Game of the Week

Ever since he started playing football, Jason Clark has been finding ways to get to the quarterback.

“I’ve always been around the football, a guy who always loved running after it,” said Clark, a junior defensive end on the Central High School football team. “My coaches have done a really good job of helping me get my fundamentals down to make sure I’m not going too far.”

Clark had a team-leading 10.5 sacks for the Scarlet Dragons in last year’s run to the Laurel Highlands Conference championship and a spot in the PIAA Class 3A semifinals, and he got his first this season in Central’s thrilling 21-20 win at Bishop Guilfoyle last week.

His particular set of skills, though, might loom even larger this week. The Dragons take on pass-happy perennial LHAC power Richland, winners of the last four D6-2A championship games, in their home opener on Friday night.

Kickoff at Roaring Spring Athletic Field is set for 7 p.m.

“I don’t see much difference between Richland and Bishop Guilfoyle,” Central coach Dave Baker said. “They’re both good teams, so we understand that our work is cut out for us.”

Both teams enter the contest 1-0. Grayden Lewis scored on a short run with less than four minutes to play to hand Richland a 26-23 comeback victory against visiting Forest Hills in a rematch of last year’s District 6 Class 2A final in its opener; the game actually was played over two days, starting last Friday but getting suspended because of lightning and being resumed on Saturday.

Last year, Richland threw the ball 305 times and averaged 207.4 yards per game through the air. The Rams have graduated three-year starter Kellan Stahl at quarterback and his top receiving target, Griffin LaRue, but that doesn’t mean Richland is departing from the style that’s worked for them for more than a decade.

“They run basically the same offense that they ran before,” Baker said.

That’s a lot of different formations, sometimes going with three or four receivers and spreading the field. Coach Brandon Bailey’s Rams utilize short drops and quick passes as an extension of their running game, using it to set up bigger shots down the field as the game progresses.

Taking the snaps this season and filling Stahl’s considerable shoes is diminutive senior Sam Penna. Penna was a starting receiver last year, catching 35 passes.

“They seem to be pretty good at throwing the ball. They’re not a whole lot different than they were last year,” Baker said.

Which brings us to Clark. He and the Dragon pass rush will play a big role in keeping Penna, who is still getting his feet wet as a varsity starter, from getting too comfortable in the pocket.

At the same time, Richland usually is so proficient at getting the ball out of the quarterback’s hands quickly that the defensive linemen and blitzing pass rushers can’t just pin their ears back and attack. They have to remain disciplined in their pursuit while still pursuing.

Central did a solid job of that in last season’s 40-13 win. The Dragons didn’t sack Stahl, but they hurried him and picked him off twice. Richland did throw for 273 yards but was playing catch-up all night and completed less than half of its passes; for the season, Richland connected on almost 58 percent of its throws and went 11-3.

“I have to play my role, keep my contain while still making sure I’m getting pressure, make them make mistakes,” Clark said. “I want them to throw the ball, because I want our secondary to do their jobs.”

That’s just what ended up happening in Saturday’s Dragon win at Mansion Park, when Eli Lingenfelter knocked away a fourth-down pass at the end to preserve Central’s win.

A missed extra-point turned out to be the difference. The Marauders took a 20-14 lead into the fourth quarter but reigning Class 3A state player of the year Jeff Hoenstine ran it in from the 3 with 10:36 remaining and Hunter Smith booted the point-after to put Central ahead for good.

Hoenstine was 14-for-17 passing for 153 yards, hitting Lingenfelter on touchdowns of 10 and 22 yards in the second quarter. In last year’s meeting, Hoenstine threw for 278 yards and three scores.

This is the third in three big games to start the year for Central. Guilfoyle was the state champion in Class 1A last year. Next week, the Dragons travel to Penn Cambria for a rematch of last season’s District 6 Class 2A final.

“I like starting with teams that can challenge us,” Clark said. “It makes us show what kind of team we are.”

This article is brought to you by Small Town Pizza of Martinsburg.