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DISTRICT 6: Huskies earn rematch with State College

LEWISTOWN — The Mifflin County football program returns to the playoffs for the first time in five years when the Huskies travel to Memorial Field to face State College for the District 6 Class 6A championship tonight at 7.

Mifflin County is 1-7 lifetime against the Little Lions with the lone win coming in the 2013 postseason when it won 27-26. Since then, State College has a five-game winning streak over the Huskies, out-scoring them 241-45.

The Little Lions defeated Mifflin County 35-12 in the season opener but Husky coach Scot Sechler believes his team is much better now and if they avoid the mental miscues from week one, his team has a chance against heavily favored State College, 9-1 overall and ranked seventh in the state by MaxPreps.

“We have to execute a lot better than the first time around. We made a lot of mental errors in that first game. We weren’t overly physical like we wanted to be,” Sechler said. “As far as game planning goes, we’re not going to do anything different from what we’ve been doing and had success with, so we’re going to stick with it. We’ll tweak some things and try to get a few splash plays here and there and see if we can hit some quick ones on them.

“I feel very good about it. I think we are going to be a lot more physical than the first time around. Obviously, we’re going to play a cleaner more disciplined game this time. I think our chances are pretty good,” Sechler continued. “It’s going to be no-holds-barred. We’re going to pull out all the stops. You might see some crazy things from us.”

Little Lion coach Matt Lintal brought a renaissance movement to State High. Under his six-year tenure, the Little Lions are 44-16 with four district championships under their belt.

State College has explosive talent all over the field, from quarterback Tommy Friberg (1,596 yards passing with 17 TDs), to Penn State-bound receiver Keaton Ellis (36 catches, 572 yards, 11 touchdowns), to the rushing duo of Dresyn Green (566 yards, seven TDs) and Isaiah Edwards (584 yards, 10 scores). Throw in speedster Cohen Russell (25 receptions, 568 yards, six touchdowns) and you can see the many matchup nightmares opposing teams face.

“The main goal, because they have so many weapons, is to keep their offense off the field. In order to do that, we need to ground and pound offensively, keep their defense out there, chew up clock and keep their playmakers off the field,” Sechler said. “Sometimes they say your best offense is a good defense but our best defense might be a good offense. They have a five-star guy and a couple four-star guys, so we are definitely going to focus in on those athletes, try to funnel them in and make them beat us somewhere else.”

What State College has in abundance is speed, speed and more speed. Sechler knows this is one area he can’t match up with the Little Lions, so scheme, and running it to perfection, will be key.

“You can try and leverage over top with kids. You have to try and keep everything in front of you and that’s what we didn’t do a great job with the first time around,” Sechler said. “Again, our kids understand what they’re trying to do a lot better than in Week One. We were really green at that point. It’s going to come down to how can we out-scheme them. You have a legitimately fast kid like Keaton Ellis and their new running back (Dresyn) Green, he’s fast, shifty and a playmaker. We have to try and keep them in check.”

After a 0-4 start, Mifflin County ran off a school record six straight victories to clinch the first conference championship in program history. The Huskies pulled out dramatic wins in myriad ways, including a blocked extra point that led to a win over Waynesboro in double overtime and stopping West Perry on a two-point conversion attempt with 58 seconds remaining to preserve the victory.

“I’m happy for the wins, but the way we do it sometimes is not good for my heart. I’m getting grayer because of it,” Sechler joked.

The Huskies live and die by their power running game. The ground-and-pound style of offense hearkens back to the good old days of 1970s football, thanks to Mifflin County’s version of Thunder and Lightning — sophomore Gage Schaeffer and senior Nathan Poche.

Schaeffer (851 yards, eight touchdowns) is the flashy, skilled tailback, while Poche (501 yards, nine TDs) is the in-your-face Larry Csonka style fullback. The Husky modus operandi is to keep things close in the first half and then wear teams down with the power running game in the second half.

The difference is startling. Mifflin County has been outscored 154-77 in the first half but owns a 155-78 advantage in the second. With each victory, the Huskies confidence grows by the minute. They’ll need it against a team like State College.

“We have a little bit of confidence going now. The kids feel very comfortable with the schemes we’ve been doing. Just the comfort level and getting another crack at one of the top teams in the state is motivation for us,” Sechler said. “If we play the way we’re capable and limit the mental mistakes, we can win this game.”

The winner moves on to face District 10 champion Erie McDowell with a state berth on the line.

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