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By Rick Weaver
For the Mirror
MARION CENTER -- And now three remain.
Cambria Heights overcame five turnovers on Saturday night and came away from Dr. John R. Mallino Stadium with a 21-7 victory against Marion Center in a Heritage Conference football game.
The Highlanders, Northern Cambria and Penns Manor now enter Week Four as the only undefeated teams in the 12-school conference.
Marion Center intercepted Isaac Weiland four times and recovered a fumble. The Highlanders, however, prevented the Stingers from scoring five times once they reached the 20-yard line.
Plays of the game: Weiland connected with Marshall Eckenrode (26 yards) and Trey Trybus (37 yards) for second-quarter touchdown passes that put Cambria Heights ahead, 14-7, entering halftime.
Player of the game: Marion Center senior Noah McCoy led all receivers with eight catches for 77 yards. He also intercepted Weiland twice.
Unsung hero: The Highlanders' Luke Mulraney rushed for 31 yards, mostly in the second half, as his team turned to its dominant ground game. He rushed seven yards for one first down early in the fourth quarter. The Cambria Heights senior picked up a 13-yard gain on third and 13 to keep the Highlanders' final scoring chance in order. Eckenrode's 1-yard touchdown run with 1:41 to play iced the victory.
Most vital statistics: Cambria Heights held the edge in total yards, 308-267. The Highlanders picked up 204 yards on the ground. The Highlanders also committed six penalties for 50 yards.
Cambria Heights coach Jarrod Lewis: "We moved the ball. We just didn't finish. I thought we moved the ball well between the 20s. We just have to do a better job of finishing drives and score more when we get inside there. We work a lot on that. But we're, obviously going to have to work a little more on that."
Marion Center coach Adam Rising: "Unfortunately, we did not execute on those turnovers. We had some momentum, we got down in the red zone three or four times. The field shortens, and we don't take advantage of that. And that's on us."
Eckenrode: "We had a lot more penalties than we would have liked. We gave up too many yards, especially passing. A win's a win. And we're going to work extra hard this week so we can come back and be more disciplined, be tougher next week."
Notable: Cambria Heights junior Jaxxon Kline rushed for a game-high 77 yards on 10 attempts. Stephen Nelen carried the ball five times for 47 yards. ... Eckenrode led the Highlanders with four pass receptions for 54 yards. He also scored two touchdowns. A chop block penalty nullified another scoring run by Eckenrode early in the fourth quarter. ... Marion Center junior Camden Rising completed 19 of 37 passes for 224 yards. He was not intercepted. ... The game was pushed back to Saturday because of a shortage of available officials. ... Cambria Heights senior Garrett Jasper recovered a fumble that preceded Weiland's scoring pass to Eckenrode in the second quarter.
Team records: Cambria Heights (3-0), Marion Center (2-1).
Next game: Cambria Heights hosts Northern Cambria on Friday. Marion Center hosts Conemaugh Township on Friday.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Cambria Heights……………………………..0 14 0 7 -- 21
Marion Center……………………………….. 0 7 0 0 -- 7
Second quarter
CH--Eckenrode, 26 pass from Weiland (Abrams kick), 11:54.
MC--Phillips, 1 run (Haggerty kick), 10:03.
CH--Trybus, 37 pass from Weiland (Abrams kick), 4:15.
Fourth quarter
CH--Eckernrode, 1 run (Abram kick), 1:41.
TEAM STATISTICS MC CH
First downs 15 15
Total yards 308 267
Rushes-yards 35-264 28-41
Yards passing 104 224
Passes-comp.-int. 8-14-4 19-37-0
Punts-avg. 6-61 5-29.8
Fumbles-lost 1-1 4-2
Penalties-yards 6-50 4-30
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing-Cambria Heights, Kline 10-77, Nelen 5-47, Eckenrode 7-40, Jasper 4-10, Team 2-4, Trybus 3-(-5). Marion Center, Ploskunak 5-35, Rising 12-9, Phillips 6-8, McCoy 1-2, Team 4-(13).
Passing-Cambria Heights, Weiland 8-14-4-104. Marion Center, Rising 19-37-0-224.
Receiving-Cambria Heights, Eckenrode 4-54, Trybus 2-42, Nelen 2-8, Marion Center, McCoy 8-77, Runk 4-25, Phillips 3-22, Slovinsky 2-83, Ploskunak 2-17.