Battle-tested Dragons awaiting Grove City Friday
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Central vs. Grove City
What: PIAA Class 3A quarterfinal playoff game.
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Where: Slippery Rock University's Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
Records: Central (13-0); Grove City (10-2).
Coaches: Dave Baker is 220-207-1 in 42 seasons, including 94-37 in 11 seasons at Central and 126-170-1 in 31 seasons at Williamsburg. Sam Mowrey is 58-30 in eight seasons at Grove City.
Last week: Central defeated Bedford, 20-14 in a PIAA first-round playoff game. Grove City defeated Slippery Rock, 28-20 in a District 10 championship game.
The winner gets: The winner of Saturday afternoon's WPIAL Class 3A championship game between Central Valley and North Catholic in the semifinal round at a site and time to be determined.
By John Hartsock
jhartsock@altoonamirror.com
The Central Scarlet Dragons boast a 13-0 record entering this Friday's 7 p.m. PIAA Class 3A quarterfinal playoff game with Grove City at Slippery Rock University's Mihalik-Thompson Stadium, but the Dragons got their first big scare of the season last week while surviving Bedford in a first-round matchup.
Central's high-powered, vaunted offensive attack, which has averaged over 44 points per game this season, was held to just 20 points and only 168 yards in total offense. But the Scarlet Dragons' defense held strong and enabled Central to overcome a 14-7 third-quarter deficit to win, 20-14.
"We knew that it was going to be a battle,'' Central senior two-way lineman Josh Waite said. "The final score was a little lower than in most of our games this year, but that was a testament to the defenses of both teams.
"Our defense really buckled down and was phenomenal,'' Waite added. "I'm just grateful to be able to play another day.''
Central dodged a bullet as Bedford committed three costly turnovers, the last of which snuffed out a potential go-ahead drive at the Dragons' 10 in the final minutes.
The Dragons' defense prevented Bedford from putting together long drives, which Central coach Dave Baker felt was a big factor in the final outcome.
"Our defense was really outstanding on a night when we struggled on offense,'' Baker said. "We were working to prevent them from keeping the ball from us, and sustaining long drives. They didn't have any long, time-consuming drives.''
On Friday, Central faces a 10-2 Grove City team that has won eight straight games, including last Saturday's 28-20 District 10 championship victory over Slippery Rock High School.
"They lost to Slippery Rock early in the regular season, but it looks like they have improved quite a bit,'' Baker said of the Grove City team. "They have a balanced offense. They're pretty varied on offense. They can run and pass, they can move the ball around to different players.
"There's no one guy on their team that appears to be doing it all,'' Baker added. "They seem to have a lot of guys who can carry the load for them.''
Sophomore quarterback Hunter Hohman has had an outstanding season as a first-year starter for Grove City.
Hohman has completed 141 of 218 passes for 1,981 yards and 22 touchdowns, while rushing for 423 yards on 85 carries and six TDs.
"He's a fine player, especially for a sophomore,'' Baker said of Hohman. "He's very good. One of the keys for us will be for our defense to put some pressure on his passing game, and try to make him hurry up.''
Hohman has a bevy of good receivers to target. Sophomore Gavin Lutz has caught 53 passes for 545 yards and three touchdowns, while another sophomore receiver, Joey Hathaway, has 26 receptions for 350 yards and three touchdowns. Senior tight end Zach Rodgers has 24 catches for 272 yards and three scores, while senior Tony Pereira, who has 19 receptions for 360 yards, has caught six touchdown passes.
"We have a nice little group of receivers,'' Grove City coach Sam Mowery said. "I can't say enough good things about Hunter Hohman. He has progressed so far this year. With each game that he gets experience, he has done an outstanding job of developing from the first week to where he is now - not only with throwing the ball, but also with making plays with his legs.
"He's also a very good wrestler on the high school's wrestling team, and he brings that tough mentality to the quarterback position,'' Mowery added. "He's done a really nice job this year.''
Grove City's leading rusher, senior running back Curtis Hovis, has run for 1,061 yards on 195 carries and 11 touchdowns this year. But Hovis has sat out the team's last three games with what Mowery described as a variety of nagging injuries, and his status is questionable for the Central game as well.
Junior Anthony Nemec stepped up admirably to fill the running back void last week for Grove City, rushing for 135 yards on 27 carries and two touchdowns. On the season, Nemec has rushed for 769 yards on 125 carries and 13 touchdowns.
Central's high-octane offense was kept largely in check by Bedford last week, although junior quarterback Jeff Hoenstine scored two fourth-quarter rushing touchdowns -- and also earned a share of the Pennsylvania state high school record for single-season passing touchdowns with former Penns Valley quarterback Aaron Tobias by tossing his 54th touchdown pass of the season.
Hoenstine is a good bet to take the record all for himself on Friday, and has thrown for an eye-opening 3,330 yards this season while completing 183 of 259 passes.
Hoenstine quickly gave credit to his teammates for his record-setting accomplishment.
"I want to give credit to my coaches, and my line as much as anyone,'' Hoenstine said. "I couldn't have done it without them. They have put me in the best position to succeed.''
Senior running back Parker Gregg is the Dragons' leading rusher with 938 yards on 111 carries and 16 touchdowns, and its leading pass-catcher with 45 receptions for 972 yards and 13 scores. Junior wideout Eli Lingenfelter has 39 catches for 869 yards and 13 touchdowns, and sophomore running back Hunter Smith -- who caught Hoenstine's record-tying touchdown pass last week -- has 33 receptions for 374 yards and 10 touchdowns, while rushing for 462 yards on 59 carries and three scores.
Senior wideout Devon Boyles and senior tight end Ethan Eicher both have 22 catches and eight touchdown receptions.
"They're outstanding on both sides of the ball,'' Mowery said of Central, whose defense has allowed less than 12 points per game. "Defensively, they're very aggressive and physical. Offensively, their quarterback has great numbers, he's very athletic, he's able to extend plays, and get the ball down the field.
"Their receivers make some great plays on the football,'' Mowery added. "Both offensively and defensively, they will present some challenges, for sure.''
Both teams are thrilled to have their teams still playing after Thanksgiving, with a shot at a state championship on the line.
"We're happy to be here,'' Baker said. "This is something that we have obviously been waiting for throughout the year, and we think that we can win. Our goal was to get here, and to keep winning, and we have that opportunity now.''