Big second quarter leads Central Catholic to victory over Bethel Park

Tagged under: District 7, Gameday Hub, News

Andrew Schaffer | September 10, 2022

It was the big plays that led Central Catholic to a 31-22 victory over Bethel Park. “I’m just happy to get out of here with a win” said Coach Totten. The first 2 drives of the game were both three and outs.

On Central Catholic’s second drive they started at their own 16 yard line. After a couple plays Payton Wehner completed a pass to Jayden Thrift for a 63 yard touchdown. “It was a perfect play, he’s playing at a good level and they trust him” said Coach Totten. That made the score 7-0 with 6:41 in the first quarter.

Soon after the Central Catholic touchdown Bethel Park answered with a big play of their own. Tanner Pfeuffer completed a pass to Dinari Clacks for a 73 yard touchdown. That tied the game at 7 with 6:23 in the first quarter.

Toward the end of the quarter Bethel Park started a drive with great field position at the Central Catholic 42 yard line. After a big run the ball was on the 4 yard line. Pfeuffer eventually scored on a 1 yard quarterback keeper which made the score 15-7 Bethel Park with 44 seconds in the first quarter. Pfeuffer was the key player in the game for Bethel Park he was 21 of 31 for 270 yards in the game.

In the second quarter it was Central Catholic that came up big. On the first drive of the second quarter Central Catholic marched down the field and eventually were in the red zone. After that a couple penalties stalled the drive, but the drive wasn’t a total loss when Rowen Kautter kicked a 24 yard field goal. That made the score 15-10.

On the next Central Catholic drive they started with great field position in Bethel Park territory. After a couple of plays Payton Wehner finished the drive off on a 3 yard run. That score gave Central Catholic a 17-15 lead. Wehner played a key role in the win for Central Catholic he was 14 of 19 for 201 yards. “He can run it, he can throw it, he’s a great leader” said Coach Totten.

The most pivotal moment in the game occurred late in the quarter when Bradley Gompers intercepted a pass and returned it for a 45 yard touchdown. “It was big, it kind of put the momentum back on us” said Coach Totten. That score made it 24-15 at halftime.

The second half didn’t have a lot of scoring. On a drive toward the end of third quarter Tanner Pfeuffer completed a couple of big passes and then scored on a 1 yard run making the score 24-22 with 1:14 in the third quarter.

On the next Central Catholic possession, Bethel Park managed to get a fourth down stop. Bethel Park started at their own 27 yard line. After a big penalty and a couple of big passes they were at the Central Catholic 34 yard line. On second down the ball was fumbled and Central Catholic recovered. “It was a very big bounce for us” said Coach Totten.

Central Catholic iced the game on a third down play when Payton Wehner completed a pass to Gavin Stanek for a 48 yard touchdown which made the final score 31-22 Central Catholic. Up next Central Catholic hosts Mt. Lebanon and Bethel Park travels to Canon-McMillan.

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