ROARING SPRING – The Central-Martinsburg Scarlet Dragons were able to shut down the St. Marys Flying Dutchmen running game Friday night at Roaring Spring Athletic Field en route to a hard fought 14-0 win in a Mountain Athletic Conference Nittany League matchup.

Central’s defense dominated the first half of the game allowing only 42 yards of offense.

“They beat us up on the line of scrimmage,” St. Marys head coach Joe Schlimm said. “If you can’t control the line of scrimmage, then you’re going to have a long night.  And we certainly did tonight.”

The lone score of the first half was a 4-yard run by the Dragon’s do-it-all back Lucas Runk with 4:01 to play before halftime.

Central had another scoring opportunity with three seconds to play before halftime, but a 31-yard field goal attempt by Yannick Hollar was blocked by Dutchmen Jimmy Antonelli to keep the game at 7-0.

Kevin Hoy, District 9’s leading rusher entering the game, was held to just 35 yards on 14 carries.  All told, the Dutchmen ran for only 43 yards, well below their season average.

Central put the game away midway through the fourth quarter when Runk intercepted a Greg Simchick pass at the Central 38=yard line and returned it 32 yards to the St. Marys 30.  A penalty on the play against the Dutchmen moved the ball to the 19-yard line. 

Two plays later, the Dutchmen almost caught a break.  Lucas Blattenberger was stripped of the ball by cornerback Justin Quiggle at the 1-yard line.  The ball then bounced into the end zone.  Unfortunately for St. Marys, Dragon Mike Ferry came out of the pile with the ball and a Central 13-0 lead.  Yannick’s extra point was good, making the final 14-0.

The loss drops St. Marys to 6-3 and seriously damages their playoff hopes.  The Dutchmen return home next Friday night to face the Clearfield Bisons, also 6-3, in a key game for both squads. 

A St. Marys win and a little luck could land them in the District 9 AAA Championship game.

Clearfield is in with a win.

Game notes: St. Marys fell from second to last in the points race in AAA (Bradford 780, Clearfield 740, Punxsutawney 720, St. Marys 640)..The Dutchmen were held to only 148 total yards…St. Marys held the Central passing over 100 yards below their season average, giving up only 82 yards through the air…Next Friday’s game will also be Senior Night for St. Marys.

Scoring by quarters:

                        1          2          3          4          F

St. Marys         0          0          0          0          0

Central                        0          7          0          7          14

2^nd Quarter

C – Lucas Runk 4 yard run (Yannick Hollar kick good),   4:01                                 7-0

4^th Quarter

C – Mike Ferry fumble recovery in endzone (Hollar kick good),   6:49         14-0  

INDIVIDUAL STATS: 

RUSHING – St. Marys – Kevin Hoy 14-35 , Sean Sadosky 1-1 , Greg Simchick 7-(-6) , Kyle Schneider 5-9 , Brian Samick 2-4.   Central – Lucas Runk 15-69 , Lucas Blattenberger 7-44 , Jarron Knisely 4-20 , Eric Keefer 4-4 , Derek Nothstein 2-4.

PASSING – St. Marys – Greg Simchick 10-20-0-1-105.  Central – Runk 5-13-0-0-39 , Nothstein 2-2-0-0-43 , Jordan Saylor 0-1-0-0-0.

RECEIVING – St. Marys – Justin Quiggle 3-25 , Hoy 3-18 , Darren Lyon 1-27 , Schneider 1-2 , Samick 1-10 , Sadosky 1-27.   Central – Shane Cafferty 2-20 , Saylor 3-53 , Blattenberger 1-3 , Adam Kreider 1-6.

INTERCEPTIONS – St. Marys – none         Central – Runk

TEAM STATS:

                                                St. Marys                     Central

First Downs                                   7                                12

Rushes                                          28                                32

Yards Rushing                                         43                               141

Passing (comp-att-td-int)        10-20-0-1                    7-15-0-0

Yards Passing                             105                               82

Total Yards                                 148                              223

Fumbles – Lost                            3-1                              1-0

Penalties                                      5-35                            9-50