Southern Runs Past Central 54-13
Tagged under: District 4, Gameday Hub, News
Dave Fegley | October 7, 2023
Garcia highlights win in Columbia County clash
With the way his two older brothers shined during their careers in a Tiger uniform, it’s hard for current Southern Columbia senior Garrett Garcia to get the upper hand on the gridiron on one side of the football.
Garrett’s program-record 205 tackles as a sophomore, following a team-leading 106 as a freshman, put any debate to rest of who the top defensive player in the family is.
However, the chances of him gaining bragging rights over Gaige and Gavin on offense were slim to none, especially with him missing all of last season with a torn ACL when he was supposed to get his first offensive action.
After all, those two brothers combined to run for well-over eight miles (15,452 yards to be exact) during their days donning the black and gold uniform.
Gaige and Gavin are Pennsylvania’s top two touchdown scorers in the history of the Keystone State in high school football, but the current Garcia topped them in one category on Friday.
During SCA’s 54-13 win over Central Columbia, Garrett ran for 269 yards. A group text message immediately following the win confirmed that neither of his brothers had ever topped that total in a game.
“I would like to first thank God for giving me the opportunity to have this type of a performance. The offensive line played great, and the halfbacks did a great job of lead blocking for me,” Garrett said.
The Blue Jays struck first, even though they came in without a win against an undefeated team that is currently on a six-year streak of winning PIAA championships and has a record 13 overall, and that provided some early entertainment.
Aidan Huntington’s 62-yard run gave Central a 7-0 lead less than a minute in, but from there Southern took complete control, scoring 54-unanswered points, to cap off a night that the Tigers celebrated their alumni that were a part of the 2002 and 2003 PIAA Championship winning squads.
“Those two teams were special. We had that string after winning our first state title in 1994 that we lost a lot of state championships in a row. Obviously, getting to a state championship game is a huge accomplishment, but we ended those years on the losing end in the final game. However, the 2002 and 2003 teams started a streak of finishing on the winning end for two state championships in a row,” said SCA head coach Jim Roth.
Roth continued on about just how much of an accomplishment that was.
“Some people at this point might take for granted what they did. The 02’ team broke through after we finished second in the state for six of the next seven seasons. Then in 03’ with those guys, they made it back-to-back titles. People might look at it as no big deal with what the guys in the program have accomplished since, but back then winning two state championships in a row was a huge deal.”
In his 40th season, Roth’s current squad has won six PIAA championships in a row, breaking the previous Keystone State record of five that his program set from 2002-2006, and on Friday the current group displayed what has been the foundation to the success.
The offense was as efficient as an assembly line that has all three working shifts showing up at the same time. The production was automatic, but the sharing was hard to come by.
Garcia’s memorable night saw him get 10 carries while averaging 26.9 yards per attempt. Louden Murphy also had 10 attempts for 157 yards. Carter Madden added 73 yards on nine totes. The senior backfield combined to score six touchdowns, and Blake Wise connected with Kyle Christman on three occasions for 68 yards and a 40-yard touchdown.
Both teams played without some starters due to a variety of injuries, highlighted by the absence of Isaac Carter and Colden Bloom on SCA’s defensive line, but those events occur throughout a season in a violent sport.
“I have been dealing with an ankle injury since the second week of the season. Being able to use my speed is what I feel I do best,” Christman said. “That was the first deep ball I think I had this season. Having that passing connection helps our offense overall.”
When all was said and done, the Tigers compiled 644 yards on offense.
“Garrett had a huge game. Off hand, the only one person I can recall that had more in a game was Henry (Hynoski) when he had over 400 yards rushing in that crazy win that we had against Pius X in the state playoffs where both teams scored on almost every possession,” SCA head coach Jim Roth said. “All week, we put an emphasis on blocking. We weren’t satisfied with the way we played offensively last week. It was the defense again that highlighted the win at Montoursville, but without obviously watching the film for this game, it appeared that our offensive line had a much better night with their blocking assignments.”
After Huntington’s touchdown run, and a first down carry on the second play of the following offensive drive, the Tigers held the Blue Jays to less than two yards per play on offense. The lone completion of the night that Central had went for a loss.
“Our defense takes pride in getting to the football. We don’t want to give up any yards on any play. That is always the goal,” said Garcia.
The Tigers wore pink accessories while the fans and cheerleaders aided in the ‘Pink Out’ in showing support during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
It was the perfect showing in recognition as both squads fought until the end. Although the game was more than decided early on in the third quarter, the Blue Jays finished the night with their second score on the final offensive play of the game.
Although it hasn’t been a season full of positives, Central (0-7) will look for their first win of the year next week against Shamokin Area.
“We are going to get some kids back next week hopefully that have been hurt for a while. We have three games left, and I want to make it the best possible scenario for these seniors. We will continue to fight,” said Smith.
Southern (7-0) will look to stay unbeaten as they have their annual matchup against their archrival from Mount Carmel Area.
“They might have two losses this season, but they are a very good team. Anytime you play against a rival, you have to be ready from the start. Hopefully this performance from our offense will give us momentum. The defense has been excellent all year,” Roth said. “We played Mount Carmel twice last year, with both sides winning. They will be motivated after we won the second time in the district final.”
The Tigers will take on the Red Tornadoes at the Silver Bowl where SCA won their 30th District 4 Championship last November on a snow-covered field after MCA won the regular season meeting.
Southern Columbia 54, Central Columbia 13
CEN — SCA
First Downs: 6 — 16
Rushes-yds: 41-183 — 33-576
Passing yds: (-1) — 68
Total yds: 182 — 644
Passing (C-A-I): 1-5-0 — 3-6-0
Penalties: 6-41 — 4-20
Fumbles-lost: 3-0 — 2-1
Central (0-7): 7-0-0-6 — 13
Southern (7-0): 18-8-22-6 — 54
SCORING PLAYS
1st Quarter
C — Aidan Huntington 62 run (Maguire Blake kick), 11:03.
S — Louden Murphy 3 run (two-point failed), 7:17.
S — Murphy 40 run (two-point failed), 3:40.
S — Garrett Garcia 80 run (two-point failed), 0:52.
2nd Quarter
S — Kyle Christman 40 pass from Blake Wise (Murphy conversion), 6:49.
3rd Quarter
S — Garcia 8 run (Murphy conversion), 11:03.
S — Carter Madden 1 run (two-point failed), 5:55.
S — Murphy 73 run (Garcia conversion), 1:53.
4th Quarter
S — Nathan Gallagher 6 run (kneel down), 2:59.
C — Josiah Hosler 2 run (two-point failed), 0:08.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Southern: Garrett Garcia 10-269, 2 TDs; Louden Murphy 10-157, 3 TDs; Carter Madden 9-73, TD; Jack Beirmaas 1-62; Joey Williams 2-9; Nathan Gallagher 1-6, TD. Central: Aidan Huntington 4-89, TD; Chase Williams 4-34; Alex Zeisloft 6-15; Talon Piatt 8-14; Logan Miller 4-13; Tanner Regan 4-8; Josiah Hosler 2-5, TD; Mateo Martinez 4-3; Caius Morrow 5-2.
PASSING — Southern: Blake Wise 3-6-0, 68 yds, TD. Central: Caius Morrow 1-5-0, (-1) yd.
RECEIVING — Southern: Kyle Christman 3-68, TD. Central: Alex Zeisloft 1-(-1).
Follow PA Football News on Twitter @PaFootballNews
