Sentinel photo by KATHY REED
Mifflin County quarterback Jarod Lyons (11) scrambles away from the Hershey defense Friday night at Mitchell Field in Lewistown.
LEWISTOWN — No matter how well they play, the Mifflin County football team can’t seem to get out of their way.
This season, turnovers, miscues, and mental errors are the primary storyline, and Friday night was no exception.
The Huskies played their best game of the season on both sides of the ball, but three turnovers were the difference in a 26-20 loss to Hershey in a Mid-Penn Keystone clash at Mitchell Field.
“The kids played great and showed a lot of heart. The energy was there from the crowd, the players, and the student section. We had senior night and a blackout on. Three plays did us in — two offensively and one defensively,” Huskies coach Scot Sechler said. “It’s exceptionally frustrating. We don’t turn the ball over in practice. It’s all mental. I don’t know if they’re putting too much pressure on themselves. It’s gone against us this whole year.”
Turnover one came late in the first quarter. With the score of 6-0 in favor of Mifflin County, starting quarterback Jared Lyons had to leave for a play due to injury. On the ensuing play, Logan Parks and tailback Tyler Hunter had problems with the handoff, and Trojan Jack Paterno picked up the fumble and went 20 yards for the score to make it 6-6.
Big turnover number two came with nine seconds left in the first half when Jaxson Pupo fumbled at the Trojan 1 on third down, ending a huge scoring opportunity.
“I thought if we don’t convert this play, we can kick the three and go up at halftime. Instead, we fumbled and gave Hershey momentum going into the half,” Sechler said.
The final nail in the coffin came right after a Trojan score in the fourth made it 26-20 visitors. Kicker Darrell Burys squibbed the kick, bouncing off a Husky defender before it was recovered by Hershey’s Malcolm Jenkins with 4:56 left in regulation.
“I had to substitute for an injured player on the kickoff, and wouldn’t you know they kicked right to our replacement, the ball bounced off of him, and they recovered,” Sechler said. “I’ll repeat it; the kids played a great game. It was just three plays that made the difference.”
Mifflin County (0-8, 0-5) drew first blood with a nine-play, 65-yard drive capped by a Pupo blast from a yard out to make it 6-0. Lyons keyed the drive with runs of 19, 9, and 31 yards.
After the fumbled recovery for the score tied it at 6-6, the Huskies regained the lead at 12-7 when Regan Ettinger scored from a yard out with 3:49 until the half. Josiah Sechler broke coverage and caught an 86-yard bomb from Lyons to put MC on the four. The two-point pass conversion failed.
Hershey (1-7, 1-4) scored just over a minute later when quarterback Daniel Painter connected with Alec Angello for a 75-yard TD strike. The PAT gave the visitors a 14-12 advantage at the break.
“Our defense played very well, with the exception for that one, big play. We played well on both sides of the ball. We held their running game in check, and they only had one big pass,” Sechler said. “The kids were flying to the ball, and the energy was phenomenal. They gave a heck of an effort. It was just a couple of mental errors still in our way.”
Angel Cabrera’s four-yard score gave Hershey the 20-12 lead in the third. The Huskies answered when Isaac Wilson took a punt back 35 yards for the score with just three ticks on the third-quarter clock. Lyons ran it for the 2-point conversion making it 20-20, heading into the fourth quarter.
The Trojans regained the lead for good, marching on a 14-play, 60-yard drive capped by a Cabrera 2-yard plunge. The PAT attempt failed.
Mifflin County ran the ball well despite having Deakon Schaeffer and Joshua Cruz, the top two rushers, out of the lineup.
“I was pleased except where we had the mental lapses,” Sechler said. “I’m very happy with the effort. We had two running backs down tonight. One was quarantined, and I found that out at 4:45. Ettinger and Hunter did an excellent job for us. The offensive line did a good job. We had time to throw the ball, and the receivers got open and we made connections.”
Lyons was 6-for-11 for 195 yards to go along with 69 yards rushing. Wilson had three receptions for 92 yards. The Huskies had a season-high 297 yards of total offense.
Mifflin County travels to Palmyra for a league showdown on Oct. 22.
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