Published: October 10, 2008 11:57 pm      

Forest Hills bounces back to drop Penn Cambria

SIDMAN — The Rangers rebounded on Friday, but it wasn’t easy.

Forest Hills bounced back from its only loss of the season to outlast Penn Cambria 28-20 in a Laurel Highlands Section 1 battle at G.H. Miller Memorial Field. The Rangers scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to build a 28-12 lead, then managed to stave off a furious Panther rally in the final minutes.

Coach Don Bailey was pleased with his squad’s play.

“We played some good defense when we had to, and we made some big plays, so we’re very happy to be out of here with a win,” Bailey said after his team raised its record to 6-1.

Special teams played a major role in the outcome. Each team scored twice in the first half, the Rangers on a 7-yard run by Scott Mehall in the first quarter and on a 3-yard run by Jeff Meier in the second quarter. Pat Donoughe kicked extra points.

The Panthers scored in the first quarter on a 5-yard run by junior Zak Newton and on a 49-yard pass from Newton to Matt Glenn.

But, the Panthers tried for two-point conversions, but both runs were stuffed by the Rangers’ defense to give Forest Hills a 14-12 lead.

Mehall scored on a 36-yard run on the second play of the fourth quarter, and Donoughe booted the PAT for a 21-12 lead with 11:31 left in the game.

After the Rangers held Penn Cambria on a three-and-out, Mehall hauled in a punt at his own 25-yard line and sprinted to his right. He appeared to be stopped, but broke a tackle and sprinted for a 75-yard return.

“We changed our punt return this week,” Mehall said. “We put more people on the wall. They punted it to me, and it was right in front of our wall. I got a couple of good blocks on the sideline.”

Bailey understood the importance of that play.

“Special teams are one third of the game, and when you get into a close game, that usually means a difference,” Bailey said. “We got our extra points. They didn’t get theirs.”

Mehall led both teams with 152 yards on 12 carries, and scored three touchdowns.

Down 14-12 at the half, the Panthers controlled the ball in the third quarter, running 16 offensive plays to the Rangers’ five.

But, the Panthers were unable to score any points, hurt in one drive by consecutive penalties for a illegal shift and for an illegal block.

“We missed a huge opportunity when we got the ball in the second half and drove it down and stalled out,” Penn Cambria coach Ernie Fetzer said. “You just can’t do that. You have to score.”

The Panthers took advantage of a Ranger turnover to come back late in the game. Nate Eckenrode picked off a Zak Glessner pass and returned it to the Forest Hills 28. That led to a Newton 3-yard run for a touchdown with 2:07 left in the game. Newton scored the PAT to set the final score, and the Panthers’ try for an onsides kick failed.

Forest Hills rushed for 199 yards and passed for 127 for a total of 326. Penn Cambria was led by Newton’s 100 yards on 23 carries, and passed for 124 and rushed for 120 for 244.

Penn Cambria will travel to Bishop McCort next week, while the Rangers will face Bishop Carroll at St. Francis.