In a game that matched two teams that just missed district playoff berths, the Blue Mountain Eagles earned the Eastern Conference 4A Championship with a 51-30 win over Northwestern last Friday at Blue Mountain High School.

The Tigers were looking for their second Eastern Conference title in the last five years after falling just shy of playing in the District 11 tournament this season.

The last time that Northwestern played in the Eastern Conference playoffs was in 2012 when the Tigers won the title. That championship would prove to be a stepping stone to a District 11 title the following season. The Tigers were hoping to win another Eastern Conference championship this season that they might be able to use to set up their young team for a run at districts next season, but fell to the 9-2 Eagles on their home field in Orwigsburg.

The game was filled with ups and downs for both teams. Trailing 7-0, the Tigers (5-6) moved to a first-and-goal from just inside the Blue Mountain 10-yard line and then had Trevor Cunningham rush the ball down to the three, where the drive stalled. The next two plays lost a total of 10 yard and Hunter Miller had to come on to kick a 30-yard field goal to cut the lead to 7-3.

“Obviously, we wanted to put that one into the end zone, but we still felt pretty good about where we were at that point,” said coach Josh Snyder. “It was early and we thought we would be able to get some stops, so we weren’t too concerned.”

Blue Mountain exploded for 16 points in the second quarter, with the first two coming on a safety when Deven Bollinger was caught in the end zone for a safety. On the ensuing kickoff from the 20-yard line, Cam Umbenhauer turned in a 75-yard return to put the Tigers up 16-3.

Even though they were without Phillip Dangello and Anthony Colucci, two big weapons, Northwestern didn’t look like a team that was giving up. The Tigers came right back with a short field and went 56 yards in six plays, wrapped up by Bollinger hitting Trevor Cunningham for a 24-yard TD pass.

While he had been shutout early on, quarterback David Krewson found wide receiver Nate Calderone three times for a total of 30 yards on the next drive. The Eagles methodical movement down the field set up Mason Dallatore, who cashed in from three-yards out to put Blue Mountain up 23-9 with just under one-minute left in the half.

Krewson and Calderone hooked up on an 80-yard pass play on the first drive of the second half to put the Eagles up 30-9. From there, Blue Mountain was able to dominate the third quarter and before long, the Tigers found themselves down 44-17 to open the final 12-minutes.

“We really wanted to hold them on that drive [to start the second half] and look to build some momentum, but there was a mix-up on that play and the guy was wide open,” said Snyder. “That definitely hurt us and changed the complexion of the game.”

Cunningham would break open for a 64-yard touchdown run and Bollinger hit Caleb Clymer for a 13-yard touchdown pass in the fourth, but the Tigers couldn’t hold down the Eagles offense, as they fell 51-30.

The 51 points given up by Northwestern was the most since Catasauqua beat the Tigers 57-3 in the 2012 season finale. Northwestern also gave up 57 points to Northern Lehigh in a 57-19 loss that same season. The loss to the Rough Riders, which came on November 2, 2012, was also the last time the Tigers lost by 21 or more points.

The senior class won an Eastern Conference championship as freshmen, a District 11 championship as sophomores, played for a district championship last season and for an Eastern Conference this season, giving their class four championship game appearances.

“That’s quite an accomplishment,” said Snyder. “Those guys have nothing to hang their heads about. They did an excellent job and leave having put this program on the right path.”