LHU Football’s remarkable comeback bid falls short at Shepherd
SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – Quarterback Jackson Ostrowsky turned in a historic performance and the Bald Eagles surged in the second half to the tune of 35 points, but in the end, the Lock Haven football team’s rally and comeback bid fell short at Shepherd as the Rams held on to win the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division thriller, 45-38.
Ostrowsky, the PSAC’s leading passer this season, finished with a remarkable 470 yards passing. He was 31-for-50 (2 INTs) with four touchdowns.
The 470 passing yards now stand as the fourth-most in Lock Haven’s all-time single-game record book and are the most in a game since a 457-yard effort in 2016. It’s also the best individual single-game mark of any PSAC quarterback since the 2022 season.
A number of Bald Eagles helped spark the offensive surge including Corahn Alleyne who had five catches for 127 yards and one touchdown. T’iar Young pulled in eight catches for 112 yards and one TD. Quon Williams finished with seven receptions, 69 receiving yards and one touchdown. Damir Green made five catches and JK Howard hauled in a TD-catch. William Pickett ran for a touchdown as well.
Defensively, Kasir Henry turned in a monster outing, finishing with video-game numbers in the form of 14 total tackles, 10 of which were solo stops, as well as two pass breakups and a fumble recovery.
Izzay Ramos stood out with 10 tackles, while Darryl Pollard turned in a notable effort with seven tackles, a pass breakup and a tackle-for-loss. Markel Morgan added six tackles.
Offense was certainly the name of the game today as the two teams combined for 83 points on 1,016 total yards of offense.
Ostrowsky, a graduate-transfer quarterback in his first year with the Bald Eagles, sparked The Haven offense, while Shepherd racked up 291 yards on the ground.
The host Rams scored on their first four offensive possessions of the game and led 31-3 at halftime. Tony Nicassio kicked a 40-yard field goal with just over a minute to play in the first half to put Lock Haven on the board.
The Bald Eagles rallied in a big way with 35 total second-half points, outscoring Shepherd 35-14 over the final 30 minutes of play. Lock Haven scored 14 points in the third quarter and 21 in the fourth quarter, all of which came in the game’s final seven minutes.
With 5:49 left in the third quarter, Shepherd’s Malakai Brown hauled in a nine-yard TD-pass from Lek Powell which extended the Rams’ lead to 38-3.
Lock Haven scored twice late in the third quarter and the Shepherd lead was 38-17 as the two teams headed to the fourth and final frame.
In the final seven minutes, Ostrowsky threw touchdown passes to Williams and Howard, and Pickett ran for a score to headline the late-game offensive spark.
Pickett’s one-yard scamper into the end zone cut the Ram-lead to 45-38 with just 39 seconds left. The hosts however recovered the ensuing kick, an on-side attempt from The Haven, which ended Lock Haven’s comeback bid.
The loss dropped Lock Haven to 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the PSAC East, while the Rams improved to 4-1 overall (2-0 PSAC East). Shepherd will travel to West Chester next week to take on the Golden Rams in PSAC East play.
For Lock Haven, the Bald Eagles will hit the road for the second straight week as they get set for a Week-6 PSAC East clash at nationally-ranked Kutztown on Saturday, Oct. 12 (noon).
