HS Football: Bears win ground battle with Cardinals
Will Stoyer, Mahanoy Area Football 2026
Rucker scores 4 TDs for Mahanoy Area;
Troup rushes for 325 yards for PGA
MAHANOY CITY — On another night, the rushing performance of Pine Grove Area’s Logan Troup would have been the standout effort of the weekend.
Troup was the workhorse of the Cardinals’ offense as he rushed for 325 yards on a whopping 37 carries while scoring three touchdowns.
And yet all that wasn’t good enough against Mahanoy Area, which had a stellar offensive night itself in a 45-19 victory over the Cardinals on Friday night in a non-league game at Alumni Field.
“It was too late for us to make a comeback,” Pine Grove Area coach Dave Shiffer said. “I can’t say enough about the effort that kid gives us. He grinds day in and day out for us and he was due.”
The Golden Bears (2-1) had already built a 32-0 lead by the time Pine Grove Area and Troup got the offense going in the third quarter.
Mahanoy Area generated 474 yards of offense with two of its running backs having outstanding nights.
Quinton Rucker was the star ball carrier for the home side, gaining 233 yards on 13 carries that included touchdown runs of 13, 57, 17 and 74 yards.
Will Stoyer followed with a 131-yard rushing performance that included a 36-yard TD run to cap the scoring in the fourth quarter.
“We told our players that they’re going to come out and give it to us so we have to play smart football,” Mahanoy Area coach Mick Connolly said. “We have tough runners and they give it their all. We have two of the best runners around.”
Mahanoy Area had a third running threat in Taten Matrician, whose 32-yard run and Rucker’s two-point conversion run gave his team an 8-0 lead in the first quarter.
Rucker followed with two straight scoring runs that upped the Golden Bears’ lead to 24-0 at halftime. Three of Mahanoy Area’s scores came as the result of Pine Grove Area turnovers.
Rucker’s third touchdown run at the beginning of the third quarter gave Mahanoy Area a seemingly untouchable lead at 32-0 lead before Pine Grove (0-3) used a steady diet of rushing plays by Troup to put three scores on the board.
However, the Cardinals could never get back into the game as Mahanoy Area had built a 38-19 lead before Stoyer’s 36-yard touchdown run with seconds left ended the scoring.
“We watched the film and saw that they move the ball,” Connolly said. “They came out in the second half and really came at us.”
Troup said that he didn’t mind carrying the majority of the workload of the Pine Grove Area offense and credited his offensive line with making plays happen.
“It’s a workload but I love it,” Troup said. “What can I say, I have a good line. I can’t do anything without my boys up front.”
Game Summary
Mahanoy Area 45, Pine Grove Area 19
Team |
1Q |
2Q |
3Q |
4Q |
Final |
PGA (0-3) |
0 |
0 |
6 |
13 |
19 |
MA (2-1) |
8 |
16 |
14 |
7 |
45 |
