Juniata plays tough early to Selinsgrove, falls late

By Kenny Varner Jr.
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Updated: September 1, 2023

By Kenny Varner

MIFFLINTOWN – To be the best you have to play the best, something the this season’s Juniata football team states as they started off with Troy and will bookend the three game stretch with a tough contest with West Perry.

But Friday, the young and upstart Juniata team went head-to-head with State honorable mention Selinsgrove.

The combination of quarterback Austin Ehrenzeller to Jasper Shepps has really started to come on as they hooked for 73 yards total through the air.

However, the night belonged to Selinsgrove running back Tucker Teats as he rushed for a game-high 225 yards, leading the Seals to a 38-8 win over the Indians.

In the first, the Indians battled to tail only 16-8 going into the intermission.

The team is taking on all comers and battled the visitors tough in the opening half.

“They had some very good athletes over there. Right away in the third we gave them a saftey on the first possession. I thought that was sort of the momentum changer right off the bat,” said Juniata coach Kurt Condo. “Once you give a team momentum it’s hard to stop.”

Juniata’s defense made a statement in the Seals first possession, allowing just one first down in the set, forcing Selinsgrove to punt the ball.

“Overall, I thought our kids fought. There are a lot of good things,” said Condo. “We knew our back was against the wall. We are facing adversity these first three games. We had a couple of 2-way starters out. there’s a lot of young guys getting experience. That’s football. That’s how this is.”

Defensively, the Seals also forced the Indians to gamble on a fake punt, as they stopped punter Jasper Shepps just short of a first down.

With the ball on the Indians own 40, Selinsgrove’s offense led by the strong and opportunistic running of Tucker Teats, started to heat up.

It would take just six plays for Selinsgrove to go to cash it in for the first score.

Ethan Miller capped off the drive on a 1-yard run

However, the PAT failed, at 4:06 left in the first, making it a 6-0 contest.

Before the quarter was over, the Seals found themselves in the end zone for the second time.

This one took seven plays but Teats’ 1-yard run mixed with a Carter Young PAT, increased the lead to a 13-0 advantage.

Juniata refused to go scoreless in the first half, the Indians got the ball at the midway mark of the second and rolled down the field.

Quarterback Wyatt Ehrenzeller found Jasper Shepps numerous times in the drive, putting the home team at the one yard line with less than a minute left.

Ehrenzeller had his name called and muscled it in from the one, cutting it to a 13-6 Selinsgrove advantage.

When trying for the PAT, the Seals went off sides, moving the ball up into 2-point conversion area. The Indians did not disappoint, cutting the lead to 13-8 with only 59 ticks on the clock.

That was enough for the Selinsgrove offense to match down the field and settled for a Young 45-yard field goal, extending the Seals lead to 16-8.

Coming out of the intermission, the Seals came out strong, posting a safety and then Tucker teats broke off a 40-yard run followed by an 18-yard scamper for the touchdown, taking an early 24-8 advantage with 10:40 left in the third.

Teats continued to grind out the yards as he broke free late in the third for a 45-yard TD run, when the teams went into the final stanza, Selinsgrove held a 31-8 advantage.

The Indians continued to battle throughout but its wasn’t enough as the running of Teats proved to be the biggest factor in the contest.

In the final stanza, the Seals would add another tough down to increase the lead to 38-8.

Next week, the Indians battle West Perry.