Southern Columbia Wins Cross-County Clash

Tagged under: District 4, Gameday Hub, News

Dave Fegley | September 20, 2025

Tigers eat up Blue Jays 48-0

In the 30th straight win for Southern Columbia over Central Columbia dating back to well before any current player was born, the Tigers wasted no time to prove their dominance.

By the time Grady Garcia scored with 4:18 left in the first quarter, to make the score 27-0, the Tigers had already scored more points than the winless Blue Jays have scored for the season.

“We knew we had to be physical like we try to do each game. That’s something this group takes pride in. We want to be able to get a good push on each play because that makes it easier on our whole team,” said Southern center Aidyn McHale as the Tigers controlled the stadium all night.

Despite being 0-5, first-year Central head coach Ky Seesholtz was positive post-game as he knows that rebuilding the program will take time.

“They came out and executed, and we didn’t do a great job of limiting great plays. That is something we are failing to do, but we will put it in the past and prepare for our next game,” Seesholtz said. “When you are playing against a program like this, it is tough any way you look at it. They have set the standard with a culture of excellence. They have been doing this for a very long time. Coach (Jim) Roth in my opinion isn’t just the greatest coach in our state’s history, he is the best coach in the USA in the high school category.”

Ayden Hockenbroch went 5 for 5 with three TD tosses in the victory.

“I don’t even really look at stats like that. I just kind of focus and work one play at a time. Stats don’t matter to me, but it was good to get a lot of different guys involved and see what they could do. They all did great,” said the quarterback who finished with 146 yards through the air for the winners.

Southern (4-1) scored five times in the opening quarter as Central (0-5) simply couldn’t stop them. Brayden Andrews returned the opening kickoff deep into Blue Jay territory and scored two plays later on a one-yard carry.

Hockenbroch then connected with Nate Gallagher on an eight-yard pass to make the score 13-0. Jace Malakoski caught a 26-yard TD for the third score. On Grady Garcia’s lone carry of the evening, he ripped off a 42-yard run to the end zone. The final score of the quarter came on an 80-yard pass to Blaise Kissinger where he broke an initial tackle near the line of scrimmage and outran the rest of Central’s defense.

Southern’s defense allowed less than 100 yards in the game.

“It’s awesome to not let up a point. If you keep their score at zero, there is no chance you can lose. That’s our goal every game. When it happens, it is a great feeling,” said Kaden Zachman who had an interception in the win for SCA.

In the second quarter, Andrews had a 58-yard touchdown run and Joey Williams added the final score from 40 yards out.

“Obviously everybody has to get the opportunity to touch the ball. I try to make it work with how many carries I get in a game. The entire offense did really good with the blocking and gaining yardage,” Williams said.

Southern’s defense has given up just two touchdowns in the last 16 quarters of action as they forced four turnover last night.

“The defense played really well and set us up with excellent field position where we were able to score quickly on our drives,” said Roth. “We got to play our young guys after the score got out of hand, so I was really pleased that the starters came out and were able to set the tone and take care of business early on.”

With a running clock in the second half, the game went fast as the Tigers outgained the opponent in yardage 444 to 75.

“A big part of Southern Columbia football is getting yards after contact. Our running backs can do it, and the receivers can as well. That’s going to be a huge part of our run at a championship this year,” Hockenbroch said.

For Central, they are looking to model their program after Southern. Their first-year coach used to play against the Tigers as a player and now is leading a program to try and take them down at some point.

“When you are playing against a program like this, it is tough any way you look at it. They have set the standard with a culture of excellence. They have been doing this for a very long time,” said Seesholtz. “Coach Roth in my opinion isn’t just the greatest coach in our state’s history, he is the best coach in the USA in the high school category.”

Central will take on Montoursville this upcoming Friday. Southern returns home next week as Danville comes to Tiger Stadium as the defense has now posted three shutouts.

“We got to play our young guys after the score got out of hand, so I was really pleased that the starters came out and were able to set the tone and take care of business early on. I was happy that our younger guys went out and competed to keep them off the board,” Roth said after his 510th career victory with the black and gold.

Southern Columbia 48, Central Columbia 0

SC — CC

First Downs: 11 — 3

Rushes-yds: 32-298 — 34-61

Passing yds: 146 — 14

Total yds: 444 — 75

Passing (C-A-I): 5-5-0 — 1-11-2

Penalties: 7-60 — 7-65

Fumbles-lost: 4-3 — 4-2

Central (0-5): 0-0-0-0 — 0

Southern (4-1): 34-14-0-0 — 48

1st Quarter

S– Brayden Andrews 1 run (Preston Shadle kick), 11:29.

S– Nate Gallagher 8 pass from Ayden Hockenbroch (kick missed), 8:50.

S– Jace Malakoski 26 pass from Hockenbroch (Shadle kick), 7:34.

S– Grady Garcia 42 run (Shadle kick), 4:18.

S– Blaise Kissinger 80 pass from Hockenbroch (Shadle kick), 2:09.

2nd Quarter

S– Andrews 58 run (Shadle kick), 7:57.

S– Joey Williams 40 run (Shadle kick), 6:08.

3rd Quarter

None.

4th Quarter

None.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Southern: Brayden Andrews 5-61, 2 TDs; Joey Williams 3-60, TD; Grady Garcia 1-42, TD; Ryan Davis 2-38; Ayden Hockenbroch 1-22; Gavin Brown  6-21; Kane Cecco 5-19; Gavin Trometter 5-12; Cael Williams 1-10; Parker Pesarchick 2-7; Caden Hopper 1-6. Central: Dominic Keller 17-62; Ethan Miller 4-10; Demir Wood 6-8; Logan Miller 3-0; Aiden Mahamadou 1-0; Josiah Hosler 2-(-1); Team 1-(-18).

PASSING — Southern: Ayden Hockenbroch 5-5-0, 146 yds, 3 TDs. Central: Josiah Hosler 1-11-2, 14 yds.

RECEIVING — Southern: Blaise Kissinger 2-89. TD; Jace Malakoski 1-26, TD; Grady Garcia 1-23; Nate Gallagher 1-8, TD. Central: Connor Litchfield 1-14.

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