Wildcats Advance To PIAA Class-AA Football Final Four With Win Over Cambria Heights, Jase Ferguson Goes Over 3,000 Season and 10,000 Career Passing Yards In The Contest; Central Clarion Will Face South Park In Semifinal At Farrell On Friday
Above photo courtesy of Cheryl Marshall – Jase Ferguson on his “Milestone Night”
In a game that saw Central Clarion quarterback Jase Ferguson eclipsing 3,000 passing yards for the season and 10,000 career passing yards, the Central Clarion Wildcats downed the Cambria Heights Highlanders 49-6, in their PIAA Class-AA State Football Quarterfinal, last night (Saturday, November 23rd), at David “Red” Ullum Field at Armstrong Stadium, in Kittanning.
With the win, the undefeated (13-0) Wildcats enter the Class-AA Final Four, where they will match up with the District 7 (WPIAL) champion (13-1) South Park Eagles in the Semifinals on at Farrell’s Lou Falconi Field at Anthony J. Pauleakis Stadium this Friday (November 29th) at 7:00 PM.
The Wildcats scored twenty-one points in the opening quarter and fourteen in each of the second and third quarters. Cambria Heights score came in the second quarter.
Central Clarion’s first score came at 11:01 in the first, with quarterback Jase Ferguson hitting Kohen Kemmer for a 39 yard touchdown. The two-point conversion failed and the Wildcats led 6-0.
Ferguson connected with Ethan Rex from 12 yards out at 6:02 and then ran the ball in for two more points giving Central Clarion a 14-0 lead.
The final score of the first quarter came with Ferguson, who had a hand in all seven of the Wildcats touchdowns, running the ball in from the nineteen with a minute and nineteen seconds left. Brendan Bettwy was successful on the point after and the opening quarter ended with Central Clarion up 21-0.
Cambria Heights scored their touchdown at 11:52 of the second quarter, with Trey Trybus gathering in a pass from Isaac Weiland from forty-nine yards out. The point after kick was blocked by Briggs Beckwith and Central led 21-6.
Two Ferguson touchdown runs, the first from 1 yard out at 10:03 and the second from 9 yards with 3:09 on the clock before half, along with two successful PATs by Bettwy had the Wildcats up 34-6 heading in to intermission.
The Wildcats closed out the scoring in the third with a pair of touchdowns followed by Bettwy’s successful kicks. The first touchdown came with Ferguson connecting with Rex from 16 yards out at 6:52. Ferguson then ran for a thirty-eight yard score at 1:41.
With no scoring in the fourth quarter, the final was set at 49-6, Wildcats.
The Wildcats had a 21-10 advantage in first downs, outgaining the Highlanders in total yards 485 (262 rushing, 223 passing) to 161 (66 rushing, 95 passing).
Key Central Clarion Stats:
Ferguson ran for 141 yards on 16 carries and complete 16-of-20 passes for 223 yards and three touchdowns, with an interception. He also intercepted two passes. Rex caught 8 passes for 118 yards and carried the ball 9 times for fifty-eight yards.
Noah Harrison ran the ball 8 times for sixty-five yards. Kohen Kemmer had 65 yards on four receptions and Mason Burford caught 4 passes for forty-three yards. Jesse Siwiecki intercepted a pass.
Wildcats head coach Davey Eggleton was more than pleased. “I couldn’t be any prouder of the effort our guys put forth tonight. You never expect an outcome so lopsided this far into the playoffs, but it is a testament to the work our players and coaches have put in all year. I feel blessed to coach such a great team. We are excited to continue working towards our goal this year.”
(Way to go, Wildcats!!!! Beat South Park!!!! Thanks to Cheryl Marshall and Brynlee Kiskadden-BK Media for their photos and thanks to Chris Rossetti and YDLSportsNetwork.com/D9and10Sports.com for use of his summary/stats!!)