Archives: Midget Super Bowl Highlights Talent

By rscaife
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Updated: February 17, 2014

Defense took center stage in the Juniata Valley Football League Midget Super Bowl.

After four quarters of play both the State College Little Lions and the Kish Indians refused to give up any points, forcing an overtime period to decide the champion.

The game was a throwback to classic football match-ups of hard hits, battles in the trenches, and straight-ahead running in this JVFL instant classic.

In overtime, the Little Lions got the ball first and made the most of it, scoring while the Indians could not match them. The Lions took the 7-0 victory.

“They (Kish) ran a real tough defense and a tough offense off the ball. They are explosive, fast, they hit hard, and they are quick,” State College head coach Jay Kissiak said. “Our kids dug deep tonight and I loved it. This is the way youth football should be played. This was a great game. It was a good night.”

State College was led in rushing by Cole Pammer, who finished with a hard earned 49 yards on the ground, while Kish was led by the running of Brycen Hassinger who finished with 51.

Kish teammate Zach Bickhart complimented Hassinger’s effort with 25 hard-fought yards. Teammate John Retherford also picked up some crucial yardage, despite the loss.

In the first quarter, the teams exchanged possessions three times, none of which produced any long and drawn out drives.

The second quarter proved to be much of the same as Kish got as close as they could to that point, driving the ball into State College territory before the drive stalled at the Little Lions’ 30, ending the first half.

After the intermission, both defenses dug deeper and fought harder as the clock began to fall and the desperation to score rose.

The third quarter proved to be much of the same as both defenses were relentless, forcing numerous changes of possession.

The final stanza flew by fast and in what seemed to be the blink of an eye, the two teams went into overtime.

“I’m so proud of these kids. At the beginning of the year we weren’t as good as they thought and we challenged them and they got better. It’s a great group of kids. We lost on one play in overtime so what can you say,” Kish head coach Mike Bickhart said. “We play as hard as we can. I have great coaches, great kids, and we have great parents so we will be back next year. We will work hard and we will be back.”

With two games that ended in one big play each, another JVFL season has proven to be unforgettable.