ROARING SPRING - Bradi Moore had a pretty light workload Friday night, touching the ball only five times.
The Central star made the most of those touches, however, by scoring four touchdowns in the Scarlet Dragons' 74-20 victory over Philipsburg-Osceola at Roaring Spring Athletic Field. Moore would have been a perfect five-for-five if there hadn't been a penalty during a punt return he took 51 yards for a score.
"My line just blocked for me every time I got the ball," Moore said. "I just thank God for the opportunity to play. He did it all for me."
Article Photos
Mirror photo by J.D. Cavrich
Austin?Conrath is congratulated after scoring a touchdown for Central Friday night against the Mounties.
Having the opportunity to play isn't something Moore had a week ago.
"I had school problems," Moore said regarding his absence in Central's loss to Fort Hill, Md. a week ago. "That's all. It's all better now. It's going to be OK now. Watch out for Central, that's all I've got to say."
Moore had touchdown runs of 76 and 4 yards, a punt return for a score of 37 yards and an interception return of 72 yards.
"It was good to have Bradi back. We're happy that he was allowed to play," Central coach Dave Baker said. "He was a victim of unfortunate circumstances, I guess you would say. Nobody is allowed to say anything, but he didn't really do anything wrong."
Moore wasn't the only Scarlet Dragon to have a big night against the Mounties.
Austin Cunningham had a 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, a 74-yard punt return for a score and gave Central a 6-0 early lead with a 4-yard scoring run. The junior quarterback threw just three passes in the game, completing all three for 55 yards.
Austin Conrath also had a big night, rushing for 102 yards on just six carries. Conrath had touchdown runs of 72 and 6 yards.
"They were much better athletically than we were," Philipsburg-Osceola coach Jeff Vroman said. "We were outmatched. I wasn't happy with our tackling. Whether it be on defense or special teams, it was absolutely atrocious.
"In 23 years of coaching, I've never worked so hard on tackling in my life. You have to be aggressive, and we're not an aggressive football team."
Philipsburg got its first score with 5:49 left to play in the second quarter when Chris Matsko connected with Skyler Shuey on a 13-yard touchdown pass. The score cut Central's lead to 32-6, but Cunningham promptly returned the kickoff for a touchdown.
"We have a couple guys who can run on returns," Baker said. "They're pretty fast and pretty clever runners. We got great blocking."
The Mounties did manage to score more than seven points for the first time this season. Erik Smith had a 66-yard touchdown run, and Conner Mann added a 12-yard rush for a score. Junior running back Nick Gray finished with 100 yards on 13 carries.
"There are some positives," Vroman said. "We have to learn. We have to learn from this, and until we do it's a long road."
Game notes: Central, which improved to 5-2, will travel to Bellefonte next week. ... Philipsburg, still winless at 0-7, will host winless Huntingdon. ... Scott Harvath and Erin Ruggles were named the homecoming king and queen before the game.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Philipsburg-Osceola0 6 6 8 - 20
Central18 28 21 7 - 74
First quarter
C-Cunningham 4 run (kick failed), 9:02
C-Cunningham 74 punt return (kick failed), 7:02
C-Conrath 6 run (kick failed), 3:11
Second quarter
C-Moore 4 run (Helsel kick), 11:28
C-Moore 37 punt return (Helsel kick), 8:35
PO-S. Shuey 13 pass from Matsko (kick failed), 5:49
C-Cunningham 91 kickoff return (Helsel kick), 5:35
C-Moore 72 interception return (Helsel kick), 1:12
Third quarter
C-Moore 76 run (Helsel kick), 10:50
C-Helsel 1 run (Helsel kick), 9:25
PO-Smith 66 run (kick failed), 7:33
C-Conrath 72 run (Helsel kick), 4:53
Fourth quarter
PO-Mann 12 run (Mann run), 11:29
C-Weyant 72 run (Helsel kick), 9:18
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Philipsburg-Osceola-Gray 13-100, Smith 2-62, Mann 3-23, D. Shuey 7-13, Matsko 8-2, Hawkins 1-2, Quick 1-(-3), TEAM 1-(-3). Central-Conrath 6-102, Moore 2-80, Weyant 4-75, Hoenstine 2-27, Cunningham 2-21, Slick 3-14, Emerick 2-9, Helsel 2-2, Mock 1-1, TEAM 4-(-4).
PASSING: Philipsburg-Osceola-Matsko 3-13-1-28. Central-Cunningham 3-3-0-55.
RECEIVING: Philipsburg-Osceola-D. Shuey 2-15, S. Shuey 1-13. Central-Brumbaugh 2-31, Hoenstine 1-24.
INTERCEPTIONS: Philipsburg-Osceola-none. Central-Moore.
TEAM STATISTICSPOC
First downs1010
Rushes-yards36-19628-327
Passing (comp.-att.-int.)3-13-13-3-0
Yards passing2855
Total yards224382
Fumbles-lost4-20-0
Penalties-yards4-203-25
Punts-avg.5-28.41-30
