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Defense delivering for Scarlet Dragons

Photo for the Mirror by Jim Baker Huntingdon’s Jairus Werner takes down Central’s Noah Muthler during Friday night’s game in Huntingdon.

HUNTINGDON — Central’s high-scoring offense led by Alex Hoenstine has received a lot attention this season, but the defense has been just as good, giving up a little more than 10 points per game through seven weeks.

The Scarlet Dragons knocked that per-game average to less than 10 points with its second shutout in as many weeks and third of the season. Central improved to 8-1 with a 21-0 win over Huntingdon Friday at War Veterans Memorial Field.

“We controlled the line of scrimmage,” Central coach Dave Baker said. “(Ian) Border is a strong runner and can be hard to tackle. We didn’t allow him to get his shoulders square to the line of scrimmage and contained him for the most part.”

Border gained 89 yards on 15 carries, but the majority of that came on two carries, a 33-yarder in the second quarter and a 24-yard run midway through the fourth quarter.

The Central defense gave up just 124 yards and did not allow the Bearcats into the red zone the entire night. The closest Huntingdon got to the end zone was the Central 30.

The loss knocked Huntingdon back under .500 at 4-5 after the team climbed back to the break-even point with two straight wins.

“We had trouble sustaining blocks,” Huntingdon coach Mike Hudy said. “We’re a lot better than we were early in the season. I thought we played well under the circumstances, but they’re a senior-laden team with a lot of big linemen.”

Hoenstine led the Central offense with 256 yards rushing and three touchdowns.

The senior back gave the Dragons the early lead with an 86-yard touchdown on the game’s first play from scrimmage. Hoenstine started off-tackle to the left, cut right to the sideline and outran the Bearcats’ defensive backs to the end zone.

The Huntingdon defense forced a punt on Central’s next possession then Jonathan Price intercepted a Preston Karstetter pass on the one after that.

Quarterback Andrew Hudy broke a 32-yard run on the first play following the turnover and was a step away from going the distance before being tripped up. Hudy was injured on the play and had to leave the game.

He returned on Huntingdon’s next series but went out for good in the third quarter.

“He has a high-ankle sprain. He got to the point where he couldn’t push off anymore,” Mike Hudy said.

Freshman Nick Troha replaced him. His first pass was intercepted by Kyle Dodson. The turnover pinned Central at its own 1, however.

Central overcame that poor field position with a 15-play, 99-yard drive for a 14-0 lead.

Chase Smith helped Central overcome a first-and-21 with an 11-yard run before Hoenstine ran for 17 yards on fourth-and-1. Two plays later, Hoenstine ripped off 40 more yards, giving the Dragons a first-and-goal at the 5.

Hoenstine scored on a 1-yard run three plays later.

Huntingdon’s ensuing series ended when Austin Garner intercepted an attempted screen pass.

Central mounted another long drive, running 11 plays, but turned the ball over on downs at the Bearcats’ 12 just before halftime.

The Dragons’ first drive of the second half lasted 10 plays as well but ended with a punt, giving Huntingdon the ball back at its own 17.

The defense sacked Troha twice, pushing Huntingdon back to own its 4. A short punt gave Central the ball at the Bearcats’ 24. Six plays later, Hoenstine scored on a 1-yard run.

From late in the first quarter through the third quarter, Central ran 41 plays to just 16 for Huntingdon.

“They made us work for it,” Baker said. “After Alex broke that first run, they played really tough. We moved the ball but couldn’t break another long one.”

The 21 points Huntingdon gave up was a season-low for the Dragons.

Central finishes up the regular season with a trip to Eastern York on Friday. Huntingdon hosts Patterson of Baltimore, Md., next week.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Central    6  8  7  0 — 21

Huntingdon    0  0  0  0 — 0

First quarter

C–Hoenstine 86 run (run failed), 11:42.

Second quarter

C–Hoenstine 1 run (Hoenstine pass from N. Muthler), 7:09.

Third quarter

C–Hoenstine 1 run (J. Muthler kick), 1:24.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Central–Hoenstine 33-256, J. Smith 10-54, C. Smith 3-16, N. Muthler 3-3, Detwiler 2-25, Karstetter 1-6, TEAM 1-(-1). Huntingdon–Border 15-89, Hudy 3-21, Glenny 4-(-3), Troha 4-(-15), TEAM 1-(-1).

PASSING: Central–Karstetter 2-5-1-17, N. Muthler 1-4-0-2, Hoenstine 0-0-0-0. Huntingdon–Hudy 1-5-1-23, Troha 2-9-1-10, Border 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING: Central–C. Smith 2-14, Hoenstine 1-5. Huntingdon–Werner 2-30, Price 1-3.

INTERCEPTIONS: Central–Dodson, Garner. Huntingdon–Price.

TEAM STATISTICS    C    H

First downs    14    7

Rushes-yards    53-359    27-91

Passing (comp.-att.-int.)    4-9-1    3-15-2

Yards passing    19    33

Total yards    378    124

Fumbles-lost    3-0    3-1

Penalties-yards    6-61    2-10

Punts-avg.    4-29.8    4-28.0

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