Ligonier Valley wins 3rd Heritage Conference title in a row

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, October 12, 2018 | 11:15 PM

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They waged the Battle of Fort Ligonier 260 years ago to the day.

It was a time when the British forces fended off the French and Indians warriors.

On Friday night, Ligonier Valley defended its turf at Weller Field in a first-place showdown against Northern Cambria, the top Class A team in the PIAA District 6 Heritage Conference rankings.

Two touchdowns each from Aaron Tutino, Kyrie Miller and Sam Sheeder, blended with a stout defense, led Ligonier Valley (8-0, 8-0) to a 49-6 victory and the team’s third consecutive conference title.

Northern Cambria (6-2, 6-2), which featured a vaunted running game, couldn’t match the Rams offense. Ligonier Valley scored on its first seven possessions and punted only once.

The Rams also forced four turnovers, including three fumbles in the third quarter.

Ligonier Valley started quickly as quarterback John Caldwell, who completed 12 of 16 passes for 215 yards, found Tutino behind the secondary for a 59-yard touchdown on the fourth play of the game.

It was Tutino’s state-record 55th touchdown reception. He finished with five catches for 136 yards and caught a 15-yard scoring strike to give the Rams a 28-6 lead at halftime. Tutino also had an interception to set up the Rams’ second score.

“What a great start,” Ligonier Valley coach Roger Beitel said. “It was a start we needed. We got him isolated and hit the big pass and breaks the state record. It set the tone for the rest of the game.

“What a job our offensive and defensive lines did. All they heard was how big and tough Northern Cambria’s line was, and they were, and our kids did a great job and were just as physical.”

Tutino said: “It wasn’t a plan. John and I have good chemistry on that route. Honestly, it was a perfectly thrown ball.”

Caldwell said he didn’t see the touchdown because he got knocked to the ground.

“Mike (Petrof) helped me up and told me he got in,” Caldwell said. “I saw Aaron get behind their three-deep coverage, and I let it go.”

On Tutino’s interception, the senior twisted his knee and sat out the next series. But it didn’t stop the Rams from going up 14-0 on Miller’s 3-yard run. The touchdown was set up on a key third-down 11-yard pass from Caldwell to Zach Beitel.

“The injury to Aaron fired our kids up,” coach Beitel said. “It was a penalty on them, and it fired our kids up. It was important to finish the drive off with a score.”

The Rams overcame a couple of motion penalties late in the first quarter and marched 96 yards to go up 21-0.

Miller had runs of 15 and 13 yards, and Caldwell connected with Tutino for 17 yards. Sheeder capped the drive off with a 1-yard plunge.

“I thought we did some good things in the first half. The second half, not so much,” Northern Cambria coach Sam Shutty said. “We got behind. We had some blown coverages. We didn’t want to give up big plays, and we did. They have so many weapons, and they outmatch you.”

Northern Cambria got an 11-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Mark Marino to Tyler Bearer but during the drive lost running back Logan Onkst to a leg injury. The score made it 21-6, but the Rams answered that before halftime.

“We kind of had a chip on our shoulder,” Tutino said. “Everyone was talking about them on how big and strong they were. We showed them.”

In the second, the Rams continued to roll and the Colts self-destructed, losing three fumbles.

The Rams got touchdowns from Sheeder, Miller and Aiden Kelley to send the game into the mercy rule (a running clock) with 4 minutes, 28 seconds left in the third quarter.

“We were focused on how we prepared,” Petrof said. “We were ready and kind of knew the game would be chippy from previous games. The key was to dominate everywhere, and we accomplished that.”

Northern Cambria entered the game averaging more the 350 yards on the ground, and Ligonier Valley held it to 127. The Rams outgained the Colts, 346-215.

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Paul at pschofield@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Schofield_Trib.

Tags: Ligonier Valley