Hoenstine to Make History

Jeff Hoenstine probably is going to make history on Friday night. Whether he and his Central Scarlet Dragons get to fully celebrate it, though, now is tied to some other things.

Hoenstine is tied for the most career passing touchdowns in Pennsylvania high school football history with 137. He'll try to take his place alone in the top spot on a big stage with high stakes when the Dragons look to capture their third straight District 6 Class 3A championship by avenging an early-season defeat against top-seeded Penn Cambria at Altoona's Mansion Park Stadium.

"I have every confidence that he will break the state record. I was kind of hoping that he could do it against Tyrone because then we would have announced it to our team and made a team thing of it," Central coach Dave Baker said. "I was hoping we could have a little ceremony after our game (last week). We hope (now) that he can set the record and we can celebrate it with our team in a winning atmosphere.

"We still have confidence that even if we don't win the game that he would set the state record, but it would not be as good a situation."

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Central improved to 9-2 with a 35-14 win in the semifinals last week at Tyrone in which Hoenstine threw two touchdowns to give him 42 this season and tie Port Allegany's Matt Bodamer atop the state career passing TD charts. It was the Dragons' eighth win in a row since they dropped a 42-28 decision to Penn Cambria in Laurel Highlands Conference action on Sept. 9.

Hunter Smith and Kade Rhule both are coming off the best rushing performances of their careers, running for 126 and 118 yards, respectively, as Central rolled up a season-high 291 yards on the ground.

That's a huge improvement if the Dragons could come anywhere close to duplicating it in the district final. Central only had 64 rushing yards in the first meeting with the Panthers, a game in which Hoenstine had four touchdown passes through three quarters of what was a 28-28 tie before Penn Cambria pulled away with two scores over the final 7:19.

"Our offensive line has gotten much, much better," Smith said in comparing today's Dragons with the team that traveled to Penn Cambria two months ago. "We had basically a whole new line coming in from last year. They matured a lot. The whole defense basically has matured a bunch. We've just been taking steps in the right direction, and it's put us in the best possible position."

Since the first meeting with Penn Cambria, Central has scored at least 35 points in all eight games. The Dragons also have held five opponents under 20 points, including Somerset and Tyrone the last two weeks.

Hoenstine enters the contest completing 70.3% of his passes for 2,995 yards and 42 touchdowns with just three interceptions -- he passed for 289 yards the first time around against the Panthers. Eli Lingenfelter caught another touchdown pass last week, giving him 22 for the season on 73 receptions for 1,278 yards.

Even with Smith's and Rhule's performances against Tyrone, Hoenstine still is Central's leading rusher entering the D6 final with 489. Last week was only the second time this season the Dragons have run for more than 200 yards as a team.

Penn Cambria is coming off a bye week after clinching the top seed in the three-team playoff field with a 9-1 mark.

In Penn Cambria, the Dragons are facing a team with an offense that's been every bit as dynamic as its own. The Panthers come in averaging 42.2 points per game and they've been remarkably consistent; they haven't scored more than 49 in any contest and the fewest points they've put on the board is 27 in a win over Bedford.

"We think our defense has improved so we would not give up 42 again," Baker said. "They are a very good team. They put up 42 against Chestnut Ridge. They lost to Richland but they still scored 42 points against them. We understand the challenge."

Much like Central, the hub on which the Panthers roll is their quarterback, Garrett Harrold. A 6-foot-3, 220-pound senior, Harrold is 123-for-172 passing this year for 1,929 yards and 29 touchdowns. Harrold spreads the ball around, with five receivers with at least 19 catches and another with 12.

Harrold, though, also is a powerful runner. He had 117 yards on the ground and touchdowns of 27 and 34 yards in the first meeting between the teams, and part of a season in which he's run for 676 yards and averaging 7.5 yards per carry.

He's scored 10 touchdowns.

He complements fellow senior Zach Grove in the Panther rushing attack. Grove had 124 yards and had both of Penn Cambria's fourth-quarter scores in September. He enters the D6 final with 1,101 yards and an 8.8-yard-per-carry average.

Central held Tyrone to just 9 yards rushing last game.

"We need to stop Harrold," Smith said. "They build off his run game."

Central beat Penn Cambria 42-7 in last year's district championship game on its way to the PIAA semifinals. It was the Scarlet Dragons' second straight D6-3A trophy and its fifth district title in nine years.

Penn Cambria is seeking its first-ever district football championship.

Smith said, though, defending the district crown isn't the biggest motivation for Friday.

"Obviously, they beat us earlier this year. We're going to use that," Smith said.