Central Caps Season With 55-17 Win
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NEW MANCHESTER -- After a tightly played first quarter, Wheeling Central showed why a lot of people expect the Maroon Knights to make a deep run in the Class A playoffs.
After holding a four-point lead after the opening quarter, coach Mike Young's group scored the next 48-straight points to close the regular season with a 55-17 win over the Golden Bears.
"It feels good," Young, the veteran Wheeling Central coach, said. "We got through tonight mostly injury free. I'm very proud of our kids, I'm very proud of what they did.
"(Oak Glen) is a gutty group, they played hard to the bitter end. We're fortunate we got the win and fortunate the kids played as hard as they did. I'm proud of what they accomplished."
The Maroon Knights (7-3) opened the game with an 11-play, 68-yard march that consisted of nine Riley Watkins carries for 62 yards capped by him plunging in from 2 yards out, and never looked back as the rest of their scores were of the much more explosive variety.
The Golden Bears, who close the season at 2-6, had life early as Wesley Molish connected with Dylan Conley for two long pass plays on Oak Glen's first drive, setting up a 27-yard field goal by Trenton Richmond to make it a 7-3 game after one quarter.
From that point, it was all Wheeling Central as the Knights scored six touchdowns in a six-minute span.
"My hat's off to Mike Young," Oak Glen head coach Ted Arneault said. "They have a great program and they have momentum going into the playoffs and I think they will have a successful run.
"It's great (for young players) to play a team like that because whenever you play tough competition, it shows you where the bar is, it shows you that you have to play to that level if you want to play in the postseason. Playing opponents like that is going to get you where you want to be."
Early in the second quarter, Payton Hildebrand (3 of 6, 96 yards) connected with Lorenzo Ferrera for a 44-yard score to make it 14-3, and the Knights were off to the races.
On the next possession, Ferrera went 42 yards to score on a handoff, then, after Conley hauled in another deep pass, he fumbled at the end of the play, leading to a Braxton Anderson touchdown.
Watkins (106 yards on 12 carries) added a 38-yard scoring run, then the Maroon Knights got back-to-back defensive scores from Paxton Marling (20-yard interception return) and Cole O'Neil (12-yard fumble return).
After another Bears fumble, Eli Tucker (who booted six extra points) added a 35-yard scoring run on his second carry of the game.
"The second quarter just really didn't go our way," Arneault said. "We made a lot of mistakes at the wrong times. Wheeling Central is a good team and they are going to go a long way in the playoffs. You just cannot make mistakes against a good team."
Oak Glen turned the ball over six times, and four of those resulted in Maroon Knight TDs.
"We had some good breaks for us, we took away some opportunities that they had," Young said. "Coach Arneault has had a rough time (this season), but his kids played hard.
"It is still a AA school we won against tonight and I am proud of the kids. Now we can worry about the postseason."
Despite the score, Arneault's group played hard the rest of the way.
Matt Greenlief scored on a 7-yard run in the final minute of the first half to make it 55-10 at the break, the Bears did not allow Wheeling Central to score or even get a a first down in the second half (which was played with 8-minute quarters), forced four fumbles in the second half (recovered two of them) and Anthony Burt scored a 56-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
"They kept playing and I'm proud of them for that," Arneault said. "That was one thing we talked about is we wanted to make sure the pride that has come to be by playing for their school is still there no matter what the score is."
He almost had a second one as he was hauled down at the 1-yard-line as time expired.
SENIOR FARWELL
Thursday was the final game for nine Oak Glen seniors, who despite the tough season leave as the winningest class in school history.
"That is not an easy thing to do, they have been a part of a lot of success," Arneault said about his seniors. "They have been through a lot. Up to this year, they had all winning seasons, they played in our first home playoff game. They got to go on special playoff trips.
"They experienced the revival of our program. They contributed a lot and held us together. I love them dearly."