Dragon Football Heading to District Finals

The Dragons faced the Tyrone Golden Eagles in the District Six AAA Semi-Finals last week in a long-standing rivalry. The Dragons showed their full strength throughout the night, combining on rushing and passing for well over 400 yards. The Dragons' dominance of the field left them with a 35-14 victory over the Eagles.

The Dragons started by kicking off to the Golden Eagles. The Dragon's defense quickly halted the Golden Eagle's offensive pursuits, allowing for Central to make an offensive push of their own. On the Dragon's first offensive play of the game, Hunter Smith ran for 45 yards, which quickly led to Jeff Hoenstine's four-yard touchdown run. The Dragons quickly advanced their lead by two more scores in the second quarter: the first with a seven-yard touchdown reception by Eli Lingenfelter and another with a 12-yard touchdown run by Kade Rhule. After giving up two touchdowns to the Golden Eagles, the Dragons scored once again, with seconds before half, with a one-yard pass to Smith to give them a two-score edge over Tyrone. Early in the third quarter, Smith completed another two-yard run for another Dragon touchdown. The Dragons' defense shut down the Golden Eagles' offense throughout the rest of the game, leading to the Central victory.

The Dragons rushed for 290 yards-a season high. Smith rushed for 126 yards over 12 carries, while Rhule rushed for 118 yards over 15 carries. Hoenstine completed two touchdown passes throughout the night, which ties him with the state record for career touchdown passes completed. The Dragons will now face the Penn Cambria Panthers, one of their only two losses this season, in the District 6 AAA Finals in a rematch from the year prior's title matchup.