Scarlet Dragons hold off Panthers for another championship
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By John Hartsock
jhartsock@altoonamirror.com
Central captured its fourth consecutive District 6 Class 3A championship Friday night at Mansion Park, but the Scarlet Dragons needed to stave off a stellar effort from a spirited, gutsy Penn Cambria team in order to get the job done.
With the score tied, 28-28, in the final minute and Central driving at the Penn Cambria 15, junior quarterback Eli Muthler connected with senior wideout Jacob Benton on an across-the-field throw in the left corner of the end zone to give unbeaten Central a heart-stopping 35-28 championship game victory.
Benton shook free of a Penn Cambria defender and pulled in the Muthler pass just inside the pylon with 32 seconds left in the game to earn Central (11-0 this season) its fourth straight district gold medal and a berth in the opening round of the PIAA playoffs on the road next week against District 9 champion Clearfield.
"It was a crazy experience,'' said Benton, who caught seven passes for 141 yards in the game. "I just had to focus on catching the ball. After winning districts the last three years, we didn't want to be the team that disappointed -- the team that lost this year.''
Muthler completed 15 of 21 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns, while also running 11 yards in the second quarter for a score. He also intercepted a pass on defense.
"Jacob ran a great route, I just gave him a chance, he got 2 or 3 yards separation against their defender, and he came down with the ball,'' Muthler said of Benton. "(Penn Cambria) fought as hard as they could and they played very well. We came through at the end. Winning the district championship this year is extra special.''
Central coach Dave Baker has led the Dragons to the PIAA Class 3A semifinals in both of the past two seasons, but he knows that winning a district championship is essential for a team to have hopes of accomplishing anything bigger.
"That's a realistic goal every year -- to try to win a district championship,'' said Baker, whose team defeated Penn Cambria by wide margins in the district championship game in both of the past two seasons. "Winning a state championship doesn't become a realistic goal until you get there.''
The teams battled gamely throughout the second half after Central took a 21-14 lead at intermission.
Sophomore quarterback Brady Jones hit junior halfback Derek Hite with a 20-yard rollout touchdown pass with 4:24 left in the third quarter, as Penn Cambria tied the score, 21-21, after three quarters.
Central responded midway through the fourth quarter to take the lead again, 28-21, when Muthler hit senior wideout Jack Dunn with a 32-yard touchdown pass.
Penn Cambria bounced right back to tie the game, 28-28, after a 46-yard punt return by senior Carter McDermott set up junior back Tommy Plunkett's 17-yard touchdown run off the left side with 6:02 left in the fourth quarter.
Central drove 63 yards on 11 plays on its ensuing possession for the game-winning touchdown.
"Everybody worked together very hard, and everybody did their jobs tonight,'' Dunn said. "I'm so thankful for this team, and really happy that we got this win tonight. It was well-deserved.''
Penn Cambria, which finished the season 9-3, had an equally strong argument in its favor.
"We're all really hurting right now,'' visibly emotional Penn Cambria coach Nick Felus said. "We put so much work into this during the past week and all season, and we came here expecting to win this game.
"We have an unbelievable group who has showed such great work ethic and toughness,'' Felus added. "We played a complete game for four quarters. It just didn't happen for us today. Hats off to Central -- they made a play when they needed to tonight. It was an unbelievable championship game.''
Senior Hunter Smith rushed for 95 yards on 21 carries and two first-half touchdowns for Central, which bolted to a 21-7 second-quarter lead.
Penn Cambria junior Gavin Harrold kept the Panthers in the game in the first half, rushing 10 yards out of the wildcat formation for a first-quarter touchdown and hitting McDermott across the middle on a 63-yard scoring route late in the second quarter.
"I thought that we should have come out of here with a win, but sometimes, it just doesn't go your way,'' said Harrold, who rushed for 86 yards on 16 carries. "Tonight, it didn't for us. But our junior class this year will be seniors next year, and we'll be back.''
Play of the game: Muthler's 15-yard touchdown pass to Benton for the game-winning score.
Player(s) of the game: Muthler and Benton.
Unsung hero(es): Central's offensive line gave Muthler plenty of time to throw and blocked well for the rushing game as the Dragons produced 405 yards in total offense -- which was the most vital statistic in the game.
Penn Cambria's Plunkett, who rushed for 79 yards on 11 carries: "We wanted to win this game real bad after the last two years. We worked hard all season to make it here. I couldn't be more proud of my boys.''
Central's Smith: "Four straight district titles -- that's amazing. It shows how good a job our coaches have done throughout our system in developing this program.''
Records: Central (11-0); Penn Cambria (9-3).
Next week: Penn Cambria's season is complete. Central plays at District 9 champion Clearfield in the first round of the PIAA Class 3A playoffs.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Central 7 14 0 14 -- 35
Penn Cambria 7 7 7 7 -- 28
Ffirst Quarter
C--Smith 1 run (Smith kick), 6:44.
PC--Harrold 10 run (Dillon kick), :41.
Second Quarter
C--Muthler 11 run (Smith kick), 10:29.
C--Smith 1 run (Smith kick), 5:39.
PC--McDermott 63 pass from Harrold (Dillon kick), 2:49.
Third Quarter
PC--Hite 20 pass from Jones (Dillon kick), 4:24.
Fourth Quarter
C--Dunn 32 pass from Muthler (Smith kick), 7:40.
PC--Plunkett 19 run (Dillon kick), 6:02.
C--Benton 15 pass from Muthler (Smith kick), :32.
TEAM STATISTICS C PC
First downs 23 12
Total yards 405 288
Rushes-yards 31-144 37-154
Yards passing 261 134
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 15-21-0 7-15-1 Punts/avg. 0-0 4-33.3
Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-1
Penalties-yards 4-30 6-50
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Central, Smith 21-95, Muthler 9-43, Benton 1-6. Penn Cambria, Harrold 16-86, Plunkett 11-79, Jones 10-(-11).
PASSING--Central, Muthler 15-21-0-261. Penn Cambria, Jones 6-10-1-71, Harrold 1-5-0-63.
RECEIVING--Central, Benton 7-141, Smith 3-34, Dunn 2-43, Dionis 2-29, Klotz 1-14. Penn Cambria, McDermott 2-66, Harrold 4-48, Hite 1-20.