Run game points Central Scarlet Dragons to District 6 final
H.S. Football Extra
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ROARING SPRING -- When the 2026 high school football season began, Central and Philipsburg-Osceola opened the slate against one another at the Roaring Spring Athletic Field.
That night, in a game that was more balanced from the Dragons' offense, Central went to went on to win that game pretty comfortably.
On Friday night, with the same two teams meeting again, the Mounties' defense was able to hold the Dragons to 64 yards through the air.
It was the run game, though, that was the difference as Jesse Muthler racked up 81 yards on 12 carries with a touchdown to lead the top-seeded Dragons over the No. 4 Mounties, 27-18, in the District 6 Class 3A semifinals at the Roaring Spring Athletic Field.
"The nice thing is that we can be balanced. We can be run heavy; we can be pass heavy," Central coach Jerry Albright said. "The second half (we passed the ball three times) because our line was doing a tremendous job. Our backs were tough -- Jesse ran super tough. People don't know how good he really is, but he's showing it at the end of the season."
Muthler felt how the defense schemed against the Dragons this time helped them make the adjustment.
Play of the game: Muthler's 21-yard run late in the third quarter helped set up Carter Schenk's 5-yard touchdown run with about eight minutes left in the game to help seal the victory for Central.
Player of the game: Muthler also racked up an interception on defense in the second quarter, which led to a touchdown that put the Dragons up 13-6 at the half.
Unsung heroes: The Dragon offensive line in run protection.
Most vital statistic: Muthler had three runs of 20 yards or more.
Albright on Muthler: "That's just his innate ability. He sees fields, he sees openings, he takes advantage of it -- he's just a natural athlete.''
Philipsburg-Osceola coach Jeff Vroman: "I'm proud of the kids. The effort they put forth all year, not just tonight, all year. Excellent, excellent group of kids. They worked hard; they did everything we asked of them. They will be successes in life. They definitely know what it takes to compete, what it takes to get the job done, and we came up short. They made a couple more plays than we did.''
Muthler: "They have good D-backs, and they have a lot of them in coverage. Whenever they do that, that opens up running lanes. Week 1, they did a lot of zone and they had more people in the box. This week they were more all man, straight cover 1, and that opened up the running lanes.''
Albright: "Give Philipsburg a lot of credit. They played so tough. They played better -- they stepped up in a lot of areas we thought we could take advantage of. They're a young team -- they're going to be back -- but we made a couple of more plays than they did."
Notable: It was the first time the Mounties made the playoffs since 2011 at the end of Vroman's first stint as head coach. ... Both teams had an equal number of first downs, punts and penalties. ... The Central Quarterback Club's portion of the 50/50 proceeds were donated to a Bald Eagle Area football player's family following a recent cancer diagnosis.
Records: Philipsburg-Osceola (6-5), Central (10-1)
Next week: Central will take on Cambria Heights in the District 6 Class 3A championship next Friday at Mansion Park at 7 p.m. Philipsburg-Osceola's season is finished.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Philipsburg-Osceola 0 6 6 6 - 18
Central 7 6 7 7 - 27
First Quarter
C--Dickson 5 pass from Muthler (Marks kick), 8:08.
Second Quarter
PO--Davis 4 run (pass failed), 6:04.
C--Schenk 1 run (pass failed), :25.
Third Quarter
C--Muthler 23 run (Marks kick), 5:10.
PO--Law 51 pass from Baughman (pass failed), 4:27.
Fourth Quarter
C--Schenk 5 run (Marks kick), 7:56.
PO--McClenahan 19 pass from Baughman (pass failed), 3:37.
TEAM STATISTICS PO C
First downs 12 12
Total yards 266 211
Rushes-yards 30-126 32-147
Yards passing 140 64
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 8-18-1 10-14-0
Punts-avg. 3-31.3 3-30.7
Fumbles-lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties-yards 3-24 3-30
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Philipsburg-Osceola, Davis 9-35, Law 6-8, Baughman 2-19, C. Guenot 4-28, Vaughn 7-34, Neylon 1-(-2), McClenahan 1-4. Central, Musei 12-43, Muthler 12-81, Schenk 8-23.
PASSING--Philipsburg-Osceola, Baughman 8-18-0-140, Law 0-1-0-0. Central, Muthler 10-14-0-46.
RECEIVING--Philipsburg-Osceola, C. Guenot 3-26, Cope 1-10, Law 2-78, McClenahan 1-19, Dugan 1-7. Central, Ritchey 2-13, Dickson 1-5, Marks 1-3, Moushliam 2-13, Musei 2-12, Schenk 1-10, Brooks 1-8.