Penn Cambria Dominates Central In District 6 Opener

Tagged under: District 6, Gameday Hub, News, pfn, Playoffs

Baron Dionis | November 1, 2024

The Penn Cambria Panthers moved on to the District 6 Championship after defeating the Central Dragons with a 33-0 victory.

Penn Cambria fired off all cylinders in the second half to take down Central in the playoffs after losing to the Dragons in three straight district championships.

“That was our motivation all week,” Penn Cambria Coach Nick Felus said. “Central is a great program, well coached, great community. Just seems like every year they reload with athletes and they have a belief in their program.”

It was a defensive first half, between the Dragons and Panthers. Neither team turned the ball over, but each of them got a lot of big tackles on important downs.

After a scoreless first quarter, Penn Cambria jumped out to a lead on an 11 yard rushing touchdown from senior Gavin Harrold.

The Panthers got a big stop around midfield and drove down the field again. Harrold ran it in for a second time from two yards out. They failed the two point conversion on both scores, which made it a score of 12-0.

“They {Central} came out in the first half with a good game plan,” Coach Felus said. “Credit to them and their coaching staff. We knew they were gonna come out and play extremely hard. They are just tough kids and they believe. That’s a good football program over there.”

Penn Cambria nearly scored again before halftime after Brady Jones connected with Harrold for a 31 yard gain. The next play, Jones rolled out and threw an incomplete pass, ending the first half.

“We said in the locker room, we gotta come out fighting and give them our best effort,” Central Coach Jerry Albright said. “A couple of miscues in the first half and couldn’t get a couple of first downs. Could’ve been a completely different ballgame.”

Quickly after the half, Harrold picked off a pass from Jesse Muthler and returned it inside the red zone. One play later he keeps it and runs it in for a ten yard touchdown, his third on the night.

“First and foremost, he’s {Harrold} relentless,” Coach Felus said. “These last few years he’s put the time in. He really can take some hits and can run away from you. He’s so versatile right now. His football IQ is off the charts.”

Once Central was starting to put a drive together, the Panthers got another interception. This time from Safety Grant Gides.

Two plays later, Central’s Adam Baird recovered a fumble and returned it into the red zone, but the Penn Cambria defense stopped them with a turnover on downs.

The Panthers responded with a big run from Mason Mento for 48 yards and then Thomas Plunkett ran it in from 25 yards out.

Central threw another interception, this time by Corbin Vinglish. Mason Mento followed with a one yard rushing touchdown and that sealed the deal at 33-0.

Harrold finished with 100 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns, 31 receiving yards, and an interception.

Penn Cambria will face off next week against Tyrone in the District 6 Championship. The Panthers are looking to get their first district title in program history.

“We are gonna enjoy this one right now,” Coach Felus said. “We know what we’re gonna get in Tyrone, a well coached program. A program with a lot of tradition and history. We’re just excited to be able to play for another district championship. You’ve heard some of our players say the last few weeks, we have a lot of goals that we want to accomplish. This is one of our biggest goals right now. We are gonna go to war, turn the page quickly, and immediately get to work for Tyrone.”

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