Nazareth rally falls short in 41-33 setback to La Salle

FROM THE MORNING CALL

When a bad snap caused a La Salle College High School extra point to fail late in the fourth quarter, Nazareth's players shared a common thought — they would pull off another comeback to keep their season alive.

The Blue Eagles ran out of rallies Saturday.

Eight points away from tying the Explorers, Nazareth drove to their 36-yard line with under three minutes to play. La Salle safety Jimmy Herron kept the Blue Eagles from going any farther, racing from the middle of the field toward the right sideline to leap in front of wide receiver Andrew Bridgeforth for an interception.

La Salle then secured the one first down it needed to run out the clock for a 41-33 victory over Nazareth in a PIAA Class 4A football quarterfinal at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium.

The District 12-champion Explorers (12-1 overall) advanced to a state semifinal matchup with District One champ North Penn, a team they beat to open the season. Nazareth ended a season that saw it win the first Lehigh Valley Conference and District 11 Class 4A titles in program history at 12-2.

The Blue Eagles won those championships in part because of their resiliency. They took the field Saturday with comeback wins over Easton, Liberty, Freedom, Central Catholic and Whitehall on their ledger.

Nazareth again hung tough Saturday against a La Salle team that has made the 4A state final the past two seasons, cutting a 15-point second-half deficit to two with 6:01 to go. The Blue Eagles could never wrest the lead from the Explorers, who managed to make a big play every time they needed one to preserve their lead.

"We were confident in our offense going into that last drive," Nazareth quarterback Daniel Harding said. "If we had the opportunity, we were going to make the most of it. We just came up short."

Harding, the leader of Nazareth's past rallies, enjoyed another strong effort. He went 25-for-38 for 283 yards and one touchdown, and also ran for two scores. His last completion of the day, an 8-yard pass to Andrew Bridgeforth, converted a fourth-and-three at the La Salle 44-yard line to keep the Blue Eagles' final drive alive.

Harding looked for Bridgeforth again on Nazareth's next snap, lofting a pass toward the right sideline. Herron cut over for the pick, giving La Salle the ball back at its own 8-yard line.

Nazareth nearly got another crack at La Salle from close range, but it could not recover a fumble by Explorers quarterback Matt Magarity. La Salle recovered the loose ball at its own 17-yard line and clinched a third straight trip to the state semifinals on the next play when Magarity pushed ahead for 3 yards and a first down.

Magarity's sneak and Herron's interception were two of four key plays La Salle delivered in the fourth quarter. The others came on the scoring drive that set the final score.

Holding a 35-33 lead with under five minutes to play, La Salle was facing a third-and-17 from its own 28-yard line. Magarity moved them within one yard of a first down when he connected with Mike Piscopo for 16 yards. The completion was the last of the game for Magarity, who threw for a season-best 282 yards.

Confronted with a fourth-and-one in his own territory, La Salle coach Drew Gordon decided to give the ball to running back Tim Wade, his best offensive player. Wade went straight up the middle and found nothing but green turf ahead of him, running 56 yards for a touchdown that left La Salle with a 41-33 advantage.

"I would have been the worst coach in Pennsylvania if that didn't work," Gordon said.

Plenty of plays that ended up with the ball in Wade's hands worked Saturday. He ran for 114 yards, which came as no surprise.

Where Wade stung Nazareth most was in the passing game. He caught five passes for 131 yards and two touchdowns after having just four catches for 4 yards all season.

"Our plan was just to ground and pound, run the whole game," Wade said. "We saw something during the game. We're always practicing every day on everything — catching, ball control — because it would come down to December and pay off. It did."

Nazareth received a sixth straight 100-yard rushing game from freshman Jordan Gray (24 carries, 127 yards) and the typical mix of big plays from receivers Adam and Andrew Bridgeforth, Dan Shepherd and Alex Tonnies. They just came up short in securing a third championship this season.

With the way the program has developed under coach Rob Melosky — the Blue Eagles won just three games when he took over in 2008 — they hope to play for more titles in the future.

"We had the ball back there and still could have [tied it]," Melosky said. "It didn't work out that way. The La Salle coaches did a great job. They have a great team."

http://www.mcall.com/sports/varsity/mc-football-nazareth-lasalle-1203-20111203,0,2389038.story