STEUBENVILLE–Isaiah Greathouse put on a heck of a show inside Harding Stadium Thursday as Wellsville rolled to a 30-9 win over Catholic Central.

The senior compiled 308 yards in total offense and scored four touchdowns in helping the Tigers secure their first victory of the season. He rushed for 219 yards on 17 trips and caught three Gavin Kountz passes for 89 additional yards.

His two rushing touchdowns came on runs of 5 and 55 yards. He and Kountz connected for scores of 20 and 59 yards.

“He’s not only an outstanding football player but he’s quite a young man,” Wellsville coach Robert Ramsey said of Greathouse. “He has been through a lot and he gives us 110 percent every game win or lose. I am very proud of him.

“Winning tonight feels amazing. Our kids worked hard all week and kept a positive attitude after going 0-2. Credit to our staff for keeping things upbeat for the kids during practice. We came together as a family tonight.”

Thursday’s game was the 11th all-time between the schools, they last met in 2004. Central now holds a 6-5 series lead.

The Tigers took the opening kick and marched 79 yards for their first score. The 14-play drive consumed more than six minutes of the first quarter clock. Greathouse capped things off with his 5-yard run.

After the defense forced a Central punt, Ramsey’s crew found the end zone again on its second touch, going 52 yards in nine plays. This time, Greathouse caught the 20 yard pass from Kountz. He also ran for the two-point conversion.

Central, now 0-3, got its offense going following Greathouse’s second TD, traveling 61 yards. Senior quarterback Andrew Dorsey found paydirt from 6 yards out. Daniel Bolster’s kick made it 14-7.

It took Wellsville just two plays to answer. Greathouse hauled in a Kountz pass and raced 59 yards for the score. He again added the two-pointer.

“That was awesome,” Ramsey said of his club turning its first three possessions into scores. “It was a great feeling. Our kids worked hard all summer and they definitely deserve this W.”

The Crusaders added a safety just before the half when junior B.J. Fallon broke through and blocked a Wellsville punt. The game’s final score came midway through the third on a 55 yard sprint by Greathouse.

Central did miss out on a huge scoring opportunity in the third after Wellsville fumbled a punt and it was recorded by sophomore Tommy Pergi deep in Tiger territory. The chance, however, was wiped out by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty prior to the fumble.

“They are a scrappy team and everything I thought they would be,” Central coach Eric Meek said. “Our kids played hard–they played hard, it was a good clean game.

“We are not into moral victories but our kids really fought tonight and I am proud of them for that. That’s something we can build upon going forward. We gave up a couple of big plays but I thought we did some good things defensively, we moved the moved the ball in different ways offensively at times and I was real proud of our special teams. The main thing is we had each other’s back and we showed some fight.”

Kountz had a strong night for Wellsville. He completed 11 of his 14 passes for 161 yards and the two scores. Offensively, the Tigers with 404 yards (243 on the ground and 161 via the air).

Dorsey finished with 71 passing yards. Pergi had five receptions to pace the Crusaders.

Wellsville will return home next Friday to entertain Columbiana.

“We start league play against Columbiana and we will be ready to fight again next Friday night,” Ramsey said. “It was just a good job by our young men tonight.”

Central will hit the road, traveling to Zanesville for a match with Bishop Rosecrans.

“We are going to regroup and keep moving,” said Meek. “There’s still a lot of football to play, it’s only Sept. 1.”

Wellsville 30, Steubenville Central 9

Wellsville 6 16 8 0

Central 0 9 0 0

W: Greathouse 5 run (kick failed)

W: Greathouse 20 pass from Kountz (Greathouse run)

S: Dorsey 6 run (Bolster kick)

W: Greathouse 59 pass from Kountz (Greathouse run)

S: Safety blocked punt rolled through end zone

W: Greathouse 55 run (Ramsey run)

RUSHING: Wellsville 36-243-2 (Greathouse 17-219-2; Ramsey -22; Kountz 8-(-3; Stock 2-2; Watkins 1-6; Kersey 1-(-3)); Central 27-55-1 (Dorsey 10-3-1; Rice 6-1; Pergi 5-9; Ialenti 2-(-15); Williams 3-33; Hills 1-24).

PASSING: Wellsville 11-14-161-2 (all by Kountz); Central 8-15-71 (all by Dorsey).

RECEIVING: Wellsville 11-161-2 (Greathouse 3-89-2; Ramsey 3-22; Watkins 2-26; Stock 2-6; Tice 1-8); Central -71 (Pergi 5-32; Ialenti 2-18; Fallon 1-21).

FIRST DOWNS: Wellsville 19; Central 8.

PENALTIES-YARDS: Wellsville 4-25; Central 6-45.

FUMBLES-LOST: Wellsville 3-2; Central 0-0.