our shots," Persing said. "Madden got comfortable late in the game and got comfortable taking shots and we made them. Aaron made the plays when his number was called."

Montoursville added a 1-yard touchdown run after each of Danville’s second-half touchdowns to stay within a score each time. The Warriors forced a punt with about 50 seconds to go in the fourth quarter trailing by a score. But as Isaiah Fenner tried to pick up a bouncing ball at the 10-yard line, he was hit by Raup, who jarred the ball loose and fell on top of it to secure the win.

"It was a game that could have went either way," Boughton said. "Sometimes things don’t go your way totally, and it didn’t tonight."

Danville 35, Montoursville 28

Montoursville 7 7 7 7 -- 28

Danville 0 21 7 7 -- 35

First Quarter

M - Marco Pulizzi 69 pass from Maddix Dalena (Wyatt Fry kick), 8:58

Second Quarter

D - Ty Stauffer 84 run (Aaron Johnson kick), 10:43

M - Brayden Brown 7 pass from Dalena (Fry kick), 3:38

D - Carson Persing 5 pass from Madden Patrick (Johnson kick), 1:01

D - Persing 19 pass from Patrick (Johnson kick), :12

Third Quarter

D - Johnson 20 pass from Patrick (Johnson kick), 5:33

M - Brown 1 run (Fry kick), 3:02

Fourth Quarter

D - Johnson 22 pass from Patrick (Johnson kick), 7:13

M - Brown 1 run (Fry kick), 3:00

Mon Dan

First Downs 14 14

Rushes-Yards 32-167 29-164

Comp-Att-Int 13-27-0 12-21-0

Passing 246 202

Total Yards 413 366

Fumbles-Lost 1-1 1-1

Penalties-Yards 10-113 8-61

Individual statistics

Rushing: Montoursville -- Kayden Frame, 10-76; Rocco Pulizzi, 13-44; Nick Reeder, 3-19; Maddix Dalena, 1-14; James Batkowski, 3-12; Brayden Brown, 2-2, 2 TDs. Danville -- Ty Stauffer, 20-151, TD; Carson Persing, 4-18; Aaron Johnson, 1-1; Team, 2-(-2); Madden Patrick, 2-(-4).

Passing: Montoursville -- Maddix Dalena, 12-26-0, 218 yds., 2 TDs; Isaiah Fenner, 1-1-0, 28 yds. Danville -- Madden Patrick, 11-20-0, 159 yds., 4 TDs; Carson Persing, 1-1-0, 43 yds.

Receiving: Montoursville -- Marco Pulizzi, 4-120, TD; Nick Reeder, 3-88; Isaiah Fenner, 2-6; James Batkowski, 1-13; Rocco Pulizzi, 1-12; Brayden Brown, 1-7, TD; Kayden Frame, 1-0. Danville -- Carson Persing, 5-60, 2 TDs; Aaron Johnson, 4-86, 2 TDs; Mason Raup, 2-13; Hayden Winn, 1-43.

Records: Montoursville (7-6); Danville (8-4).

Starting at /week.