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This game was unbelievable

3 min read

When the final score hit social media, turning Friday night’s football game between Meadville and DuBois viral, the reaction was predictable.

Meadville 107, DuBois 90.

That’s unbelievable.

The same thought I had, but not in the way you might think.

It’s unbelievable that a football game could turn into a track meet, but that’s what happened on DuBois’ home field.

It’s hard to believe that two defenses could be that inept, but there it was for all to see on the scoreboard, lit up by the lights, and the story made several national publications.

It’s hard to believe that there was not some mysterious collective psychological trance that took hold of the players, either before or during the game, that allowed the teams to combine for 197 points in 48 minutes of football.

The PIAA will surely authenticate the score, which it should, considering the majority of state records are now held by players on the two teams.

Most were calling this game a spectacular and unique display of high school football, buoyed by the fact 12 state records and nine national records were set.

Sitting through a 3 1/2-hour game where the teams combined for 28 touchdowns, 2,253 all-purpose yards and 1,908 total yards would be an amazing thing to witness.

It was tied, 28-28, after one quarter, DuBois led 56-51 at halftime but trailed 85-82 after three quarters.

It was the highest-scoring game since 1927, when Haven (Kan.) defeated Sylvia (Kan.) 256-0.

DuBois saw its record fall to 1-1, beating the Mid-Penn Commonwealth’s Mifflin County, 51-41, in the season-opener. Meadville moved its record to 2-0 after stopping DuBois and defeating Fairview, 28-7, in Week 1.

Among the records set: Meadville junior running back Journey Brown rushed for 729 yards, tops in Pennsylvania history and second nationally; DuBois sophomore quarterback Matt Miller passed for a state-record 785 yards in his first varsity start; and DuBois junior Colin Roy set the state record with 362 receiving yards. Miller broke the record of current Waynesburg University starting quarterback Jake Dougherty, who threw for 641 yards in Redbank Valley’s 58-46 loss to Clarion in last year’s District 9 playoffs.

Interestingly, Brown’s total broke the old state rushing record of Eastern York’s Alex Cooley.

By 222 yards.

Miller was named the District 9 Offensive Player of the Week.

The defensive effort also was spectacular. Spectacularly bad. Meadville had as much success stopping the Wing-T offense of DuBois as DuBois had stopping Meadville’s spread.

For the sheer uniqueness of it, this game was something to watch. But DuBois athletic director might have captured the feeling of this game for the traditionalists when he was quoted by MaxPreps, “Maybe a football purist hated it. But I know watching the game from the field, all of us were thinking, ‘Is this real? Can this be happening?'”

The football purist in me wins out in this case. Maybe it’s just because I’m old and cranky, but it’s easier to appreciate a game played well on both sides of the football.

That’s what draws my interest. I’m sure I will see a hard-fought 21-20 game, complete with a goal-line stand to end it, before another school scores 100 points.

Assistant sports editor Joe Tuscano can be reached at jtuscano@observer-reporter.com.

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