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Central Mountain looks to build off promising start against tough foe in Warrior Run

TURBOTVILLE - While Central Mountain's home opener against rival Mifflin County displayed promise, that doesn't mean the coming weeks present assured wins. In fact, its schedule only steepens as the team looks to build off last Friday's 28-19 loss.

Warrior Run (1-0) carried last year's historic success into a hard-fought road win over Muncy last Friday. It plays host to the Wildcats for its home opener on Friday, having won four of its last five homes and 11 of its last 13 total and coming off its best season in recent memory.

"They're a solid team," said Central Mountain football head coach Travis Thompson on the Defenders following last Friday's performance. "They definitely pushed it pretty far last year, but they lost some guys. So, we're interested to see some film on them and what they were able to do."

"Our plan is going to be to beat Warrior Run, continue down the road, compete and beat every other team we face," he added.

The Wildcats are coming off a performance defined by both what they improved upon and the flaws they carried forward from last year.

Strong line play and big gains on the ground were thwarted by two fumbles and a head-scratching turnover on downs deep in their own territory. And strong run defense was diminished by breakdowns on special teams and in the secondary. It's a performance Thompson feels was promising but worth learning from.

"Those are things that we have to correct that can't happen. It's one of those things where our kids want to try for extra yards, but sometimes you've got to take what they give us," said Thompson. "Overall, I'm happy with the effort they guys put in. Just clean up a couple mistakes and we're in this game; just can't let it define us the rest of the season."

This Friday, Central Mountain will be looking to build on a strong rushing performance while working to establish the pass.

In the first start of his second season at the helm, junior quarterback Kyle Everett had success on the ground, rushing for 133 yards and a score. The line held up in both the run and pass protection, as Central Mountain averaged over five yards per carry. But Mifflin County held the Wildcats to just 25 passing yards on 15 throws.

"We were pretty run heavy tonight. That's one of those things that we kind of relied on," said Thompson. "They had a great defense, but we were able to spring a couple out there. Definitely want to go back and revise some of the passing stuff and get that rolling for next week."

Central Mountain faces a similarly stout defense in Week Two, with the Defenders holding Muncy to seven points despite allowing 274 yards in Week One. They forced three turnovers, a factor which diminished the Wildcats' chances in Week One.

Offensively, Warrior Run was led by its rushing attack, with Denyn Beachel turning 31 attempts into 144 yards and two touchdowns to pave the way to victory. Liam Moore was impactful at receiver, logging six receptions for 83 yards. But the Defenders did commit five turnovers, including three interceptions from junior quarterback Logan Stevenson that played a role in their low scoring output.

Nonetheless, the Wildcats face another difficult challenge as they look to put an end to their 23-game losing streak. Friday's game at Warrior Run is set to kick off at 7 p.m.