LITTLESTOWN -- As the mist streamed down during the fourth quarter at Littlestown High School, senior kicker Adam Hunt lined up for a 23-yard field goal.

The converted soccer player had never made a field goal attempt at the varsity level. As Hunt toed the soggy grass around his feet, the Thunderbolts' season hung in the balance.

Hunt would proceed to drill the ball through the uprights from the left hash to the relief of the Littlestown fans at the District 3 Class AA playoff game. The kick put the final points on the board in a topsy-turvy game, a 24-22 triumph for Littlestown.

"I was just thinking, 'I need to make it and help the team' and do what I was supposed to do," Hunt said.

The kick salvaged a victory for the Thunderbolts in a game in which they held a 21-0 first-half lead.

"I'm just happy we got a win," Littlestown head coach Mike Lippy said.

Even though there was still time left on the clock, the three points would stand up, thanks to the effort of Littlestown's defense.

After allowing Milton Hershey to drive to midfield with just over three minutes left in the game, the Bolts stepped up the pressure. The defensive stand featured a sack on third down by senior Tyler Fodor.

In the early going, it looked as if Littlestown would just keep plowing through any and all opposition in much the same way it did in the final weeks of the regular season.

Littlestown absorbed a strong opening surge by a stout Milton Hershey defense when Matt Koontz romped

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around right end on a fake punt for 26 yards. The play turned the early tide in the Bolts' favor. Milton Hershey, which hadn't allowed a 100-yard rusher since Northern's Kevin Lytle in the third week of the regular season, continued its strong play against the ground game.

However, Littlestown's offense took to the air.

With star receiver Matt Koontz missing a few practices early this week with an undisclosed injury, and being met with double-teams on nearly every play, Mitchell Deaner stepped into the spotlight nicely. Deaner capped off the difficult opening drive by hauling in a 46-yard scoring toss from Matt Zuber. The Zuber-to-Deaner connection worked nicely again on the next drive as the duo hooked up on a 26-yard play which set up first-and-goal.

Late in the third quarter, Deaner turned in a juggling catch while backpedaling to the Milton Hershey 9-yard line, setting the stage for Hunt's dramatic kick. The completion was Zuber's only one of the second half and broke a string of four straight incompletions for the senior signal-caller.

Zuber could not miss early as he completed his first seven passes. His first incompletion came midway through the second quarter.

Zuber's second incompletion turned into a game-changing play. Defensive back Ronald Hunter snatched the ball out of the air and returned the interception 67 yards to paydirt, putting the Spartans on the board. After Littlestown fumbled the ensuing kickoff, Hunter once again strapped the Spartans to his back and carried them back into the game with a 19-yard burst for another touchdown.

"In the matter of a minute, the game changed," Lippy said. "When you get into districts like this, it's not about how you get it done. It's just that you do it."

 

Milton Hershey    0  14    8    0 -- 22
Littlestown  14    7    0    3 -- 24

First Quarter
   Lt -- Mitchell Deaner 46 pass from Matt Zuber (Adam Hunt kick), 9:07
   Lt -- Matt Koontz 6 pass from Zuber (Hunt kick), 3:15
Second Quarter
   Lt -- Tyler Fodor 1 run (Hunt kick), 9:21
   MH -- Ronald Hunter 67 interception return (Anthony Moran kick), 3:37
   MH -- Hunter 19 run (Moran kick), 2:07
Third Quarter
   MH -- Safety, Koontz downed in end zone, 5:25
   MH -- Jimmy Miller 1 run (pass failed), 2:11
Fourth Quarter
   Lt -- Hunt 23 FG, 11:29
 
-- MH -- Lt
First downs -- 12 -- 21
Rushes-yards -- 33-200 -- 55-196
Passing -- 5-10-4 -- 8-14-2
Passing yards -- 42 -- 161
Total yards -- 242 -- 357
Punts -- 2-36.5 -- 0-0.0
Fumbles-lost -- 2-0 -- 2-2
Penalties-yards -- 7-80 -- 5-38

 
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
   Rushing -- Milton Hershey, Ronald Hunter 11-113, Mikeal Pecot 12-58, Jimmy Miller 7-20, Thomas Walker 2-6, James Raynor 1-3; Littlestown, Sean Doherty 22-82, Matt Zuber 16-73, Tyler Fodor 10-31, Matt Koontz 1-26, Tanner Mitz 4-16, Josh Bucher 1-1, Team 1-(-33).
   Passing -- Milton Hershey, Jimmy Miller 5-10-4-42; Littlestown, Matt Zuber 8-14-2-161.
   Receiving -- Milton Hershey, Mikeal Pecot 2-14, Alhaji Kebbay 1-16, Anthony Wayne 1-8, Tom Burhannan 1-4; Littlestown, Mitchell Deaner 3-100, Sean Doherty 3-36, Matt Koontz 2-25.