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Central Clarion Drops AA Final In Heartbreaking Fashion

Tagged under: District 9, Game Photos-Videos, Gameday Hub, News, pfn, Playoffs

| December 6, 2024

Mechanicsburg – Central Clarion’s dream season came to a heartbreaking end at the hands of District 4 champion Troy, 25-24, at Cumberland Valley’s Chapman Field in the AA state final.

Central Clarion entered Saturday afternoon looking to make history and win their first title and the first one for District 9. Fellow District 9 representative Port Allegany fell to Bishop Guilfoyle 41-22 on Thursday.

Central Clarion knew they’d be in a fight as well. Look no further than Troy’s semifinal District 4 victory over 7-time defending state champion Southern Colombia, where the Trojans whipped the Tigers 69-28.

The Wildcats took on the previously undefeated Trojans in their first-ever state finals appearance, giving them all they wanted to handle after rallying from a 12-3 halftime deficit.

“That second-half effort by our guys, I’m just so proud of them,” said Central Clarion head Dave Eggleton. “They could’ve easily folded up the way they were taking it to us in the first half. We came out with some renewed fire and energy. All the credit is to these guys for a great season.”

But in the end, Troy did just enough to break Central Clarion’s heart for the first time in 2024.

In the state championship, nothing comes easy, and when Troy took a 25-24 lead with 1:15 to play. The Wildcats buckled the chin strap for one final shot at history.

Trailing by a point, standout quarterback Jase Ferguson returned the ensuing kickoff to the Trojans’ 46-yard line with 1:03 to play.

Central Clarion had all three timeouts. Ferguson was sacked back to the 49 on the first down, and the Wildcats elected not to take a timeout.

Following an incompletion, they suddenly faced 3rd-and-13 with 28 seconds to play. Third down became 4th-and-13. Ferguson stood in the pocket on fourth down before finding Mason Burford for 16 yards.

After a spike and two incomplete passes, Central Clarion elected to attempt a 50-yard game-winning field goal with three seconds remaining.

Thomas Uckert, who had nailed a 36-yard field goal to open the scoring, kicked into the wind, and the ball fell a few yards short, ending the game and setting off a huge Troy celebration.

“I have all the confidence in the world in Thomas,” Eggleton said. “We knew the wind was there throughout; we thought it died down a little. But it was still tough kicking conditions, but I’d do it again, and give Thomas another shot if I had to do it again. Between that or a Hail Mary, Thomas is more likely to hit that than we are converting a Hail Mary.”

Trailing 24-18, Troy took over with 6:32 to play and drove 78 yards in 12 plays. Mason Smith took a pitch to the far side and looked to throw the ball on an option pass, where he stepped up and ran a 16-yard touchdown with 1:15 to play.

That score proved to be the winning touchdown, coupled with Gavin Lykon-Leffler’s extra point. The only successful conversion of the game for Troy.

Central Clarion’s offense came out on fire in the second half, rallying from a 12-3 halftime deficit.

The Wildcats took the second-half kickoff and drove 62 yards in nine plays, scoring on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Ferguson to Ethan Rex. Rex caught the ball and ran over a couple of defenders to the end zone.

Defensively, a quick punt led to Ferguson’s 48-yard pass to Rex, giving the Wildcats their first lead, 16-12, with 4:08 to play in the third quarter.

“We couldn’t get into any offensive rhythm in the first half,” said Eggleton. “We came out and let it go. We let Jase do his thing, and I probably should’ve been doing that from the beginning. That’s my fault. It was a bad adjustment on me. Hopefully, I can do better if I ever get back here again.”

Troy got their offense back in gear and drove 92 yards in 13 plays, aided by two 15-yard penalties against the Wildcats. One of which was called on a 3rd-and-15 when Mason Burford was called for pass interference.

Brendan Gilliland scored his third touchdown of the afternoon when he broke free for a 28-yard run at the 8:26 mark of the final stanza.

Gilliland rushed for a game-high 127 yards on 23 carries.

The Wildcats stopped the 2-point attempt and quickly took the lead back in four plays as Ferguson scored on an 11-yard run with 6:37 remaining after completing a 32-yard pass to Jesse Siwiecki.

The Wildcats led 24-18 and did not see the football again until trailing 25-24 with 63 seconds to play.

Jase Ferguson completed 17 of 24 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns. In the second half, he began a perfect 11 for 11, 135 yards, and a pair of scores after completing only 4-of-8 passes for 18 yards in the first 24 minutes.

He finishes his career as the all-time leader in passing touchdowns in District 9 history. His 51 touchdown passes this season brings him one shy of the district record set by Matt Bodamer in 2012.

Ferguson has also rushed for 1,488 yards and 25 touchdowns, including his 47 yards in the state final.

Central Clarion had a great opportunity to jump on the Trojans after recovering a fumble on the kickoff at the Troy 20-yard line. However, the Trojan’s defense held, and Thomas Uckert booted a 36-yard field goal to open the scoring.

Troy then went on a 15-play 77-yard drive, where Gilliland scored his first touchdown on a 4-yard run. The Trojans then recovered a muffed kickoff and drove 35 yards to take a 12-3 lead early in the second quarter when Gilliland caught a 20-yard touchdown from Evan Woodward on 4th-and-12.

Central Clarion closes their season at 14-1. Troy improves to 16-0 and wins their first state title.

“I can’t say enough about this group of young men,” Eggleton concluded. “This group of seniors we’re losing is a special group. They’re going to be hard to replace. They left quite a legacy for the younger guys to try and live up to. They need to be ready now to step up and fill in their roles.”

Game Highlights:

Troy 25 Central Clarion 24

Score by Quarters

Troy – 6 6 0 13 – 25

Central Clarion – 3 0 13 8 – 24

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

CC – Thomas Uckert 36 yd field goal, 9:46 – 5-1

T – Brendan Gilliland 4 yd run, (kick failed), 2:30 – 15-77

Second Quarter

T – Gilliland 20 yd pass from Evan Woodward, (pass failed), 10:20 – 7-35

Third Quarter

CC – Ethan Rex 18 yd pass from Jase Ferguson, (kick failed), 7:11 – 9-62

CC – Rex 48 yd pass from Ferguson, (Uckert pat), 4:08 – 2-57

Fourth Quarter

T – Gilliland 28 yd run, (rush failed), 8:46 – 13-92

CC – Ferguson 11 yd run, (Kohen Kemmer from Ferguson), 6:37 – 4-61

T – Mason Smith 16 yd run, (Gavin Lykon-Leffler pat), 1:15 – 12-78

Individual Stats

Rushing: T – Gilliland 23-127, Smith 11-58, Woodward 13-62, Kael Millard 6-18, Lincoln Chimics 1-10. Totals: 54-275. CC – Ferguson 13-47, Noah Harrison 2-7. Totals: 15-54.

Receiving: T – Gilliland 1-20, Joseph Frye 1-(-1).  CC – Rex 7-79, Mason Burford 5-42, Kemmer 2-21, Jesse Siwiecki 3-47.

Passing: T – Woodward 2-for-6, 19 yards, 1 TD. CC – Ferguson 17-for-24, 189 yards, 2 TD, Team 0-for-1.

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