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JOHNSTOWN -- Two teams continued their trajectories in opposite directions Friday night as Penn Cambria remained unbeaten and kept Westmont Hilltop winless in the process as the visiting Panthers controlled the action on both sides of the ball during a dominant first half and cruised to a 43-14 Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference victory over the Hilltoppers for their sixth straight win.
Play of the game: With the Panthers already holding a commanding 30-0 lead late in the first half, Penn Cambria had the ball at their own 42 with five seconds left. Quarterback Brady Jones eluded the pass rush, scrambled to his right, and hit Blake Lilly deep down the middle. Lilly outran several Hilltopper defenders in the secondary and took it into the end zone as time expired to trigger the mercy-rule running clock for the entire second half.
Players of the game: Jones completed 11 of 14 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns. Gavin Harrold caught six of those for 69 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for another score.
Unsung hero: Penn Cambria senior left tackle/defensive tackle Preston Farabaugh earned praise from his head coach Nick Felus. "Preston Farabaugh has played very well these first six games of the season," Felus said. "He's one of our leaders up front and plays with a lot of passion and heart."
Most vital statistic: Westmont Hilltop was held without a first down until 3:20 left in the first half.
Felus: "We had a good week of preparation. Everything we did, we executed well on both sides of the ball. Brady Jones did a great job of running our offense. Our defensive coaches had a great game plan and the guys played hard."
Westmont Hilltop coach Pat Barron: "They (Penn Cambria) are an explosive, physical team. I'm proud of our kids for coming out and battling until the end."
Harrold: "We wanted to get off to a hot start. We knew they like to run the ball and take time off the clock, so we had to come out with guns blazing and score quick."
Notable: Jones completed passes to five different receivers and also rushed for 67 yards on eight carries. The Panthers limited Westmont Hilltop to just 119 yards of total offense.
Records: Penn Cambria (6-0), Westmont Hilltop (0-6).
Next week: Penn Cambria travels to Chestnut Ridge. Westmont Hilltop will be at Bishop McCort.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Penn Cambria 16 20 7 0--43
Westmont Hilltop 0 0 7 7--14
First Quarter
PC--Harrold 14 run (Harrold pass from Jones), 7:38.
PC--Harrold 36 pass from Jones (Nadolsky pass from Jones), 0:42.
Second Quarter
PC--Mento 2 run (run failed), 8:50.
PC--Harrold 6 pass from Jones (Jones run), 5:10.
PC--Lilly 58 pass from Jones (kick failed), 0:00.
Third Quarter
PC--Plunkett 3 run (Hanlon kick), 10:03.
WH--Valente 10 run (Jones kick), 1:48.
Fourth Quarter
WH--Gartner 48 punt return (Jones kick), 10:24.
TEAM STATISTICS PC WH
First downs 16 7
Total Net Yards 425 129
Rushes-yards 27-224 40-111
Passing 201 18
Comp-Att-Int 11-18-0 3-6-0
Punts 2-34.5 4-27.8
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 5-45 1-5
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Penn Cambria, Plunkett 6-63, Jones 8-67, Harrold 1-14, Mento 3-15, Beck 7-61, Davison 2-4. Westmont Hilltop, Goodman 10-23, Valente 14-55, Dill 4-1, Kane 4-12, Brant 2-0, Johnson 2-5, Ray 1-minus 2, Hunt 3-17.
PASSING--Penn Cambria, Jones 11-14-0-201, Davison 0-4-0-0 Westmont Hilltop, Dill 3-5-0-18, Brant 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING--Penn Cambria, Harrold 6-69, Plunkett 1-minus 3, Eckenrode 1-12, Nadolsky 2-65, Lilly 1-58. Westmont Hilltop, Stratton 1-12, Kane 1-6, Poad 1-0.