PIAA football notebook: Injuries to standout receivers foil Ligonier Valley’s game plan

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, November 26, 2017 | 8:27 PM

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HERSHEY — No one would have predicted what happened to the Ligonier Valley football team Saturday against Dunmore in the PIAA Class 2A quarterfinal-round playoff game.

Losing one all-state wide receiver is one thing, but losing both in the second quarter is something else.

That's exactly what happened to the Rams in their 23-20 loss to Dunmore. Junior Aaron Tutino suffered an injury to his lower left leg. Senior Jackson Daugherty initially left the game with a head injury, but what put him out for most of the second half was two twisted ankles.

“I guess maybe I'll have to prepare a doomsday situation,” Ligonier Valley coach Roger Beitel said. “OK, what happens when all our main offensive weapons all get hurt at the same time, and then we'll go from there.”

Ligonier Valley (13-1) raced to a quick 14-0 lead as Tutino scored on a 20-yard pass from Daugherty and added a 48-yard interception return for touchdown.

Dunmore, which will play Southern Columbia in the semifinals, tied the score before the costly injuries.

Ligonier Valley's offense struggled with the receivers on the sideline.

“Our game plan featured Aaron and Jackson a lot,” Beitel said. “But when they went down, our game plan went out the window.”

After Dunmore got a safety and touchdown to go up 23-14 in the third quarter, Ligonier Valley's defense, which forced three turnovers, made a couple key stops.

Then the offense came to life behind junior quarterback John Caldwell and the running of Aaron Sheeder. The Rams drove 80 yards, capping a touchdown drive with 6 minutes, 18 seconds left on an 11-yard pass from Caldwell to Sheeder to cut the lead to 23-20.

Suddenly, Ligonier Valley had life, and Dunmore wasn't feeling comfortable.

“That's a well-coached football team,” Dunmore coach Jack Henzes said. “They didn't quit.”

Ligonier Valley got the ball back with 4:32 left, and Caldwell directed the offense downfield, connecting with Sullivan Schueltz for 23 yards and Cage Dowden for 45 yards to the Dunmore 13.

But a fourth-down pass eluded Daugherty, who limped back onto the field for the final play, and Ligonier Valley's season ended two games short of its final goal.

“I couldn't be prouder of these guys,” Beitel said. “What they did was fabulous. Every one of them stepped up. We had kids step up all over the place.

“The positive thing about the game was I found some more football players for next season. Sometimes, you lose football games, but we didn't lose the battle of heart, that's for sure.”

Streak ends

Class A powerhouse Bishop Guilfoyle's 59-game winning streak was ended by Homer-Center, 20-14, in the District 6 Class A championship Friday. Homer-Center is coached by Greg Page, who graduated from the former Laurel Valley.

That gives the Heritage Conference two district champions. Ligonier Valley won the Class 2A by defeating Bishop McCort.

Homer-Center (13-1) faces District 3 champion Steelton-Highspire (11-2) in the PIAA Class A semifinals at 7 p.m. Friday at Hollidaysburg.

PIAA sites

Here are the sites, dates and time for the PIAA semifinals involving WPIAL teams.

• Class 6A: Pine-Richland will play District 3 champion Manheim Township at 1 p.m. Saturday at Mansion Park in Altoona.

• Class 5A: Gateway will play District 3 champion Manheim Central at 7 p.m. Friday at Mansion Park.

• Class 3A: Quaker Valley will play District 10 champion Sharon at 7 p.m. Friday at North Hills.

• Class 2A: Washington will play District 10 champion Wilmington at 7 p.m. Friday at Slippery Rock.

• Class A: Jeannette will play District 10 champion Farrell at 7 p.m. Friday at Seneca Valley.

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at pschofield@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Schofield_Trib.

Tags: Ligonier Valley