High School Football

Bursting ‘fourth:’ Big final quarter pushes Central Scarlet Dragons past Central Cambria Red Devils in key Class 3A game

H.S. Football Extra

ROARING SPRING -- In a Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference showdown that could ultimately have a tremendous bearing on seeding for the upcoming District 6 Class 3A playoffs, the Central Scarlet Dragons passed a gut check on their home field Friday night.

Trailing, 19-7 entering the fourth quarter in a battle of two teams that had entered the game with identical 6-1 records, Central used the passing and receiving tandem of junior Jesse Muthler and senior Carter Schenk to score 22 fourth-quarter points and pull out a 29-26 victory at the Roaring Spring Athletic Field.

"It was absolutely a great win tonight,'' Central coach Jerry Albright said. "We had to trade punches with them, and be tough ... everything the coaches told the players in preparation for this game, the players did.

"Both teams played a very physical game, we just made a couple more plays than they did. That seems to be the story of this season for us.''

Central started a 60-yard drive late in the third quarter that covered 10 plays and ended on the first play of the fourth quarter, when Muthler moved from his customary quarterback position to wideout, and caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from Schenk -- who moves to quarterback from tight end in short-yardage red-zone situations.

"(Central Cambria) put eight or nine people in the box to try to stop Schenk, and he threw an incredible ball to me, and I was able to come down with it,'' Muthler said.

After Central's defense made a key defensive stop after three Central Cambria rushing tries, the Scarlet Dragons regained possession at their own 44 and drove 56 yards to the end zone in 12 plays, with Muthler's fourth-down, 6-yard touchdown pass to Schenk in the left corner of the end zone capping off the march and giving the Scarlet Dragons their first lead of the night, 20-19. Central also tacked on the two-point conversion when Muthler caught a pass from senior Adam Loucks, putting the Scarlet Dragons ahead, 22-19 with 4:33 left.

"We dragged across, Jesse saw the connection there, and he trusted me to make the play,'' Schenk said.

A costly Central Cambria fumble after a bad direct snap from center was recovered by Central senior Cole Marks at the Central Cambria 4 with four minutes left in the game, paving the way for Muthler's 5-yard TD run with 2:34 remaining that put the Dragons ahead, 29-19.

"We know that (Central Cambria) is an incredible team, and we're probably going to have to see them again (in the playoffs) to accomplish what we want to get done this season,'' Muthler said. "We played one heck of a game tonight to get the victory.''

Not to be outdone, Central Cambria responded by marching 64 yards in seven plays before junior quarterback Mason Pittsinger capped off the drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass to senior wideout Ridge Kutchman with 1:20 remaining to pull Central Cambria back to within 29-26.

But the Scarlet Dragons recovered the ensuing onside kick, clinching the victory.

"Both these teams are high-quality teams, and this was a big-time high school football game,'' Central Cambria coach Wade Klezek said. "We had a lot of opportunities to put this game away but we gave a good team life tonight, and they made enough plays to get us.''

Play of the game: Muthler, who completed 13 of 20 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns, while also accounting for a third TD with his run, connected with Schenk on the clutch fourth-down scoring pass late in the fourth quarter to put Central ahead to stay.

Player of the game: Muthler, who also hit junior wideout Bentley Dickson with a 13-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter, gets the nod here.

Unsung hero: Bullish Central Cambria senior workhorse back Ryan Chappell rushed 31 times for 166 yards and touchdown runs of 1 yard in the first quarter, 23 in the second quarter and 1 yard in the third quarter, accounting for all three touchdowns for the Red Devils, who broke out to a 13-0 second-quarter lead.

Most vital statistic: There was a grand disparity in passing and rushing yards between the two teams. Central gained 198 of its 273 total yards through the air, while Central Cambria picked up 216 of its 265 total yards via the rush.

Notable: Central Cambria nearly took a two-touchdown lead at halftime on what was a valiant defensive effort by Kutchman, who picked off a pass near his own goal line in the final seconds of the first half and broke containment down the left sideline, covering more than 90 yards before running out of gas and falling at the Central 5 as time expired. "That was a tough situation,'' Klezek said ... Central honored its 13 senior players, its cheerleaders and its band members in a senior night celebration in what will be the Scarlet Dragons' final regular-season home game. Senior players and their parents/guardians who were recognized before the game included Loucks, Schenk, Marks, Nick Dunmire, Jace Ebersole, Cortez Eades, J.J. Moushlian, Semaj Musei, Bronson Myers, Colton Porreca, Ethan Stern, Carter Stewart and Elias Walter.

Records: Central Cambria (6-2); Central (7-1).

Next week: Central Cambria hosts Somerset. Central visits Bald Eagle Area.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Central Cambria 6 7 6 7--26

Central 0 7 0 22--29

First Quarter

CC--Chappell 1 run (kick failed), 2:12.

Second Quarter

CC--Chappell 23 run (Conner kick), 3:53.

C--Dickson 13 pass from Muthler (Marks kick), 1:57.

Third Quarter

CC--Chappell 1 run (pass failed), 3:25.

Fourth Quarter

C--Muthler 9 pass from Schenk (Marks kick), 11:55.

C--Schenk 6 pass from Muthler (Muthler pass from Loucks), 4:33

C--Muthler 5 run (Marks kick), 2:34.

CC--Kutchman 15 pass from Pittsinger (Conner kick), 1:20

TEAM STATISTICS CC C

First downs 16 15

Total yards 265 273

Rushes-yards 44-216 26-75

Yards passing 49 198

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 4-9-0 14-22-1

Punts/avg. 2-32 1-21

Fumbles-lost 1-1 0-0

Penalties-yards 6-32 6-40

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Central Cambria, Chappell 31-166, Pittsinger 7-34, Dawson 5-27, TEAM 1-(-11). Central, Musei 13-49, Schenk 7-14, Muthler 6-12.

PASSING--Central Cambria, Pittsinger 4-9-0-49. Central, Muthler 13-20-1-189, Schenk 1-2-0-9.

RECEIVING--Central Cambria, Kutchman 2-34, Conner 1-9, Makosky 1-6. Central, Dickson 5-57, Decker 3-80, Musei 3-46, Muthler 1-9, Schenk 1-6, Loucks 1-0.