Wildcats Hold off Mifflinburg, Gain Hard-Earned 24-17 Win

AdminSeptember 30, 2016

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BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP — The Central Mountain football team continued to show improved mid-season play Friday night, pitching a second half shutout against Mifflinburg and toughing out a 24-17 victory, the Wildcats’ second of the year and the second in the last three games.

Justin Neff was again his superlative self, rushing for more than 200 yards and three touchdowns but this time he had some serious help from junior running backs Tanner Weaver, Mahlik Houtz and Cameron Ishler. The Wildcat ground game piled up a season high 351 yards.

And the defense more than did its part; torched for 52 points in a 52-35 loss to Mifflinburg a year ago, this time around the Wildcat defenders, after surrendering 189 yards and 17 points in the first half, held a potent Mifflinburg offense to 88 yards and no points in the second half.

Mifflinburg’s Brayden Pierce ran through the Wildcats for 239 yards in 2015. Friday night he was held to 97 yards on 23 carries, including just 29 yards on 10 carries in the second half.

Meanwhile Central Mountain used its ground attack to put up three sustained drives in the first half, all capped off by three touchdowns of 20, 1 and 40 yards from Neff, 21-17 the halftime score. Then the defense took over in the second half, the only scoring a 32-yard field goal from Austyn Carson to put the Wildcats up 24-17 with 7:05 to go. Mifflinburg would get the ball back and drive all the way to the Central Mountain 1-yard line where they faced a first and goal. On the next play the ball popped loose just short of the goal line and Central Mountain’s Chandler Heverly fell on it at the Wildcat 6-yard line to all but ice the game. Mifflinburg had a final possession with 2:21 to go but turned the ball over on downs when quarterback Josh Foster was pressured by CM’s Trevor Smith and his fourth down pass was incomplete.

Neff finished with 205 yards on 26 rushes, Weaver with 15 carries for 106 yards and Houtz with four carries for 30 yards.

Coach Jim Renninger lauded the effort of his team, calling the victory a “tremendous win, a total team win.”

Central Mountain goes on the road next Friday, Oct. 7, at Shamokin. The Indians (l-5) fell to Shikellamy (4-2) by a 20-6. After the trip to Shamokin, the Wildcats have their final road game at Selinsgrove (4-2), a 26-6 winner over Jersey Shore (3-3) on Friday night.