Central Valley swallows 17-0 shut-out loss in 3A WPIAL Championship

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Annabelle Aquino | November 23, 2024

The Central Valley Warriors lost to the Avonworth Antelopes 17-0 in the 3A WPIAL Championship game at Acrisure Stadium. The low-scoring game developed from strong defensive stops and the Warriors’ inability to recover from Avonworth’s quick offensive start.

“Like I told these guys in the locker room, ‘You didn’t fail. You came up short… there’s a big difference,’” said Central Valley head coach Mark Lyons. 

Central Valley kicked off and started on defense, allowing the Antelopes to slowly travel down the field and score on their first drive. Avonworth’s Nico Neal scored a rushing touchdown from the 2-yard line with 6:11 left in the first.

TOUCHDOWN LOPES SCORED BY @niconeal17 making the score @AvonworthFB 7@cvqbclub 0@PaFootballNews @CCHastings1863 @Mia_WilliamsPT @SpozarskiEthan pic.twitter.com/GCwfSGPKBQ

— Ryan Thielet (@gingeryinzer09) November 23, 2024

Central Valley Aaron Lawson took the ball off the punt to their own 28-yard line, but the Warriors were stalled for the rest of their drive. The Warriors attempted a fake punt on fourth down, but the pass was incomplete and Avonworth regained possession.

The Antelopes galloped down the field, making it to the 15-yard line where Calder Mahan kicked a field goal. Central Valley was down 10-0 with 11:51 left before half.

32 YARD FIELD GOAL BY Calder Mahan IS GOOD FOR THE LOPES making the score @AvonworthFB 10@cvqbclub 0

11:51 left in the half @PaFootballNews @SpozarskiEthan @Mia_WilliamsPT @AJWPIAL pic.twitter.com/vVwjCEDLMY

— Ryan Thielet (@gingeryinzer09) November 23, 2024

Central Valley again could not get a first down and turned the ball over on 4th down. The Warriors’ defense finally held Avonworth, who punted off.

On their next drive, Central Valley’s QB Steven Rutherford made a 22-yard rush and Quinn Connolly caught a deep pass by Rutherford to reach the other side of the field. Central Valley was short again on fourth down, and the Antelopes began their possession.

The Warriors came alive, not allowing Avonworth to score for the rest of the half. 

“This had to be my favorite [year]. The way we grinded it out together, the way we put our heads down through all the adversity… it had to be my favorite,” said Tyler Ondrusek. 

Both teams’ defenses held strong for the rest of the third quarter, punting back and forth with no score change.

The final touchdown came from Avonworth’s Nico Neal who rushed in with 4:23 left in the game and increased the Antelope lead to 17-0.

A late-game fumble caused by Avonworth with 1:38 left in the 4th quarter ended the Warriors’ hope for a victory. 

The Central Valley Warriors ended their season 7-6.

“I couldn’t be more proud of what this group has done from the beginning to the end,” said Lyons.

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