Scranton Prep’s defense provided a touchdown in the second quarter and a near-flawless performance in the second half Friday night to pave the way for the Cavaliers to rally from 14 points down and defeat Mifflinburg 28-21 in a Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class 3A state football playoff game at Milton High School.
Quarterback Will McPartland ran for three touchdowns, including the fourth-quarter game-winner.
The other Scranton Prep touchdown came when Elijah Myers sacked Chad Martin, forcing a fumble that Ricky Dewey picked up ahead of the pack and ran free for a 49-yard touchdown and 14-14 tie.
Mifflinburg regained the lead at halftime, but the Scranton Prep defense yielded just 17 yards while holding the Wildcats scoreless over the final two quarters.
With the Wildcats offense stalled, the Cavaliers put together two sustained drives for second-half McPartland touchdowns.
Scranton Prep covered 86 yards on 11 plays on its first possession of the half to force the tie on McPartland’s 1-yard touchdown midway through the third.
The next drive took up eight minutes and carried into the fourth quarter. The Cavaliers went 59 yards in 14 plays, including nine McPartland runs.
McPartland again went in from the 1 for the game-winner.
The Cavaliers also drove the ball in the first quarter, threatening twice but coming up empty.
Mifflinburg had no such troubles.
The Wildcats scored on their only two plays of the quarter, taking a 14-0 lead when Martin hit Landen Murray deep down the right side for 88 yards, then behind the defense down the middle for 66 more.
After McPartland’s 5-yard run and Dewey’s fumble return, Martin and Murray connected one more time. On fourth-and-eight, Murray came down with the ball in the back left corner of the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown and the lead with 1:43 left in the half.
McPartland finished with 123 yards on 24 carries.
Scranton Prep advances to the state quarterfinals where it will face Northwestern Lehigh, the team that ended its last two seasons.
