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By Calem Illig
sports@altoonamirror.com
PATTON -- After being the overwhelming favorite to win the Heritage Conference at the beginning of the season, the Cambria Heights football team didn't let prognosticators down.
The Highlanders secured their second conference title in four seasons and earned their ninth-straight win with a 57-0 triumph over West Shamokin Friday night.
Cambria Heights will attempt to record its first undefeated regular season next week against Penns Manor.
Play of the game: Already up by three touchdowns, Heights quarterback Isaac Weiland threw a screen pass under duress to Trey Trybus. Despite running into a pack of Wolves, Trybus shed four tackles and burst into the end zone for a 45-yard score.
"The entire line was blocking for me, and that's really where it all started," Trybus said. "I saw green grass ahead of me, slipped off a couple tackles and scored."
Quick start: The Highlanders scored touchdowns on two of their first three plays. Trybus opened the game with a 27-yard rush to set up a 6-yard scoring run by Marshall Eckenrode. On the first play of their second possession, Weiland lofted a deep pass to a wide open Trybus, who took the ball 77 yards to the end zone.
Player of the game: Trybus, who had three touchdowns. He had 222 yards total, despite only touching the ball five times.
Unsung heros: Heights defensive tackle Braylon Rydbom, who had two sacks and a fumble recovery... Highlanders running back Nelen called five plays in shotgun formation and completed three passes for 43 yards, caught a 33-yard touchdown pass and also had a 33-yard scoring run.
Most vital statistic: Heights only ran 17 plays from scrimmage in the first half and scored six touchdowns along with a special teams score. West Shamokin, meanwhile, managed only 36 total yards of offense and didn't record a first down until the third quarter.
Highlanders coach Jarrod Lewis: "We're trying to check off some boxes, and this was definitely a goal coming into the season. It's a group that's trying to carve their own story and own history."
Heights' Garrett Jasper on the defensive effort: Coach (Lance) Eckenrode always preaches to us that we need to have 11 guys to the ball. That's what we always practice. Everyone needs to fly to the ball."
Heights' Tristan Weakland: "We never got ahead of ourselves and took it one week at a time, which is what you have to do to be successful. This was a goal of ours from the beginning of the year, but we knew we had to focus on each game, one at a time, to get to this point."
Notable: Lewis inserted many of his second and third-string players midway through the second quarter. ... Brayden DeArmitt had a 56-yard kick return in the second half... Backup quarterback Kaiden Ivory hit Carson Lobick for a 41-yard pass to set up a 3-yard touchdown run by Carson Wilkie.
Records: Cambria Heights (9-0); West Shamokin (0-9).
Next week: Cambria Heights is at Penns Manor; West Shamokin hosts River Valley.
SCORE BY QUARTER
West Shamokin 0 0 0 0 -- 0
Cambria Heights 36 14 7 0 -- 57
First quarter
CH -- Eckenrode 6 run (Cam Abrams kick), 9:12
CH -- Trybus 77 pass from Weiland (Abrams kick), 6:41
CH -- Nelen 33 pass from Weiland (Nelen run), 3:48
CH -- Trybus 45 pass from Weiland (Abrams kick), :58
CH -- Eckenrode 30 pass from Nelen (Abrams kick), :40
Second quarter
CH -- Nelen 33 run (Abrams kick), 7:44
CH -- Trybus 62 punt return (Abrams kick), :42
Third quarter
CH -- Carson Wilkie 3 run (Nito Kutruff kick), 5:20
TEAM STATISTICS WS CH
First downs 3 10
Total yards 36 401
Rushes-yards 22-22 13-162
Yards passing 14 239
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 6-6-0 7-8-0
Punts-avg. 6-39 0-0
Fumbles-lost 2-1 1-1
Penalties-yards 2-10 2-16
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING -- West Shamokin, Kimmel 10-10, Wingard 10-7, Oesterling 1-3, Booher 1-2. Cambria Heights, Nelen 3-56, Jasper 2-44, Ivory 2-29, Trybus 1-27, Gray 2-8, Wilkie 2-5, Snyder 1-5, DeArmitt 2-2, Clawson 2- (negative 4).
PASSING -- West Shamokin, Wingard 6-6-0-14. Cambria Heights, Weiland 1-4-0-155, Nelen 3-3-0-43, Ivory 1-1-0-41.
RECEIVING -- West Shamokin, Oesterling 4-8, Titus 2-6. Cambria Heights, Trybus 3-133, Lobick 1-41, Nelen 1-33, Eckenrode 1-30, Clawson 1-2.