Biglerville batters Fairfield behind big day from Cooper, Hurda
It was a big night for Biglerville's Scott Cooper both on and off the field.
Before Friday's game, the senior was named homecoming king. Once the game started, he scored a pair of touchdowns to help the Canners earn a 47-0 victory over Fairfield in YAIAA Division III football action at Musselman Stadium in Biglerville.
Cooper started the scoring for Biglerville when he capped the Canners' second possession of the game with a 6-yard touchdown run halfway through the opening stanza.
The Biglerville defense then forced a three-and-out. On the first play after Fairfield's punt, Ben Hurda found Colton Sentz with a pass into the right flat. Sentz navigated through the Knight defense before dashing down the right sideline 81 yards for a touchdown.
An onside kick give Biglerville possession at Fairfield's 37-yard line. Dayne Showers scored on the next play with a run, giving Biglerville two touchdowns in a span of 14 seconds. The Canners led 21-0 with 3:11 left in the first quarter.
Biglerville (2-2, 1-0) struck again in the opening quarter when Hurda hooked up with Gage McAuliffe on a 75-yard touchdown pass.
The Canners boosted their lead to 34-0 midway through the second quarter, when Cooper reeled in a long pass from Hurda and took it 47 yards to the house. Then the Canners struck one more time before the half when Hurda hit Nate Newberry on a slant route for an 11-yard touchdown with 3.8 seconds left in the half.
The Canners scored on six of their eight first-half possessions. The Fairfield defense forced a three-and-out on Biglerville's first possession and then stopped the Canners on downs with two minutes left in the half.
"We did a few good things tonight, but obviously not nearly enough," Fairfield head coach Darwin Seiler said. "We need to improve defensively and finish drives better on offense."
Hurda, who didn't attempt a pass in the second half, finished the night 10-of-14 passing for 291 yards and four scores. The Canners piled up 440 yards of total offense and 15 first downs in the first half.
"Ben was on point tonight. He made some real nice passes," Biglerville head coach Alex Ramos said. "We saw what can happen when we play as a team and we knew that we would explode on offense if we did that. I like how balanced our offensive attack has become. We aren't all running game like we were when I first got here."
Malakai Curtis put a bow on the scoring when he ran in from 10 yards out with 4:59 left in the third quarter.
The win was Biglerville's first over Fairfield (1-3, 0-1) since 2012. The Green Knights' win two years ago was the first time Fairfield ever beat the Canners.
"Coach reminded us all week that we lost to these guys the last two years," Cooper said. "He beat it into our heads all week and we were determined to win tonight."
Fairfield0000—0Biglerville281360—47
First Quarter
Big — Scott Cooper 6 run (Colton Sentz kick), 6:15
Big — Sentz 81 pass from Ben Hurda (Sentz kick), 3:25
Big — Dayne Showers 37 run (Sentz kick), 3:11
Big — Gage McAuliffe 75 pass from Hurda (Sentz kick), 1:08
Second Quarter
Big — Cooper 47 pass from Hurda (kick failed), 6:54
Big — Nate Newberry 11 pass from Hurda (Sentz kick), 0:03.8
Third Quarter
Big — Malakai Curtis 10 run (kick blocked), 4:59
FBigFirst Downs1119Rushes-Yards29-6034-200Passing12-29-110-14-0Passing Yards145291Total Yards205491Fumbles-Lost1-13-1Punts5-32.02-40.0Penalties3-425-21
Individual Statistics
Rushing — F, Darian Mort 17-37, Tyler Karstetter 8-26, Matt Petrie 4-(-3). Big, Curtis 7-81, Showers 4-37, Josh Brandt 4-26, Sentz 6-23, Seth Getz 5-15, Cooper 3-14, Hunter Getz 2-4, Hurda 2-0, Gabe May 1-0.
Passing — F, Mort 12-29-145-1. Big, Hurda 10-14-291-0.
Receiving — F, Aaron Moore 6-87, Petrie 3-29, Jordan Angerette 1-18, Karstetter 1-10, Jonas Holz 1-1. Big, Newberry 3-19, Cooper 2-55, Sentz 1-81, McAuliffe 1-75, Brandt 1-26, Nick Bell 1-24, Showers 1-11.