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ROARING SPRING -- A relatively young Central football team with a roster that includes mostly underclassmen has experienced its share of growing pains this season.
But the Scarlet Dragons certainly came of age Friday night.
Trailing 25-19 with only 1:21 left on the clock, Central put together a 66-yard scoring drive that the Scarlet Dragons capped off with a 27-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Jesse Muthler to sophomore wideout Bentley Dickson on the final play from scrimmage. Junior Cole Marks tacked on the all-important conversion kick, giving Central a heart-stopping 26-25 Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference win over Bald Eagle Area at the Roaring Spring Athletic Field.
Facing a third down at the 27 with only six seconds left and time to run just one more play, the Scarlet Dragons (3-6 overall and in the conference) pulled out the game when Muthler, who completed 15 of 29 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns on the night, threw up a pass toward the left-hand corner of the end zone toward Dickson, who pulled the ball down in the midst of double coverage to provide a surreal ending to a game in which the lead changed hands several times.
"Our offensive line did a great job giving us the right amount of time, and Jesse threw the ball and I went up and made the play,'' said Dickson, who caught five passes totaling 79 yards in the game. "I had to first get inside, then get outside their safety, to make the catch.''
Muthler said that he had faith that Dickson could do just that.
"We had the play drawn up to throw it to Bentley, and no matter who was on him, I had confidence in him that he could make the play,'' Muthler said.
It was the most gratifying victory in Jerry Albright's two seasons as Central's head coach to date.
"I couldn't be more proud of our team,'' Albright said. "Our seniors have led by example, and our players have battled all season long.
"(Assistant) coach (Paul) Frederick deserves all the credit for planning that play,'' Albright added. "Bentley has the height that (enables him to) go up over smaller defensive backs and make those types of catches. That's what we had hoped would happen.''
Play of the game: Muthler's game-winning TD pass to Dickson.
Player of the game: Muthler threw for 205 yards and two touchdowns, and also caught three passes for another 41 yards.
Unsung hero(es): The Central offensive line gave Muthler enough time on the final scoring drive to complete three passes totaling 48 yards, including a 12-yard fourth down pass to Marks that kept Central alive after the line held its blocks and gave Muthler time to scramble and find Marks open.
Most vital statistic(s): Central managed to win on the strength of its air game. The Scarlet Dragons totaled only 9 rushing yards but picked up 246 passing yards.
Bald Eagle Area coach Jesse Nagle: "We had them down numerous times but they managed to find a way. (On the winning TD pass), we had two guys in double coverage and all we had to do was to bat the ball down, but we tried to make an interception. It's heartbreaking, because our kids worked hard and battled back from behind themselves tonight, and I'm proud of them. (Central) just made one more play than we did tonight.''
Notable: Junior Carter Schenk scored a pair of rushing touchdowns for Central, on a 5-yard first-quarter run and a 1-yard burst early in the fourth quarter to give the Dragons a 19-10 lead ... BEA responded when wideout Kollin Cunningham took a toss in the backfield and hit wideout Jackson Millward down the middle of the field with a 60-yard TD pass early in the fourth quarter, and quarterback Grady Fisher bolted 2 yards for a TD and tacked on a 2-yard conversion run to give BEA its 25-19 lead with 1:21 left to play ... Fisher rushed for 94 yards in the game, including a 39-yard scoring jaunt in the first quarter, while Central scored a third-quarter touchdown on Muthler's shovel pass to freshman Brooks Decker that went for 16 yards and gave the Dragons a 13-10 lead.
Records: Bald Eagle Area (4-5 overall and in the conference); Central (3-6, 3-6).
Next week: Central hosts Somerset, while BEA entertains Central Cambria.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Bald Eagle Area 7 3 0 15--25
Central 7 0 6 13--26
First Quarter
C--Schenk 5 run (Marks kick), 6:59.
BEA--Fisher 39 run (Millward kick), 3:42.
Second Quarter
BEA--Millward 22 FG, 10:31.
Third Quarter
C--Decker 16 pass from Muthler (run failed), 10:01.
Fourth Quarter
C--Schenk 1 run (pass failed), 10:41.
BEA--Millward 60 pass from Cunningham (Millward kick), 10:21.
BEA--Fisher 2 run (Fisher run), 1:25.
C--Dickson 27 pass from Muthler (Marks kick), 0:00.
TEAM STATISTICS BEA C
First downs 12 15
Total yards 304 255
Rushes-yards 30-151 28-9
Yards passing 153 246
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 8-11-1 18-33-1
Punts-avg. 1-53 2-29
Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-0
Penalties-yards 5-56 3-25
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Bald Eagle Area, Fisher 14-94, McCulley 9-29, Danneker 5-13, Cunningham 1-12, S. Clark 1-3. Central, Harbaugh 8-12, Musei 7-8, Schenk 9-0, Muthler 4-(-11).
PASSING-- Bald Eagle Area, Fisher 4-7-1-39, Cunningham 2-2-0-88, Millward 2-2-0-26. Central, Muthler 15-29-1-205, Schenk 3-4-0-41.
RECEIVING-- Bald Eagle Area, Millward 3-96, Irion 1-22, Hosband 1-17, Clark 1-7, McCulley 1-7, Fisher 1-4 . Central, Dickson 5-79, Moushlian 3-46, Muthler 3-41, Schenk 2-21, Horn 2-21, Harbaugh 2-10, Decker 1-16, Marks 1-12.