Cambria Heights players celebrate with the District 6 Class 1A trophy.
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By John Hartsock
The Cambria Heights High School football program carved an unprecedented niche for itself Friday night, and used a quick start in order to accomplish it.
Heights capitalized on Purchase Line mistakes to bolt to a 21-0 first-quarter lead, and the Highlanders held serve throughout a torrential downpour in the second half, to become the first district championship football team in their school’s history by capturing the District 6 Class 1A title with a 27-13 victory at Mansion Park.
“It’s amazing, it’s something that has never been done by a football team at our school before,” said Heights junior tight end Garrett Jasper, whose team will advance to the PIAA quarterfinal round against South Williamsport of District 4 next weekend at a site and time to be determined.
“You always want to do something that has never been done before, and we made it happen tonight,” Jasper added.
The Highlanders (10-3) set the tone for the first quarter by marching 66 yards on eight plays for a touchdown on their first offensive possession.
Junior Stephen Nelen threw a 47-yard pass down the middle of the field to his older brother, senior Hunter Nelen, that gave the Highlanders a first down at the Purchase Line 19. Seven plays later, Jasper pranced into the end zone off left tackle on a 1-yard, fourth-down run to give Heights an early 7-0 lead.
“We came out hot tonight,” Steven Nelen said. “We knew that they’re a physical team, and we did what we had to do to play a great game. We worked so hard as a team for this, and to become the first team in school history to win a district football championship feels amazing.”
An interception by Heights sophomore Dawson Warner on Purchase Line’s first possession of the game gave the Highlanders the ball at the Purchase Line 38 and set up Steven Nelen’s eventual 23-yard touchdown run with 3:24 remaining in the first quarter that gave Heights a 14-0 lead.
The Highlanders expanded the lead to 21-0 when Purchase Line snapped errantly on a punt attempt, and Jasper picked up the loose ball at the Purchase Line 14 and raced into the end zone with it with 17 seconds left in the first quarter.
“We just clicked early in the game tonight, got two TDs, and Garrett Jasper got that fumble recovery and took it to the house,” Heights junior center-nose guard Braylon Rydbom said. “I’m so proud of this team. We worked so hard in the offseason and practiced great this week, but all of this is still so hard to take in right now.”
Heights coach Jarrod Lewis said that his team has been resilient all season, and the community members have offered unwavering support for the squad.
“We had a big sendoff with fire trucks before leaving town tonight,” Lewis said. “The community has been great to us. I’m so proud of these guys. It feels great to get this done tonight.
“This team has been a team of resilience,” Lewis added. “These kids have played hard all year, and never gave up. We lost to both Purchase Line and Northern Cambria during the regular season, but we avenged both those losses. Our goal was to get better every week, and we did that.”
In a game that featured seven turnovers – four by Heights on three fumbles and an interception, and three by Purchase Line on two interceptions and a fumble – the early hole proved too deep for Purchase Line to emerge from.
Senior Jaylin Robertson’s 81-yard second-quarter fumble return for a touchdown and Robertson’s 1-yard scoring run after Purchase Line recovered another fumble at the Heights 30, enabled the Dragons to pull to within 21-13 at halftime.
But a Purchase Line fumble that was recovered by Heights junior defensive end Tristan Weakland midway through the fourth quarter gave the Highlanders the ball at the Purchase Line 30 with under nine minutes left in the game. That turnover paved the way for an eventual 1-yard touchdown burst by junior fullback Jaxxon Kline with six minutes left that put the game on ice for Heights.
“We can’t spot them 21 points and then decide to play,” Purchase Line coach Matt Falisec said. “Obviously that was the difference in the game.”
Play(s) of the game: The 47-yard pass connection between the Nelen brothers in the first quarter set the tone and gave Heights the early upper hand. The fumble recovery and touchdown run by Jasper with Purchase Line in punt formation later in the quarter gave Heights a strong leg up.
Player(s) of the game: Along with throwing the 47-yard pass, Steven Nelen rushed for 51 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown, while Jasper scored two touchdowns and rushed for 49 yards on 13 carries.
Unsung hero(es): The Highlanders’ defense shut down Purchase Line in the second half and limited the Dragons to just 48 yards in total offense.
Most vital statistic(s): Three Purchase Line turnovers led either directly or indirectly to Cambria Heights touchdowns.
Lewis on the second-half downpour: “It was really coming down hard, and at times, it made things really difficult, but both teams had to face the same conditions. It seemed like it rained harder as the game went on.”
Notable: Junior Luke Mulraney had an interception for Heights, while sophomore Victor Bartlebaugh intercepted a pass for Purchase Line.
Records: Purchase Line (9-4); Cambria Heights (10-3).
Next week: Purchase Line’s season is complete. Cambria Heights will advance to the PIAA quarterfinals to play South Williamsport.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Purchase Line 0 13 0 0–13
Cambria Heights 21 0 0 6–27
FIRST QUARTER
CH–Jasper 1 run (Abrams kick), 8:07.
CH–S. Nelen 23 run (Abrams kick), 3:24.
CH–Jasper 14 run (Abrams kick), 0:17.
SECOND QUARTER
PL–Robertson 81 fumble return (Mountain kick), 6:24.
PL–Robertson 1 run (kick failed), 3:16.
FOURTH QUARTER
CH–Kline 1 run (pass failed), 6:00.
TEAM STATISTICS PL CH
First downs 4 12
Total yards 48 182
Rushes-yards 31-38 51-152
Yards passing 10 60
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 2-12-2 3-8-1
Punts/avg. 2-34.5 2-32.5
Fumbles-lost 2-1 4-3
Penalties-yards 8-50 1-5
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Purchase Line: Small 11-78, Robertson 2-4, Elick 17-(-1). TEAM 1-(-43). Cambria Heights: S. Nelen 14-51, Jasper 13-49, Trybus 5-27, Mulraney 7-16, Kline 9-9, Eckenrode 1-0, Weiland 2-0.
PASSING: Purchase Line: Elick 2-12-2-10. Cambria Heights: S. Nelen 1-1-0-47, Weiland 2-7-1-13.
RECEIVING: Purchase Line: Small 2-7, Robertson 1-3. Cambria Heights: H. Nelen 2-51, Eckenrode 1-9.