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Williamsport football comeback falls short, 17-14 against State College in District 6 Class 6A championship

By Evan Wheaton 5 min read
EVAN WHEATON/Sun-Gazette The Williamsport football team takes the field at Don Malinak Stadium Friday night. The Millionaires mounted a comeback that fell just short, 17-14 in the District 6 Class 6A championship.

MILL HALL -- With a three-point lead and less than a minute left, Jashaun Green picked up a fresh set of downs in the red zone for State College to ice it.

Twenty-four seconds remained on the clock, but the Williamsport football team already started heading to the locker room. With a chance to win their first district championship since 2016, the Millionaires came up just short, 17-14, at Malinak Stadium in Friday’s District 6 Class 6A championship game.

With the win, the Little Lions will face District 2's champion, the winner between Hazleton and Delaware Valley.

"All we want is for a chance for the kids to decide the game. That's all we want, but it's the same time and time again," Williamsport coach Chuck Crews said. "You tell me what's wrong with Williamsport's kids, that they can't just get a neutrally-officiated game. Tell me what's wrong?"

The Millionaires were penalized seven times throughout the night. State College was thrown six flags, though there were two offsetting penalties at the end of the game.

"What's wrong with us? Is it the name? The town? Why can't they just line up and play and decide the game like everybody else?" Crews asked.

State College scored on its opening drive via a 31-yard skirt along the sideline by Green. The Millionaires then went three-and-out, but a fumble on the punt resulted in the Little Lions' offense setting up shop on Williamsport's 2-yard line.

Brady Bendik punched the ball in immediately to pad State College's lead, 14-0.

"The first touchdown, they false start. The guy reaches for it, like I'm beating a damn horse," Crews said. "They want to say we're short, but just let the kids decide it one way or the other."

Williamsport was called for encroachment two plays prior to Bendik's touchdown.

From there, however, the Millionaires came up with answers on defense. State College utilized a wildcat QB formation between Bendik and Owen Yerka all game, and the Little Lions weren't able to put together strong, cohesive drives for the rest of the game.

"We were shutting down what they wanted to run, so they had to go back and do some things to counteract it because we shut them down for three quarters," Crews said. "They were only able to squeeze out three points after that first quarter. They got that because the officials kept giving them stuff. I'm tired of it."

Those three points came from a field goal to retake a permanent lead with 5:37 left.

Needing points to complement their strong defensive efforts, the Millionaires wouldn't find them until the third quarter after being down 14-0 at the half.

Senior quarterback Frankie Morrone connected with sophomore wide receiver Jamaire Harden for a 42-yard gain on the first play of Williamsport's second drive of the frame. It was the biggest play up to that point, and it gave the Millionaires a sign of life.

Five plays later, Lajear Whaley ran three yards up the middle to break the plane and cut Williamsport's deficit in half.

On 4th-and-8 with 10 minutes, 25 seconds left in the game, Morrone floated the ball to DJ Greene for a 47-yard go-ahead run to the house to knot the contest.

"Their secondary is not very good, and we knew it. We were looking for the opportunity to take advantage of it and it presented itself there," Crews said. "DJ made a great catch, Frank threw a great ball, the line gave them plenty of time. That worked out to tie the ball game up with momentum on our side. Just didn't turn out our way."

Morrone completed 17 of his 31 passes for 222 yards.

With Williamsport's season in the books, Crews reflected on his four-year players and son, Charles, as the crowds dispersed from Central Mountain's facility.

"This is bigger than just one year. This has been building for four years. For these seniors, all of them except maybe one or two have been four-year ball players," Crews said. "This one stings because of the relationships that I have with them and because of my son. This one's different. I've lost a lot of games, you know what I mean? But this one's different."

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