TV too strong up front

SCHUYLKILL HAVEN - Southern Columbia football coach Jim Roth felt the Tigers would be able to beat a speedier Tri-Valley team if they won the battle in the trenches, which Southern usually does.

Usually.

Not this time.

Tri-Valley got a tremendous effort from its offensive line, particularly in the second half when Southern should have been asserting itself because of its two-platoon system, and also did some other things which are very tough to do against Southern Columbia.

Like come from 10 points down in the second half.

Like force the Tigers to three three-and-outs in the second half, including two straight as the Dawgs mounted their comeback.

In short, Tri-Valley, as running back-linebacker Brandon Auman later emphasized, probably wanted this one a little bit more, and got it, stunning Southern 35-32 in Friday's PIAA Class A state quarterfinal game at Schuylkill Haven's Rotary Field.

"All we heard all week was we can't and we won't," said Auman. "We felt all week they weren't giving us respect, and nobody was. But we just wanted it more." Auman won't get much argument from Roth.

"I never thought we'd have that many problems defensively like this," Roth said. "We didn't get the job done defensively up front and when you're on your heels like that defensively and they're able to run the ball like that, it's going to be tough."

Tri-Valley (10-4) ran for 280 yards and passed for 166 for a 446-yard night, with 278 of that coming in the second half. Mercurial Wyatt Straub carried 21 times for 171 yards and broke his share of tackles, but the Bulldogs also got 54 yards from Auman (on three car-

ries), and 52 yards from quarterback Matt McGinley, who ran the option effectively in the second half.

"We challenged our linemen at halftime," said Tri-Valley coach Mike Kogut. "We knew we had to run the ball a little more and be able to take some clock off. We had a starter get hurt in the first half too, (Clayton Klinger) but those guys just really did a great job."

"Zach Coleman filled in and played a great game," said Auman, who had a pretty solid game himself. In addition to his 54 yards rushing and a 32-yard touchdown run, he had six tackles, a fumble recovery and an interception on defense, with his fumble recovery leading to Tri-Valley's first score.

Tri-Valley did a lot of other big things, too. When Southern's Tim Benner caught a 30-yard touchdown pass to give Southern a 17-7 lead on the Tigers' first possession of the second half, that signaled a point when most opponents cave in against Southern.

Not this opponent. The Dawgs took just five plays to march 68 yards, with Auman scoring on his 32-yard run, to make it 17-14.

Then it was the defense's turn to shine, which didn't happen much for either team in this game. The Dawgs forced a three-and-out punt, then gave the ball right back on a fumble, their only turnover, and forced another three-and-out. This time, Straub knocked off a 43-yard run to the 15, from where McGinley scored on an option keeper.

"We really stepped up and made a couple of defensive stops." said Kogut. "At halftime, our assistant coaches thought we could run the option on them, and we decided to mix things up a little. They seemed to have some confusion."

And they were, said Benner, who had a monster game in defeat with 302 all-purpose yards (38 rushing, 75 receiving, six kick returns for 174 yards and a 15-yard punt return).

"We had trouble with their offense all week in practice," Benner said. "We played our hearts out, but so did they."

Another key was the aiding the runner penalty called against Southern on quarterback Jake Townsend's apparent go-ahead touchdown at the end of the first half. Southern had to settle for a field goal, costing the Tigers four points, and they lost by three.

But ultimately, Tri-Valley's spectacular offense and Southern's not-so-spectacular defense were the differences, even though Southern almost pulled the game out at the end. And that's what will haunt the Tigers and Roth.

"I don't want to take anything away from them, because they handled us," said Roth. "But to put it in perspective, we played better defense against Selinsgrove."

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