Wildcats have tough opponent in Montoursville
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Central Mountain (0-7) has been hard to figure out at times, following up encouraging performances against Williamsport and Shikellamy with rough outings the next weeks. That was the case again last week when Central Mountain was blown out by Mifflinburg after giving six-win Shikellamy a battle on the road a week earlier.
There were offensive positives against Mifflinburg with quarterback Kyle Everett totaling 253 yards and going over 100 passing and rushing yards. Everett also threw touchdowns to Kole Corman and Caleb Stitzer.
Mason Masorti caught five passes for 64 yards. Gavin Heverly is a weapon in all facets, returning a kickoff for a score and scoring touchdowns as a rusher and receiver. Alex Johnson also has a kick return touchdown and linebacker Jacob Rembold returned an interception for a score at Warrior Run.
Rembold is second on the team in tackles behind Corman who has an area-high 98. Johnson averages nearly five tackles per game and can line up offensively at nearly every skill position.
Tanner McCall, a junior defensive end for the Wildcats, collected sacks in Central Mountain's first two games. He also had four tackles for loss during that time. McCall is a factor on both sides and had a pancake block against Mifflinburg.
Montoursville (4-3) is fourth in the District 4 Class AAA standings, and the top two spots likely are in place, but can move up to No. 3 if it wins its final three games. Montoursville won three straight games and the defense allowed just eight points before running into undefeated Mount Carmel last week.
The Warriors have played one of the field's toughest schedules and that has served it well, especially during the win streak, when they mercy-ruled all three opponents. Quarterback Elijah Eck is second in the area with 1,358 yards and is one of four players who has 125 or more yards rushing. Freshman Bryson Fillman has caught five touchdowns the past two weeks and Brayden Burkett has 300 receiving yards.
Six receivers have at least 122 yards receiving and Kaiden Kleinman and Colton Conklin have run for 527 yards. Jacob Schon is having a big year at linebacker and made a career-high 17 tackles against Mount Carmel, including 12 solos. Kleinman, Burkett and Zane Butler all had 10 or more tackles. Burkett and Cole Snyder have returned interceptions for touchdowns and the defense has allowed just two offensive touchdowns in four games.
Zane Butler, a junior, is one of several underclassmen up front who has filled big voids and helped Montoursville continue moving forward. Butler averages 6.9 tackles per game and has seven for loss. He had a career-high 11 tackles last week, including eight solos.
Central Mountain showed against Shikellamy what it can do and it has nothing to lose which can make it dangerous. Montoursville can ill-afford to look past the Wildcats as it tries gaining late-season momentum.