Thomas Jefferson stumbles in 2nd half, falls to Lampeter-Strasburg in state semifinals

By: Chris Harlan
Friday, November 29, 2024 | 6:23 PM

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ALTOONA — A dominant second quarter by Thomas Jefferson meant a trip to the state finals was just 24 minutes away.

That made Friday’s loss tougher to take.

Two failed fourth-down tries, a near-miss on a sure touchdown pass, a couple of lapses on defense, penalties and some other forgettable moments tripped up Thomas Jefferson in the second half of a 20-16 loss to Lampeter-Strasburg in a PIAA Class 4A semifinal at Mansion Park Stadium.

The Jaguars led 16-3 at halftime.

“When you feel like, ‘If you just don’t screw it up, you’re going to win,’ that makes it worse,” Thomas Jefferson coach Bill Cherpak said.

That was the feeling at halftime.

The WPIAL champions controlled the second quarter in almost every way. Sophomore running back Tyler Eber scored on runs of 1 and 20 yards, capping off run-heavy touchdown drives that consumed nearly 10 minutes.

TJ had 20 plays. Its opponent ran five.

Eber rushed 16 times for 95 yards in the second quarter alone en route to a 43-carry, 206-yard day. Lampeter-Strasburg reached halftime with only 9 yards of offense.

Thomas Jefferson (13-1) seemed destined for a sixth appearance in the state finals, but two big plays in the third quarter swung momentum to the District 3 champion.

Lampeter-Strasburg (14-0) is headed to the state finals for the first time after quarterback Caileb Howse ran 45 yards for a touchdown and later connected with receiver Christian Nolt on a 70-yard scoring pass. The two big plays less than six minutes apart gave the Pioneers a 17-16 lead with 2:30 left in the third.

The Jaguars never answered.

“In the first half, they just did a phenomenal job of controlling the line of scrimmage,” Lampeter-Strasburg coach Victor Ridenour said. “Caileb busting that long run was big and hitting that hitch-and-go was huge.

“That was a lot of momentum.”

A 32-yard field goal early in the fourth extended Lampeter-Strasburg’s lead to four points.

“I think our kids maybe panicked a little bit,” Cherpak said. “I don’t know for sure, but they were kind of shell shocked when all of a sudden we were down.”

Thomas Jefferson’s second-half possessions produced two punts and two failed fourth-down tries.

Two holding penalties hurt Thomas Jefferson’s first drive after halftime, ending with an incomplete pass at the Pioneers’ 33. The team’s final drive ended at the Pioneers’ 32 with another incompletion, this time on fourth-and-6 with 4:40 left.

A screen pass from Luke Kosko to Brayden White was broken up. The Jaguars never got the ball back as Lampeter-Strasburg ran out the clock.

Kosko completed 10 of 19 passes for 79 yards and an interception. White had eight catches for 61 yards.

Howse completed 3 of 8 passes for 82 yards and one touchdown for the Pioneers. The senior also rushed for 93 yards on 15 carries, including his 45-yard touchdown.

“Our kids don’t know how to surrender,” Ridenour said. “They just keep getting after it, which is good. They did a good job of that today.”

Neither team scored a touchdown in the first quarter.

Lampeter-Strasburg’s Peter Fiorello kicked a 19-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead, and Thomas Jefferson’s Matt Martinis blocked a punt through the end zone for a safety.

Trailing 3-2, the Jaguars pulled ahead with two touchdown drives in the second quarter. The first was a 13-play, 55-yard drive and ended with a 1-yard run by Eber. The second drive covered 44 yards in eight plays, ending with a 20-yard run by Eber with 25 seconds left before half.

The Jaguars ran the ball effectively, at times flipping Pitt-bound lineman Shep Turk from left tackle to right depending on the play. But they weren’t able to finish drives the same way after halftime.

“We just got down there and then we’d have two penalties or we’d just make a mistake,” Cherpak said. “You can’t do that. (Lampeter-Strasburg) played well enough to win.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

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