A day after Halloween, the Southmoreland and Derry football teams each pulled off some tricks in a wild nonconference game at Russ Grimm Field.
In the end, the "treat" belonged to the Scotties (3-7), who overcame an outing riddled with miscues and bizarre plays to post a 30-20 win in the final game of the season.
Erik Frund broke loose for two huge touchdown runs that helped him rack up 143 rushing yards, and Aaron Stasko also scored twice.
Southmoreland coach Brian Pritts said his team tried to view the 10th game as it would any other matchup.
"We only had two days' preparation, and we may have overprepared," he said. "We had to set a tone. It's easy for the kids to drift in the 10th game. We made sure we had two good, focused practices this week, and the kids did a great job."
That wasn't the case early in the game, as the Trojans (0-10) built a 14-0 lead on the strength of two touchdowns from Cory Elliott. On Derry's first offensive play of the game, Elliott busted loose for an 80-yard score. After a series of fumbles by both teams and a botched punt by the Scotties, Elliott got the ball back for a 5-yard scoring run.
Elliott finished with 101 yards rushing.
But the next time Elliott touched the ball, he was hauled down in the end zone by Jimmy King for a Southmoreland safety. The play seemed to swing the momentum the Scotties' way, as the team faked a punt midway through the second quarter and instead went with an option pass from kicker Kevin Hagerman to Stasko. A conversion pass from Stasko to Jeremy Mains made it 14-10, and Stasko cashed in once more in the quarter to give the Scotties a 17-14 halftime lead.
Derry stuck with the run as the second half began, cutting down on mistakes and running down the clock on a long drive that culminated in Scott Yeckley's 1-yard scoring run. But Mains blocked the extra-point attempt, and on the next play, Frund raced 70 yards to hit paydirt. Hagerman's extra point gave Southmoreland a 24-20 lead.
Frund got free again in the fourth quarter for a 64-yard rushing touchdown to wrap up Southmoreland's win.
Derry coach Ron Polinsky said his team seemed to let its guard down after taking the lead early in the game.
"I think they kind of eased up a little bit," he said. "You've got to give Southmoreland credit. They stuck with it, got the momentum, and they just hung tough with us."
