TodayHigh School Football: Guise grabs win for CV
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Karissa Zimmer/The Sentinel Altoona's Alphonso Lewis makes a catch over top of Eagle Travis Friend.
Cumberland Valley had taken its last breath Friday night.
Sure, the Eagles kept fighting and trying to rally against Mid-Penn Commonwealth foe Altoona at Chapman Field, but when a fourth-and-9 pass fell incomplete in the waning moments of the fourth quarter with Altoona leading 7-0, the only thing left for the visitors to do was take a knee or two.
But, there was a yellow flag laying on the wet grass just behind CV quarterback Chris Jordan.
Five plays after Altoona was penalized for a late hit on Jordan, the 6-foot-2, 175-pound senior connected with split end Logan Sheely through a steady rain in the far corner of the end zone to bring the Eagles within one. Andrew Reiersen, who hasn't missed a field goal or extra point this season, was true on the point after.
Jordan connected on another touchdown, this one to Tyler Guise, in the second overtime and the defense kept the Mountain Lions out of the end zone as CV sent Altoona back to Blair County with a tough 17-10 loss.
And it all started with the late hit on Jordan.
“After I threw the ball I got hit really hard on the wrist,” said Jordan, who completed 11-of-21 passes for 131 yards and two touchdowns. “That's the referee's call. I don't want to cause any controversy or anything.”
Altoona (2-1 overall, 1-1 division) was penalized nine times for 95 yards while CV committed only two penalties - both in the first half.
“That roughing penalty gave us the momentum we needed to move the ball down the field,” CV coach Tim Rimpfel said. “Logan Sheely did a heck of a job getting up for that ball. He makes plays.”
So does Guise.
The senior halfback ran 25 times for a game-high 125 yards, but his biggest play came as a receiver in the second overtime.
Tied 10-10, Jordan found Guise open in the flat on a swing pass. After catching the ball Guise turned on the jets and cruised into the end zone, giving CV its first lead of the game as the crowd erupted.
“We clogged up the middle and then Chris found me out in the flat and I took it in,” Guise said. “With the crowd, the atmosphere ... after we scored I didn't think they had a chance.”
On his team's first play of the second session, Altoona quarterback Jarryd Burkett hit Tyler Futrell on a slant for seven yards for a second-and-goal at the 3. Alphonso Lewis was stacked up at the line of scrimmage on the ensuing play and A.J. Alexander, a Division I recruit, was knocked for a 4-yard loss on a sweep.
With the game on the line Burkett tried to find Futrell at the back of the end zone but the ball fell harmlessly out of bounds.
The CV student section, which sprinted to the opposite end of the field at the start of overtime to make Altoona's life more difficult, stormed the field in celebration.
CV (3-0, 3-0) contained the speedy Alexander for most of the night. Alexander's biggest run - a 54-yarder in the second quarter - preceded his 2-yard touchdown run and a 7-0 Lions lead. Alexander, who rushed 21 times for 111 yards, broke only one other double-digit run when he sprinted for 24 on the first play of the second half.
Rimpfel said he didn't do anything special to contain Alexander.
“We just played basic defense,” Rimpfel said. “We forced him outside and our pursuit caught up. It was just a tremendous defensive effort. We've come a long way defensively from last year and this game showed it.”
On the other side of the ball, CV suffered numerous breakdowns in its offensive line. Jordan was sacked four times and felt heavy pressure all night. The Altoona defense held CV to 221 yards, well below its average of 333.
That fact wasn't enough to console a visibly distraught Altoona coach Phil Riccio.
“It's about what happens at the end,” he said. “The end is what it is.”
With a full complement of timeouts in the first half, Riccio elected to drain the clock with the ball on his own 38 with 41 seconds remaining. The half ended on Burkett's 29-yard pass to Lewis.
“I wanted to play smart football out there,” Riccio said. “I didn't feel like gambling tonight. We had 24 minutes and all we scored was seven points. We were happy getting out of here with a seven-point lead. “
The result evened the all-time series between the teams at 1-1. Last year Altoona beat CV 35-30 at Mansion Park.
But that CV team, which finished 4-6 and missed the playoffs, is a thing of the past.
“We wanted to prove we aren't like last year,” Jordan said. “We're better than that. We just want to get some respect. It feels like it's us against the world out here. We wanted to get some respect.”
Notes: Since joining the Commonwealth in 2004, Altoona has never started 2-0 in the division. ... the Mountain Lions' road record in the division dropped to 4-11 ... Both teams continue Commonwealth play next week; CV travels to Bishop McDevitt on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. while Altoona hosts rival State College on Friday night at 7.
