Central empties bag of trick plays in D6 football title win
District 6 3A Football
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An often spoken football coaching cliche is hoping a team's defense flies to the football.
Friday night at Mansion Park in the District 6 Class 3A championship game, Cambria Heights did exactly that -- and it burned the Highlanders.
Central rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit with trick play after trick play, punishing a Cambria Heights defense that overpursued the Scarlet Dragon holding the ball all night, to reclaim the 3A crown after two down years with a 29-18 victory.
"I feel an unbelievable relief," Central coach Jerry Albright said. "We have been in this situation all year with tight games, being behind at the half but we knew what it takes to come out in the second half and get the job done. I couldn't be prouder of these guys. Give Cambria Heights a lot of credit. They are a phenomenal team. They are sound, all 11 guys. We were lucky to come away with a win, but I told the kids that's what happens when you work hard and bust your tail for the last 11 months."
Central's first score came when Carter Schenk took a wildcat snap and found starting quarterback Jesse Muthler in the corner of the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown that Muthler pulled in with one hand.
Undeterred, Cambria Heights built an 18-7 lead deep into the third quarter on two touchdown runs by Nolan Clawson and a 33-yard field goal by Nito Kutruff.
But on the first play after that field goal, the Scarlet Dragons snatched all the momentum with possibly the play of the year in area high school football.
Muthler handed off to running back Semaj Musei, who ran to his left and turned to throw all the way backward across the field back to Muthler. Muthler then fired backward again all the way back across the field to offensive lineman Colton Porreca -- who threw deep to senior wideout Nick Dunmire -- who didn't have a catch all season.
Dunmire outjumped a defender and came down with the ball in traffic to set up a Muthler touchdown pass to Bentley Dickson that got Central right back into the game.
"I have to give it to Colton," Muthler said. "He throws a fantastic ball for a lineman. He's a pitcher in baseball, and it obviously showed tonight. We practice that one every week. No one ever thought we would run it, but (assistant) coach (Paul) Frederick had the guts to call it and it worked to absolute perfection."
So, who has the best arm? Muthler, Schenk or Porreca?
"We have probably had that in the playbook for about a month," Porreca said. "I probably would still give the best arm to Jesse, but we all have pretty good arms. I was really excited when it got called, a little nervous, but it all worked out."
Making the play even more special was that it was pulled in by Dunmire, a player who has paid his dues but not had the chance to shine until Friday.
"We never thought we would run it," Dickson said. "We told jokes about it. It worked, and we got it to a senior who doesn't get to play much. I feel great for him. It was a great play design, and (Dunmire) made a great play that changed the momentum."
The two-point conversion, on another trick play -- a jump pass from Schenk to Bronson Myers -- made it 18-15.
Despite that touchdown, Cambria Heights still had the lead and a chance to regain momentum and looked like it would do so when a Clawson pass to Colton Strong went through Strong's hands on third-and-9 from midfield but found its way into the hands of Camden Gray for an 18-yard completion.
Heights gained 8 yards on the next play, but the next three runs, including one on fourth-and-3, went for negative yards and Central regained possession at its own 28 yard-line with 10:06 to play.
From midfield, Muthler once again threw backward to Schenk, who connected with Dickson on a 33-yard pass to set up another Muthler-to-Dickson touchdown pass to put the Scarlet Dragons ahead.
"We have been running trick plays in practice for 10 years," Albright said. "We don't run them a whole lot, but tonight we had to use four or five of them. We used whatever it took to get the job done. They were bringing six or seven guys and we were only blocking five, so we knew we had to do things quickly. We figured if we did double passes, it would be to our advantage if we could complete them."
Cambria Heights went three-and-out on its next possession, and Muthler put the game away with an 18-yard touchdown run with 3:54 to play. Muthler lost control of the ball just after he crossed into the goal line, and for a moment, it appeared Heights might get the ball back on a touchback from a fumble out of the back of the end zone, but after a huddle the referees ruled a score.
"I thought we played well, but they are a good football team," Cambria Heights coach Jarrod Lewis said. "In the second half, a couple of our drives stalled out, and they were able to turn those into touchdowns. Credit to them, they ran some trick plays. We prepared for some of them, but it's tough. Our guys were being aggressive, and you don't want them to not be aggressive, but sometimes that led to some big plays for them. Credit their staff. They are a good football team."
Play of the game: It has to be Porreca's pass to Dunmire that shifted everything when it looked like Cambria Heights was in complete control of the game.
"This feels amazing," Porreca said. "We worked for this all year."
Player of the game: Muthler was outstanding in all aspects of the game. He caught a 4-yard touchdown pass, ran for 125 yards and a touchdown and completed 11-of-18 passes for 154 yards and two more touchdowns.
"This is fantastic. It means everything," Muthler said. "Last year, we were 4-6. Over the offseason, we worked so hard. Our seniors have shown great leadership to get us to where we are today."
Unsung heroes: If Central's defense did not make a stand with Cambria Heights holding an 18-15 lead with the ball on the Central 26-yard line early in the fourth quarter, the Highlanders likely would have won the District 6 title.
"It is a very special group. I am proud of them," Lewis said. "This is tough. In sports, there's always a winner and there's always a loser. Unfortunately, we were the losers tonight. They gave me the effort, and I am proud of them. These seniors got to three district championship games in four years -- that's leaving a legacy that's pretty much untouched in our program."
Most vital statistic: Central punted on its first possession of the second half before scoring touchdowns on three straight drives.
Albright: "The past two years, those teams worked their tails off too, but they just didn't have the success. The balls bounced our way a lot this year. It was the opposite of the last two years. We just took advantage of the opportunities and did what we could do."
Clawson, who finished with a game-high 146 yards and two touchdowns rushing: "It sucks, but we just have to come back with a positive outlook for next year. Trick plays were definitely a big part of them turning the game around, but we just didn't play our best game."
Lewis: "At the end of the day, wins and losses are tough. But you hope that you make better men and better husbands and better people, and that's what we're aiming for. I think we have done that. I'm disappointed. Not in their effort, just in the result. They gave me everything we asked from them."
Notable: Brock Wharton had a key kickoff return to the Heights 46-yard line to set up Clawson's touchdown run with 54 seconds left in the half that gave the Highlanders a 15-7 lead. ... Dickson finished with nine catches for 145 yards and leads the Mirror's coverage area in catches this season. ... The teams combined for just four penalties, and Central did not have one in the second half. ... The Scarlet Dragons won their 10th District 6 football championship.
Records: Cambria Heights (11-1); Central (11-1).
Next week: Central will play District 9 champion Punxsutawney next weekend in the first round of the PIAA playoffs.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Cambria Heights 0 15 3 0 — 18
Central 0 7 8 14 — 29
Second Quarter
CH--Clawson 31 run (Kutruff kick), 6:19.
C--Muthler 4 pass from Schenk (Marks kick), 2:44.
CH--Clawson 3 run (Clawson run), :54.
Third Quarter
CH--Kutruff 33 field goal, 4:24.
C--Dickson 13 pass from Muthler (Myers pass from Schenk), 2:11.
Fourth Quarter
C--Dickson 13 pass from Muthler (Marks kick), 8:19.
C--Muthler 18 run (Marks kick), 3:54.
TEAM STATISTICS CH C
First downs 17 19
Total yards 281 385
Rushes-yards 44-179 27-159
Yards passing 102 226
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 8-17-0 14-22-0
Punts-avg. 4-36.3 4-43.3
Fumbles-lost 0-0 4-1
Penalties-yards 1-10 3-27
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Cambria Heights, Clawson 29-146, Strong 7-25, Gray 3-5, DeArmitt 5-3. Central, Muthler 15-125, Musei 9-37, Decker 1-(-1), TEAM 2-(-2).
PASSING--Cambria Heights, Clawson 11-18-0-154, Wharton 1-1-0-8. Central, Muthler 11-18-0-154, Schenk 2-2-0-37, Porreca 1-1-0-35, TEAM, 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING--Cambria Heights, DeArmitt 4-43, Gray 2-31, Lewis 1-20, Clawson 1-8. Central, Dickson 9-145, Schenk 3-35, Dunmire 1-35, Muthler 1-4, Musei 0-7.