Forest Hills Clinches Home Playoff Game in Thriller Over Central

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Baron Dionis | October 25, 2024

The Forest Hills Rangers used a big defensive performance to clinch a home playoff game in a tight 22-21 victory over the Central Dragons.

It was a tight contest all night, but the Forest Hills defense was able to shut down the Dragons when they needed it most. The Rangers finished with three interceptions and a safety.

“Our defense played pretty well,” Forest Hills Coach Justin Myers said. “We gave up a couple of big plays here and there. Having three interceptions was big. Turnovers are the name of the game. Usually when you win the turnover battle, you win the game.”

On the second play of the game, Nate Cornell hit Chase Williamson for a 50 yard touchdown.

The Ranger defense got a stop and had a long drive that was capped off by an eight yard touchdown by Mason Papinchak. This gave Forest Hills a quick 14-0 lead.

Central would respond fast with freshman quarterback Jesse Muthler getting into the game. He replaced his older brother Eli, who suffered an injury against Clearfield a week ago.

“I’m shocked,” Central Coach Jerry Albright said. “We were planning on splitting time with him. He (Muthler) demonstrated he could do the job and he played the whole game except for one series. He’s only gonna get better. He’s so young and so raw. Hasn’t seen this type of speed in practice, but he’ll be ready for next week.”

On his first snap Muthler hit Thaide Mickel for a big 48 yard gain. Lukas Black punched it in a few plays after for a one yard touchdown. Black also threw a two point conversion to Braydon Beach.

Forest Hills was immediately stopped and a bad snap on a punt that put Central in the red zone once again, but Ranger defensive back Maddox Dombrosky intercepted the pass.

Central would get another stop and drive down the field again. Muthler later hit Jaxon Detterline for a 15 yard touchdown and the point after to give the Dragons a 15-14 lead.

Right before the half, the Ranger offense scored on Papinchaks second rushing touchdown of the game. Forest Hills entered halftime with a 20-15 lead.

After halftime the defenses started to fight. Austin Pramuk got an interception for the Rangers and then Central stopped them in front of the goal line at the five yard line.

Shortly after, Jake Yatsky and Williamson combined for pressure on Muthler, which caused a safety. This gave Forest Hills a 22-15 lead.

The Rangers put together another drive, but once again, they were stopped near the goal line. This came from a Black interception.

Central then put a drive together and eventually scored on a 17 yard pass from Muthler to Adam Baird. They attempted to go for two, but it was intercepted by the Rangers, halting the score at 22-21.

Central then recovered the onside kick and got the ball with less than a minute to go. Muthler completed a pass, but then threw an interception to Williamson.

This win sets up Forest Hills with home field next week against Tyrone. The Rangers are riding a four game winning streak and a 6-4 record to close out the regular season.

“We’ve had a lot of ups and downs this year with injuries and things going on,” Coach Myers said. “We came back tonight against a great Central team. They were missing their starting quarterback tonight, but the young freshman played a pretty good game himself. Our guys came through in the end and that’s what matters.”

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