DUNCANNON — A Danville senior class that was winless in state quarterfinals treated Saturday’s game at Susquenita High School as a business trip.
“Even the bus ride here, it was a complete silence the whole way down,” Ironmen senior linebacker Cam Kiersch said. “I think we just all took that mentality.”
“We talked all week that we were going on a business trip. We haven’t won a state playoff — we were 0-3,” senior quarterback Madden Patrick added. “Even when we walked into the locker room off the bus, it was silent. Everybody was just focused on the job they had to do.”
Bo Sheptock ran for 131 yards and three touchdowns — 101 yards and two scores after halftime — and Danville limited Bermudian Springs to 115 yards of total offense as Ironmen broke their state quarterfinal losing streak with a 27-7 victory over District 3 champion Bermudian Springs on a windy afternoon.
“I mean, it’s really exciting. We’ve known we’ve had the skill to do it,” said Kiersch, a four-year defensive starter for the Ironmen. “It comes down to that culture and that mentality we’ve been trying to build here for four years.”
Danville set a program record with its 13th win of the season. The Ironmen (13-0) will face either Northwestern Lehigh or Scranton Prep in the next weekend’s semifinals. Date, time and location will be posted later Sunday by the PIAA.
Patrick became the Ironmen’s all-time passing yardage leader in the first half. He now has 7,455 yards, breaking K.J. Riley’s record of 7,367 set from 2017-20. Patrick’s one touchdown pass gave him 95 for his career, tying Selinsgrove’s Logan Leiby for the District 4 record.
The Ironmen started quickly against the Eagles, taking an 13-0 lead with the wind at their back early on. After the Eagles picked up three first downs on the game’s opening drive, Danville’s defense forced an incomplete pass on fourth-and-2 from its 42.
It took the Ironmen just three plays to cover 58 yards. After Sheptock slipped for a 1-yard loss on his first carry, Patrick found Carter Raup (5 catches, 91 yards) for 20 yards. Then Patrick and Duffy took advantage of a fallen defensive back for a 39-yard TD hookup. The point-after kick was blocked, leaving the Ironmen with a 6-0 lead.
After a three-and-out by the Eagles, Danville needed just four plays to make it 13-0 on Sheptock’s 10-yard TD run with 2:46 left in the opening quarter. Patrick scrambled for 22 yards on the first play of the drive, darting away from pressure by the Bermudian Springs defensive front.
The Ironmen missed a chance to take a three-score lead in the opening quarter. Bermudian’s Jack Gautsch picked off Patrick in the end zone with 21.5 seconds left in the period, and the Eagles settled in after the rough start.
Danville had just one first down in the second quarter, and the Eagles got on the board with a 10-play, 66-yard drive capped by Hubbard’s 1-yard sneak with 3:18 left in the half. Bermudian Springs (11-2) was helped by a roughing call to pick up its first first down since its opening drive, and Gautsch caught an 11-yard pass on fourth-and-9 from the Danville 20 to keep the scoring drive alive.
Just as the Ironmen’s control of the game seemed to waver, the defense came up with a big play. The Eagles recovered an onside kick to open the second half, but Lane Hubbard couldn’t escape Kiersch’s grasp, resulting in a 17-yard loss on third down. Sheptock and Raup also fumbled the ball away on consecutive series, plus Danville failed to convert a fake punt in its own territory as the Eagles stayed within a touchdown for most of the third quarter.
“We didn’t change a lot (at halftime). We just talked about how needed to be more physical,” Sheptock said. “They were beating us up up front a little bit. We had to fix that up.”
Danville coach Carl Majer added, “We had one kid up front that was having some trouble today. So we made a change in how we were blocking with him, and then we started to run the ball and wear them down.”
The Ironmen finally got going offensively with a quick, three-play drive in the third. Patrick and Raup hooked up for a 47-yard gain down the middle on the first play from scrimmage, and Sheptock followed with back-to-back carries to cover the final 16 yards for a touchdown. Garrett Hoffman’s extra point extended Danville’s lead to 20-7 with 2:50 left in the third.
Danville’s defense forced punts on each of the next two Bermudian Springs’ possessions before the Ironmen put together the clinching drive. The Ironmen burned nearly five minutes off the clock as Sheptock carried the ball nine times on the drive for 56 yards. He scored from a yard out to give the Ironmen a 27-7 advantage.
Kiersch then picked off a pass on the first Bermudian Springs play from scrimmage after Dylan Hubbard had returned the kickoff 54 yards to the Danville 34.
PIAA CLASS 3A QUARTERFINAL
at Susquenita High School
DANVILLE 27, BERMUDIAN SPRINGS 7
Bermudian Springs (11-2);0;7;0;0 — 7
Danville (13-0);13;0;7;7 — 27
SCORING SUMMARY
First quarter
Dan-Cole Duffy 39 pass from Madden Patrick (kick blocked)
Dan-Bo Sheptock 10 run (Garrett Hoffman kick)
Second quarter
BS-Lane Hubbard 1 run (Nayel Hua kick)
Third quarter
Dan-Sheptock 9 run (Hoffman kick)
Fourth quarter
Dan-Sheptock 1 run (Hoffman kick)
TEAM STATISTICS
;BS;Dan
First downs;10;19
Rushes-net yards;37-21;35-176
Passing yards;94;146
Passing;11-23-2;8-16-1
Fumbles-lost;0-0;2-2
Penalties-yards;7-73;6-35
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Bermudian Springs: Eddie Sebright 12-17; Jack Gautsch 7-17; Brayden Heller 8-17; Lane Hubbard 10-(-30). Danville: Bo Sheptock 27-131, 3 TDs; Madden Patrick 2-26; Cameron Kiersch 4-17; Garrett Hoffman 1-3; team, 1-(-1).
PASSING — Bermudian Springs: Hubbard 11-23-2, 94 yards; Danville: Patrick 8-16-1, 146 yards, TD.
RECEIVING — Bermudian Springs: Dylan Hubbard 4-39; Gautsch 5-32; Colby Watkins 2-23. Danville: Carter Raup 5-91; Cole Duffy 3-55, TD.
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