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SIDMAN -- Central snapped a two-game losing skid Friday night at Forest Hills thanks to a balanced offense orchestrated by quarterback Jeff Hoenstine and a momentum-shifting defensive stop late in the first half that helped the Scarlet Dragons take command of a close game and subsequently dominate the final two quarters to produce a 39-16 Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference victory over the Rangers.
Play(s) of the game: Central held a 14-7 lead in the final two minutes of the first half, but with the Rangers looking for a potential tying score before the break, the Dragons' Jason Clark sacked Forest Hills quarterback Jacob Poldiak and forced a fumble on the play that was recovered by Caden Schenk at the Ranger 29 at the 1:05 mark. Four plays later, Hoenstine fired an 18-yard scoring strike to Clark with 27 seconds left to make it 20-7 at the break, and Central went on to put up three unanswered second-half touchdowns.
Player of the game: Hoenstine completed 9 of 20 passes for 160 yards and four touchdowns, while rushing for 25 yards and another score.
Unsung hero: Central junior running back Hunter Smith rushed for 38 yards and a touchdown, caught two passes for 26 yards and another score, and also kicked three extra points.
Most vital statistic: Central outgained Forest Hills 363-189 in total yardage, with seven different receivers catching passes and seven different backs carrying the ball.
Central coach Dave Baker: "I thought our balance was good, and our defense played pretty well.
"They (Forest Hills) are a quality team and played very hard."
Forest Hills coach Justin Myers: "We made way too many mistakes on offense.
"We had multiple penalties that killed drives, and the turnovers have been killing us all year."
Hoenstine: "They were double-teaming Eli (Lingenfelter), so we had to look for other guys to make plays, and they stepped up and did a good job."
Notable: Kade Rhule led the Dragons with 69 yards rushing on 10 carries and also caught a 13-yard touchdown pass.
Records: Central (2-2), Forest Hills (0-4)
Next week: Central hosts Chestnut Ridge. Forest Hills travels to Bishop McCort.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Central 7 13 6 13--39
Forest Hills 0 7 2 7--16
First Quarter
C--Smith 13 pass from Hoenstine (Smith kick), 5:47.
Second Quarter
FH--Burda 17 pass from Poldiak (Cabala kick), 6:44.
C--Smith 1 run (Smith kick), 2:06.
C--Clark 18 pass from Hoenstine (kick failed), 0:27.
Third Quarter
C--Benton 22 pass from Hoenstine (pass failed), 7:43.
FH--Safety, Central holding in end zone, 3:29.
Fourth Quarter
C--Rhule 13 pass from Hoenstine (Smith kick), 10:30.
C--Hoenstine 1 run (kick failed), 9:27.
FH--Rearick 13 pass from Cornell (Cabala kick), 5:26.
TEAM STATISTICS C FH
First downs 19 11
Total Net Yards 363 189
Rushes-yards 32-203 31-85
Passing 160 104
Comp-Att-Int 9-20-0 8-19-0
Punts 2-32.0 3-33.6
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 2-2
Penalties-Yards 9-67 5-33
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Central, Smith 8-38, Rhule 10-69, Hoenstine 7-25, Mace Baker 2-16, Max Baker 2-18, Beach 2-30, Harbaugh 1-7. Forest Hills, Cornell 11-12, Danel 14-65, Papinchak 1-0, Rearick 5-8.
PASSING--Central, Hoenstine 9-20-0-160. Forest Hills, Cornell 5-16-0-86, Poldiak 3-3-0-18.
RECEIVING--Central, Rhule 1-13, Daugherty 1-20, Benton 1-22, Smith 2-26, Lingenfelter 1-46, Yingling 1-11, Clark 2-22. Forest Hills, Burda 3-68, Danel 1-minus 5, Maul 2-22, Rearick 2-19.