Jason Grassi
JOHNSTOWN — Games starting like a back-and-forth affair is nothing new this football season for the Penn Cambria Panthers, and Friday night was no different against Johnstown.
But once the Panthers found their footing, they did what has been common for them all season: put the pedal to the metal.
Thanks to an early turnover in the third quarter, the Panthers pulled away for a 48-12 mercy-rule triumph over the Trojans, spoiling their senior night at Trojan Stadum in Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference action.
Play of the game: Penn Cambria cornerback Blake Nadolsky intercepted a pass on the Trojans’ first drive of the second half. That set up his touchdown, which he recorded on a 14-yard pass from Evan Latterner.
Player of the game: Panther running back/linebacker Corbin Vinglish recorded 132 yards on the ground on 15 carries with three touchdowns. He also had two catches for 29 yards.
Unsung heroes: The entire Panther defense, which forced three takeaways while holding the Trojans to 172 yards of total offense.
Most vital statistic: Penn Cambria racked up 21 first downs to the Trojans 11 and never punted for the entire game.
Penn Cambria coach Jason Grassi: “I got to give coach (Johnstown coach Tony) Penna credit. Their kids came out and played hard the first half. Once again, we were a little bit slow coming out and they punched us a little bit, but we countered in the second half. We’ve done what we’ve done the last few weeks.”
Johnstown coach Tony Penna Jr.: “We’re very young, and very inexperienced. What I asked those guys is not to quit. I felt like what I’ve seen and what I’ve witnessed over the last couple of years we would not play four quarters. Now, here we are nine games into this season and we’ve played 36 quarters of full tilt. I’m really happy and really pleased with their effort and what they’ve done.”
Grassi on Vinglish: “He was a bruiser. He found the open gaps there, our line did a great job opening up some big holes for him, and he finds them. He’s tough to bring down. He just carried people at times.”
Notable: Johnstown picked up three first downs in the first half thanks to three offsides penalties against the Panthers. … Vinglish’s third score sent the game into the running clock. … The Trojans were hit with two penalties to the Panthers’ five. … The win put the Panthers in the driver’s seat for the top seed in the District 6 Class 3A playoffs, which start in two weeks following their LHAC crossover matchup next week with Clearfield.
Records: Penn Cambria (8-1), Johnstown (1-8).
Next week: Penn Cambria will visit Clearfield; Johnstown visits Bellefonte.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Penn Cambria 7 13 21 7 – 48
Johnstown 6 0 0 6 – 12
First Quarter
PC–Himmer 9 pass from B. Jones (B. Jones kick), 8:39.
J–Edwards 4 pass from Porter (run failed), 2:40.
Second Quarter
PC–Vinglish 11 run (B. Jones kick), 9:59.
PC–Vinglish 3 run (kick failed), :38.
Third Quarter
PC–Nadolsky 14 pass from Latterner (Golden kick), 10:51.
PC–Lilly 56 run (Golden kick), 9:01.
PC–Vinglish 1 run (Golden kick), :36.
Fourth Quarter
J–C. Porter 19 run (kick failed), 8:21.
PC–N. Jones 7 pass from Maybush (Golden kick), 2:22.
TEAM STATISTICS PC J
First downs 21 11
Total yards 415 172
Rushes-yards 42-274 34-138
Yards passing 141 34
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 11-15-1 5-13-0
Punts-avg. 0-0 1-40
Fumbles-lost 0-0 4-2
Penalties-yards 5-36 2-10
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING–Penn Cambria, Vinglish 15-131, Lilly 2-62, Jones 5-14, Maybush 4-10, Latterner 3-17, Britton 1-4, Kalwasinski 7-34, N. Jones 1-2. Johnstown, C. Porter 13-80, Hill-Goodman 1-7, Abutair 2-0, Porter 5-16, Armour 2-(-6), D. Porter 6-6, Anderson 3-20, Gilpatrick 1-13, Morrison 1-2.
PASSING–Penn Cambria, Jones 8-12-1-96, Latterner 2-2-0-38, Maybush 1-1-0-7. Johnstown, D. Porter 5-13-0-34.
RECEIVING–Penn Cambria, Lilly 3-48, Himmer 1-9, Nadolsky 4-48, Vinglish 2-29, N. Jones 1-7. Johnstown, Hill-Goodman 1-3, Edwards 2-7, Goggans 1-9, Abutair 1-15.