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ROARING SPRING -- What if you were told that the Chestnut Ridge football team had negative 14 yards of offense in the first quarter of Friday night's showdown at Central … would you believe it?
And then there were the 12 penalties for nearly 100 yards on the Central side of the ball in a showdown of two 4-1 clubs … would you believe it?
In front of a capacity crowd at the Roaring Spring Athletic Field, many Central fans went home not believing what they had just witnessed, but there were plenty of Ridge fans who did, and were absolutely giddy heading to the parking lot following the Lions' 42-2 stunner.
The Lions' coach, Max Shoemaker, felt his club could win, but by 40 points?
"Oh my gosh, no," said Shoemaker, who couldn't stop smiling after the game as he addressed his team and then the media. "It was just one of those things. It feels special. That is what I told our kids. When you beat a Central, and the tradition of their program, and the recent success they have enjoyed under coach (Dave) Baker, it's a special night."
Central had the ball two times in the red zone in the first quarter and came away empty. Ridge had the ball just three plays before fumbling it away to Central's Brandon Mock. The next time Ridge got the ball, Doug Shade tackled the Lions' Jared McGill in the end zone as time expired in the first for a 2-0 lead.
It was the last time Central led. And Baker wouldn't use his team's inability to score in the red zone as a crutch either, instead, crediting Ridge for its play.
"It would have been 42-10 instead of 42-2. Seriously, I don't know what else to say but that they beat us," Baker said. "We played a good team, a really good team. The quarterback is good. They have speed at all positions … they are just really good."
Ridge got on the scoreboard at the 6:51 mark of the second quarter when Hauck, a quarterback who can run and throw the ball, took off up the middle for a 33-yard keeper. Ian Anderson's first of four PAT kicks made it 7-2.
Central got down to Ridge 17 in the final seconds of the first half, but again Ridge's defense held firm and got the ball back to end that drive. Defensive tackles Dalton Seace and Zach Hammel, who both are listed at 6-foot-5 and are 266 and 265 pounds, respectively, were trouble all night for the Central offense.
"They just keep getting better and better, too," Shoemaker said of his inside tandem. "Typically we don't have big kids like that, but they are special. They free up our linebackers to do things."
Ridge's offense scored on its second series of the third quarter when Noah Dillow found the end zone on a 7-yard run at the 4:19 mark for a 14-2 lead. The Lions' defense stepped up again as the game got away from Central. McGill picked off a Noah Muthler pass and returned it 35 yards for a score on Central's next possession. Going into the fourth quarter, Ridge had hushed the Central crowd with a 21-2 lead.
"We were not able to counter anything they did," Baker said. "They are really quick to the ball and their linebackers are good."
Hauck exploded in the fourth quarter for touchdown runs of 26 and 62 yards to make it 35-2 with 5:28 to go in the game. He finished with 138 yards on 14 carries, and was 7-for-11 for 112 yards with one pick.
"He is a phenomenal kid," Shoemaker said of his senior. "He doesn't look like much, but he is really a strong athlete and he takes a lot of hits and keeps on ticking. When he gets in the open, good things can happen."
Dull completed the scoring when he picked off a Preston Karstetter pass and returned it 30 yards for a score, making the final 42-2.
"That's the best Chestnut Ridge team I have seen in a long time," Baker said. "We made more mistakes than we usually do, but they were clearly better than us."
Game notes: Ridge did not punt in the game, and Central punted twice and one was for negative yards. …Hauck was tackled six times for negative yards and still wound up with 138 on the ground. …Trystan Detwiler led the Scarlet Dragons with 55 yards on 14 carries.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Chestnut Ridge 0 7 14 21 -- 42
Central 2 0 0 0 -- 2
First quarter
C--Safety, McGill tackled in end zone, :00
Second quarter
CR--Hauck 33 run (Anderson kick), 6:51
Third quarter
CR--Dull 7 run (Anderson kick),4:19
CR--McGill 35 int. return (Anderson kick), 3:43
Fourth quarter
CR--Hauck 26 run (kick failed), 8:32
CR--Hauck 62 run (Dillow pass from Hauck), 5:28
CR--Dull 30 int. return (Anderson kick), 3:39
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Chestnut Ridge -- Hauck 14-138, Dillow 9-22, Dull 3-16, McGill 1-(-2). Central -- Detwiler 14-55, J. Smith 5-24, Karstetter 2-3, Muthler 3-0, McConahy 5-9, I. Deterline 7-27.
PASSING: Chestnut Ridge -- Hauck 7-11-1-112. Central -- Muthler 5-15-2-65, Karstetter 3-8-1-32, Bolatto 0-1-0-0
RECEIVING: Chestnut Ridge -- Snyder 1-45, Mccoy 2-15, Dull 3-29, Dillow 1-23. Central--Bolatto 2-42, J. Smith 3-23, Parks 3-32.
INTERCEPTIONS: Chestnut Ridge -- Dull 2, McGill. Central -- J. Smith.
TEAM STATISTICS CR C
First downs 12 12
Rushes-yards 27-174 36-118
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 7-11-1 8-24-3
Yards passing 112 97
Total yards 286 215
Fumbles-lost 2-0 0-0
Penalties-yards 6-65 12-95
Punts-avg. 0-0 2-10.5