Dunmore vs Ligonier Valley Football Rivalry

On Nov. 25, 2016, at Alumni Stadium at Bald Eagle Area High School in Wingate, Ligonier Valley won the PIAA Class 2A quarterfinal, 39-19. Roger Beitel coached the Rams. Collin Smith, a West Virginia recruit, finished with 358 yards and all five touchdowns. Jackson Daugherty caught 12 passes for 140 yards and three touchdowns, two of them late in the first half. Kobe Short's 22-yard field goal and Smith's score from the 6 made it 10-0. Kyle Lasher picked up 15 yards and a first down. Colin Holmes, in for a first handoff after missing the last four games with a knee injury, ran 39 yards untouched, and it was 10-7. Michael Dougherty intercepted Smith on third-and-long and brought it back 21 yards. Gavin Darcy recovered a bobbled snap and hit fullback Jordon Petrowski for 5 yards, and Dunmore led 13-10. Steve Borgia tried an over-the-shoulder catch on a punt and fumbled, and the Rams recovered. Two plays later Cory Lawless intercepted Smith. Smith had thrown one interception all season before this game. Henzes said Dunmore could not pressure him and that the mistakes hurt. The Bucks were flagged 11 times, turned the ball over three times, and had five first downs through three quarters. Dunmore finished 13-1. Ligonier Valley was 14-0, with the winner of Southern Columbia and Schuylkill Haven next.

On Nov. 25, 2017, at Hersheypark Stadium, Dunmore won the PIAA Class 2A quarterfinal, 23-20. It was a mid-50s afternoon. A poor punt gave Ligonier Valley the ball at the Dunmore 20. Jackson Daugherty threw to Aaron Tutino on a receiver option, and the Rams led 7-0 with 3:54 left in the first quarter. The next snap was an interception by Tutino at the Dunmore 48, and he scored 21 seconds later. Dunmore drove 13 plays. Pass interference on third-and-10 and a 22-yard catch by Noah O'Malley set up Frank Damiano from the 2, with 9:11 left in the half. A high snap on third-and-1 ended the following possession. Ligonier Valley then ran seven straight possessions without a first down, through two quarters and five minutes. Nick Shoemaker had eight tackles, three for loss. Steve Borgia fielded a low punt at his own 40 and returned it 38 yards behind a crackback block by Sean Pietruszkiewicz. Gavin Darcy threw a screen to O'Malley for 22 yards, and the score was tied with 7:30 left in the half. Tutino and Daugherty came out with injuries. Five minutes into the third quarter Kyle Harrity blocked a punt for a safety. Mike DeSando had worked on the block in practice, and the punter went left. Cristian Buckley scored from 24 yards on the free kick, and Dunmore led 23-14. Caldwell completed 7 of 11 in the fourth quarter, including an 11-yard dump to Aaron Sheeder for a touchdown with 6:18 left. Sheeder later caught a ball that would have scored from 23 yards, and Nate Fangio tackled Sullivan Schueltz. Shoemaker sacked Caldwell on fourth-and-19. With just over a minute left, Tyler Overholtz hit Caldwell as he threw, and Cage Dowden caught the 45-yard pass at the Dunmore 13. The Rams ran twice from there, and on third down Borgia broke up a pass inside the 5. Beitel sent the field-goal unit out, Dunmore called timeout under a minute, and Beitel called the kick off. Ligonier Valley had lost the long snapper and the holder. Daugherty returned for one play, and Caldwell's pass fell incomplete. Beitel said six starters were out, three of them all-state, and that his team had been five inches short. Dunmore was 14-0 after the game, tying a school record for consecutive wins in a season. Southern Columbia was next, Friday at 7 at Danville.