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ROARING SPRING -- In Central's 2026 season opener, Philipsburg-Osceola's DaMarcus Law took the opening kickoff back 75 yards for a touchdown.
While it didn't start off in a favorable way, Dragons coach Jerry Albright will be hard-pressed to find any other negatives on film throughout the first half.
Central outscored the Mounties 36-0 throughout the rest of the first half, and cruised to a 43-20 victory to open the season.
The Dragons went 4-6 a year ago, but won their final two games and three of their last four contests. Albright said it was like his team picked up from where they left off last season.
"We had three seniors on each side of the ball last year, so we brought a lot of guys back," Albright said. "We seem like we started our practice this summer exactly where we left off last season.
"We have a lot of confidence. Everything we're doing right now, it's fun. Our summer workouts were fun. They know what they have to do to get the job done, and they go out and get it done.
Play of the game: On a night where Central's offense shined, it was a defensive play that springboarded the Dragons into a blowout. With Central up 15-6 early in the second quarter and P-O facing a 4th and 1 at their own 40, the Dragon defense stuffed P-O running back Aaron Davis for no gain. Central went on to score on its next three drives to take a commanding lead to halftime.
Player of the game: Central's Jesse Muthler can line up pretty much anywhere on the field, but it was as a quarterback where he did most of his damage. He went 13 for 19 passing for 191 yards and two touchdowns for the night.
Unsung hero(es): You could pick almost everyone else in the Central offense. While Muthler had a bunch of time to work to his offensive line's credit, he also had a lot of help from receivers. Seven different receivers caught at least one pass from Muthler. Semaj Musei also ran for 93 yards on the ground.
Most vital statistic(s): Philipsburg-Osceola did not record a first down until there were eight minutes left in the third quarter.
Albright: "I knew we had the possibility of having that type of a team. I didn't know we'd come out and do that in the first half. Our line played tremendously on both sides of the ball. It was an unbelievable effort."
Philipsburg-Osceola coach Jeff Vroman: "I don't think we played with any intensity tonight. They were on the attack the whole night after the kickoff. We have to get much better. But they came out and they attacked us. They did a great job. They attacked us and we let them do it."
Muthler: "After that opening kickoff, we went 36-0. That's all to the line. There were eight seconds to throw, there were 5-foot holes. We couldn't do it without them."
Notable: Although the game was out of reach in the second half, the Mounties played much better in the second half. After being held to just 30 yards of total offense in the first half, P-O finished with 181 total yards. ... Along with his 93 rushing yards, Musei scored two touchdowns, while Carter Schenk also put in two as the backup quarterback. He came in to be the signal-caller while Muthler was split out as a receiver on several occasions.
Records: Philipsburg-Osceola (0-1); Central (1-0).
Next week: Central is at Johnstown. P-O hosts Chestnut Ridge.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Philipsburg-Osceola 6 0 7 7 — 20
Central 8 28 7 0 — 43
First Quarter
PO– Law 75 kickoff return, (pass failed), 11:48.
C–Schenk 15 run, (C. Marks pass from Dickson), 4:29..
Second Quarter
C–Musei 6 run, (C. Marks kick), 11:20.
C–Decker 9 pass from Muthler, (C. Marks kick), 7:26.
C–Dickson 36 pass from Muthler, (C. Marks kick), 5:10.
C–Musei 13 run, (C. Marks kick), 1:02.
Third Quarter
C–Schenk 5 run, (C. Marks kick), 2:46.
PO–Davis 2 run, (DeGrasse kick), :20.
Fourth Quarter
PO–Cope 7 run, (DeGrasse kick), 1:36.
TEAM STATISTICS PO C
First downs 10 20
Total yards 181 355
Rushes-yards 29-132 34-164
Yards passing 49 191
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 5-13-2 13-21-0
Punts-avg. 4-29.5 1-7
Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-1
Penalties-yards 4-20 7-65
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Philipsburg-Osceola, Davis 12-55, Vaughn 3-24, Law 6-16, Baughman 5-15, Cope 2-15, McClenahan 1-7. Central, Musei 13-93, Schenk 5-38, Mickel 6-25, Muthler 1-22, Frye 2-15, Myers 3-1, Oakes 1-1, T. Marks 1-1, Team 2-(-2).
PASSING--Philipsburg-Osceola, Baughman 5-13-2-49. Central, Muthler 13-19-0-191; Schenk 0-2-0-0.
RECEIVING--Philipsburg-Osceola, Guenot 3-49, Davis 1-2, Law 1-(-2). Central, Dickson 4-105, Oakes 1-24, Decker 2-20, Moushlian 3-17, Schenk 1-15, Myers 1-7, Loucks 1-3.
INTERCEPTIONS--Central, Muthler, Scott.