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Central Cambria Red Devils push past Penn Cambria in OT

By Michael Boytim 6 min read

CRESSON -- Central Cambria and Penn Cambria play for the Goal Post Trophy in their rivalry game every season, but the more appropriate prize for Friday's game should have been a spa day for the winning team.

In a game where any yard was hard to come by that was filled with hard hits throughout, it all came down to 6-foot, 220-pound Ryan Chappell taking a shotgun snap and deciding nothing was keeping him from the end zone on a two-point conversion attempt with the Red Devils down one in overtime.

Chappell broke a couple tackles and dragged a defender past the goal line for the game-winning score that propelled Central Cambria to a 15-14 win, its first over Penn Cambria since 2019.

"We worked too hard to be denied on the 2-yard line," Chappell said. "We knew we had to push and dig deep. We pushed all game, and that last play was just Red Devil mentality. There was no way I was going down. Nothing was bringing me down. Their whole team could have been on me. I was not going down."

One play earlier, Chappell scored on a 10-yard touchdown run on third-and-10 after a delay of game pushed Central Cambria back 5 yards and seemingly put the Red Devils into a passing situation.

But Central Cambria coach Wade Klezek was never going to take the ball out of Chappell's hands.

"Once we scored there, I knew there was one person that was going to get the ball, and it was going to be Ryan Chappell," Klezek said. "If you lose the game because your best player doesn't get it done, you can sleep at night. But I wanted to give him the ball and let him go win this for us. He's such a warrior. I believe in him, and I love him so much. I'm proud of him."

Play of the game: Chappell's two-point conversion run was something that will be talked about when this rivalry game is played for the next few decades.

"This means everything. We're 4-1 now. It's really special," Chappell said. "We haven't been 4-1 in a long time, and to win the Goal Post Trophy feels amazing. We're going to keep this going with homecoming next week. We want that district title."

Player of the game: Nobody had gaudy statistics, but even though Chappell scored the winner, Central Cambria wide receiver Ridge Kutchman helped open things up for his running back.

Kutchman caught a 40-yard touchdown pass from Mason Pittsinger in the second quarter and also drew a pass interference call that helped the Red Devils extend their final drive in regulation and kept Penn Cambria from getting the ball back with a chance to win.

"Our passing game was everything," Chappell said. "We had success in the pass, and they went to a 4-2 box. It separated everything, and it became easy to run through after that. I have to give props to the pass game for being there all night."

Unsung hero: Central Cambria's Chase Sinosky had several big hits in the secondary, including one to break up a pass to Nate Mack on fourth-and-5 at the Central Cambria 33-yard line late in the first half.

Most vital statistic: Penn Cambria was held to just 90 yards in regulation.

Panthers short-handed: Evan Latterner, Penn Cambria's starting quarterback, was diagnosed with mono on Wednesday according to Panthers coach Jason Grassi, leaving backup quarterback Jamie Maybush just a day and a half to prepare to start the game.

"We weren't clicking offensively. Obviously Evan not being there changed things a little bit offensively," Grassi said. "We believe in Jamie to get the job done. He came here on short notice and played a good football game for us. We got the lead in overtime, but they went for two and that was the game."

Penn Cambria senior Corbin Vinglish: "You'll never see a team that's more (angry) than we'll be."

Klezek: "This means so much, because it is for the Goal Post Trophy and because these teams are such physical teams built the same way. You want to be the physical team that gets bragging rights. Even more than that, the triple-A playoff race is tight. It's loaded with so many quality teams. Winning matchups like this can prepare you for the playoffs."

Grassi: "It was a hard-hitting, physical game like we expected. Every inch, every yard of the football game was important. We tied it up, and we had the momentum and got it to overtime after getting the stop to get it to overtime. I felt so confident, especially after we scored first in overtime. We just couldn't make a play at the end."

Notable: Bethany Watt was voted as Penn Cambria's homecoming queen. ... The 50-50 prize was $2,483, part of which was donated back to the Penn Cambria football boosters. ... Maybush connected with Trentyn Hassenplug on a beautiful throw with a defender in his face for a 10-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, and Charlie Golden added the extra point to tie the game. ... Vinglish led all rushers with 80 yards, including his 2-yard touchdown run in overtime that put Penn Cambria ahead, 14-7. ... Penn Cambria's Cam Coudriet intercepted a pass in the end zone with 21 seconds left in regulation and Central Cambria at the Panthers' 26-yard line.

Records: Central Cambria (4-1); Penn Cambria (3-2).

Next week: Central Cambria plays its homecoming game against Chestnut Ridge, and Penn Cambria travels to Westmont Hilltop next Friday.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Central Cambria 0 7 0 0 8 -- 15

Penn Cambria 0 0 7 0 7 -- 14

Second Quarter

CC--Kutchman 40 pass from Pittsinger (Conner kick), 8:10.

Third Quarter

PC--Hassenplug 10 pass from Maybush (Golden kick), 2:05.

Overtime

PC--Vinglish 2 run (Golden kick), :00.

CC--Chappell 10 run (Chappell run), :00.

TEAM STATISTICS CC PC

First downs 9 8

Total yards 161 100

Rushes-yards 31-81 31-71

Yards passing 80 29

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 10-21-1 7-16-0

Punts-avg. 5-30.4 5-34.4

Fumbles-lost 1-0 2-0

Penalties-yards 8-71 5-60

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Central Cambria, Chappell 17-69, Pittsinger 11-33, Dill 1-0, Makosky 1-(-2). Penn Cambria, Vinglish 15-80, Beck 6-12, Coudriet 1-3, Maybush 6-3, TEAM 3-(-27).

PASSING--Central Cambria, Pittsinger 10-21-1-80. Penn Cambria, Maybush 7-16-0-29, Vinglish 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING--Central Cambria, Kutchman 3-42, Sinosky 3-18, Makosky 2-8, Ray 1-8, Galli 1-4. Penn Cambria, Mack 3-9, Hassenplug 2-18, Coudriet 1-2, Vinglish 1-0.

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