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By John Hartsock
jhartsock@altoonamirror.com
The significance of Jerry Albright's first victory as head football coach at Central High School didn't initially sink in for him in the immediate aftermath of the Scarlet Dragons' 20-13 Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference road victory over Somerset last Friday night.
But the satisfaction of the moment gradually increased for Albright, who had spent nearly three decades as an assistant coach in the Central football program before taking the head coaching reins this past March.
"At the time, no, but afterwards, it meant a lot to me,'' Albright said of his thoughts surrounding the coaching milestone. "The kids were stepping up after the game and a lot of the guys were giving me hugs and shaking my hand.
"I wanted it more for the team than I wanted it for myself, because if we are going to have success as a team this year, we have to get things rolling,'' added Albright, whose Dragons opened this season with an 18-7 loss at home to Bellefonte. "Winning is contagious, and hopefully, we can take what we did this past Friday and roll it into the Tyrone game this week.''
Central visits archrival Tyrone this Friday night for a Laurel Highlands Conference showdown at Gray Veterans Memorial Field. Kickoff between the two teams, who are both 1-1 overall and in conference play, is 7 p.m.
This matchup has been a big one for both communities and Blair County, and it has also played a significant role in the District 6 Class 3A playoff picture in recent seasons. Both Albright and veteran Tyrone coach John Franco are looking forward to Friday's meeting.
"We look forward to playing them,'' Albright said. "Everything else for them is second to the Bellwood game, but for us, it's one of our top games of the year.''
Franco -- who is in his 38th season as a head football coach, and his 26th at Tyrone -- said that the Golden Eagles' battles with Central have always been special.
"Central and Tyrone have had a great rivalry over the years, and it's always a fun game,'' Franco said. "I think the players, the coaches and the fans love the competition, and it's just one of those games that juices you up, and you can't wait for it to come along.''
Both schools have outstanding veteran senior quarterbacks, and both are coming off big victories, with Tyrone winning at Johnstown, 42-12, last Friday.
Tyrone's Ashton Walk, who is a four-year starter at quarterback, has completed 27 of 47 passes for 432 yards and four touchdowns this season. He completed 16 of 24 for 228 yards and three scores against Johnstown.
Seven different receivers caught at least one pass in last week's game for Tyrone, with junior wideout Eli Woomer making four receptions for 90 yards, including a 50-yard TD catch. Senior wideout Tyler Weston and sophomore wideout Mason Emigh both caught three passes last week. For the season, Woomer has six catches for 136 yards, Weston and Emigh have four catches apiece, and senior Trent Adams, a transfer from Bishop Guilfoyle Academy, has three catches for 92 yards and a touchdown.
"Walk has a very strong arm,'' Albright said of the Tyrone standout. "He loves to go deep with his passes, and that's probably the one thing that our defense has been susceptible to this year - the pass completions that we have given up have come on deeper passes. We have to get some pressure on Walk. If he's able to stand in one spot and look over the defense, he can complete a lot of passes.
"He has several good receivers to throw to, and we've got to make sure that we get them covered,'' Albright added. "Tyrone also runs the ball well, they like to trap (block) a lot, and our defense has to be ready for that, too.''
Franco said that his team's running game - particularly in the second half - was a big factor in the win at Johnstown. Tyrone rolled up 423 total yards last week, including 195 on the ground, with senior back Seth Hoover gaining 83 yards on 17 carries and another senior back, Ashton Emigh, rushing for 68 yards and two touchdowns on six carries.
Central's offense is led by 6-foot-2, 170-pound quarterback Eli Muthler, who has completed 19 of 45 passes for 224 yards this season, including 11 of 24 for 139 yards and two scores against Somerset. Senior wideout Jay Hoenstine made eight catches for 112 yards and caught both Muthler TD passes in last week's game.
Muthler led the Mirror coverage area in passing yards (2,815) as a first-year starting quarterback last season, when he completed 183 of 309 attempts for 32 touchdowns. He is also an excellent secondary player who earned Pennsylvania Football News Second Team All-State recognition at free safety last year, when he intercepted seven passes.
"I think he's a fantastic quarterback,'' Franco said of Muthler. "I've watched him for over a year, and he does a lot of good things. He throws the ball from every distance as well as anybody that I've seen in the last couple of years, and he's a really good running quarterback and a heck of a defensive player as well.
"He's one of the best players in Blair County, if not in all of District 6 -- there's no doubt about it,'' Franco added.
Central senior tight end-defensive end Jaxon Detterline is expecting a very hard-fought game with Tyrone Friday night.
"It will be a tough game -- it always is,'' Detterline said. "It's been a rivalry over the years, and we're going to bring our best game to be ready for this one.''
Central at Tyrone
When: Friday night, 7 p.m.
Where: Gray Veterans Memorial Field.
Records: Both teams are 1-1 overall and in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference.
Coaches: Jerry Albright is in his first season as Central's head coach. John Franco is in his 38th season as a head coach, with an overall record of 279-145-2 at three different schools. Franco is in his 26th season at Tyrone, where he has a career record of 218-62.
Last season: Central won, 42-7, at Roaring Spring.
Last week: Central won at Somerset, 20-13, while Tyrone won at Johnstown, 42-12.