COAL TOWNSHIP — Juniata’s football team had its season come to a screeching halt on Saturday afternoon in the PIAA Class 4A quarterfinals as the Indians lost to Southern Lehigh, 45-7, at Kemp Memorial Stadium in Shamokin.

The Spartans (12-2) started their scoring spree with 11 minutes left in the first period as Colton Sams connected with Luke Kawczenski for a 15-yard touchdown pass, making it 6-0 Southern Lehigh on top. The drive started after Lehigh recovered a Juniata’ fumble at the Indians’ 29-yard line.

Sean Steckert added a three-yard TD run with 6:01 remaining on the first-quarter clock. Lehigh had a 12-0 advantage at that point as the two-point pass was no good.

Juniata did convert two fourth downs late in the first stanza. Wyatt Ehrenzeller rushed for a six-yard gain on a fake punt on 4th-and-2 with 3:40 left in the opening period. Lane Peiper would tote the rock for a nine-yard run on 4th-and-3 as the first quarter ended shortly thereafter.

Southern Lehigh would recover another Juniata fumble, this time from inside the Spartans’ one-yard line with 10:45 on the second-period clock. From there Steckert took the ball to the house from 15 yards out, ending a 99-yard drive for Lehigh and Noah Tapler provided the PAT, making it 19-0 Spartans in front.

“Southern Lehigh seems like a very sound team. There is some great football in that part of the state and they seem well coached and pretty athletic. It is really hard to compare them with any of our previous opponents,” Juniata head coach Kurt Condo said prior to the state quarterfinal game.

Sams would later connect with Kawczenski for an 11-yard score, giving Lehigh a 25-0 lead with 5:41 left in the first half.

Other scores for Lehigh included a 42-yard run from Steckert and a one-yard pass from Sams to Bryan Tobin, making it 38-0 at halftime in favor of the Spartans.

With 1:27 left in the third quarter, Steckert ran for a four-yard score, giving Lehigh a 45-0 lead. Steckert eclipsed the 2,000-yard rushing mark for the season.

Last week, Juniata scored first against Shamokin, but in this contest Lehigh got on the scoreboard early.

“It is always important to get momentum as quickly as possible whether it is on offense or defense,” Condo added. “(Last week) we were able to get some matchups that we liked and were able to balance the use of the field a little bit with our whole offense.”

Juniata (9-4) got on the scoreboard with 8:10 left in the fourth period as Ehrenzeller hit Connor Boreman for a 58-yard passing touchdown, cutting the deficit to 45-7.

With the victory, Southern Lehigh will face Bonner Prendergast in the PIAA Class 4A semifinals next week. Juniata’s season comes to an end.

Some of Juniata’s many highlights for this season included a first-round state playoff win over Shamokin, which was 12-0 before meeting the Indians from Juniata County. Juniata also won eight of their previous nine games prior to the state quarterfinal matchup with Southern Lehigh. The Indians collected their fifth consecutive District 6 championship this year after dominating Bellefonte, 20-6.