Central Mountain football: into the great unknown?
By John Lipez
BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP, PA – Central Mountain football put together a winning season under first-year coach Shanon Manning a year ago, finishing at 6-5. But graduation took a ton of talent so look for 2022 to be something of an early unknown as play begins this Friday at home with new foe Mifflin County.
All it takes is a quick scan from last year’s roster and you see 17 starting seniors in 2021, eight on offense and nine on defense, all gone. Graduation coupled with only a handful of junior class members participating a year ago, that makes 2022’s team very young. But Manning likes what he has seen so far, working with a squad of 55, most of whom are now into their second year in his program. He noted, “Having the players and staff working together for an entire year has been tremendously helpful. As a coach you are never where you want to be, but I love our effort and commitment to improvement.”
With so few juniors playing a year ago, Manning showed his recruiting skills, attracting a number of Central Mountain seniors who had not played football in recent years. These included several players from the traditionally strong Wildcat baseball team. He told The Record, “We basically had to build a senior class from scratch. It is no secret our baseball program is outstanding and has a long tradition of winning. After attending several games, I loved the selfless way they played the game. Our current players were tremendous in the entire recruiting process.” So new to football this season from last spring ’s baseball team are Nate Helms, Cru Stover and Braylen Corter.
As for the offense, three Wildcats are vying for the starting job at quarterback, the winner to replace the since-graduated Brett Gerlach. In the hunt are last year’s backup, Brady Myers (jr), being pushed by Tom Sprague (jr) and Ben Herrick (sr), the latter back on the team after a knee injury two years ago, early in his sophomore season. The coach said all three are doing well and said Herrick “has bounced back well and is moving with a lot of confidence.”
Graduation took last year’s two top running backs in Ryan Pentz and Micah Walizer. Three underclassmen are working to replace them: Rocco Serafini (jr), Jake Weaver (soph), and Carnell Noone (fr) all taking reps with Serafini taking the majority of the number one reps, according to the coach.
One area where experience returns is the skill position, where junior Connor Foltz is coming off a breakout sophomore year, accounting for more than 13-hundred yards of offense a year ago, including receiving, rushing, punt and kickoff returns. Fellow speedster Kevin Grenninger (jr) also returns. Per the coach: “Our overall speed at receiver is good. Our blocking at the receiver position is improving each day.”
The Wildcats are looking at four new starters across the offensive line, Maning noting, “I really like our growth and effort from the group.” On defense, CM returns the majority of its secondary, but a lot of new faces will be in the front seven.
The head coach said he likes what he sees from this year’s squad so far: “I love our personnel…traditionally working with a team as young as ours can be a struggle but, this group of players are all in! They do what is asked to the best of their ability and have shown unexpected leadership.”
As for goals and expectations: “Our goals will always remain the same… Win week #1, earn a playoff spot, win a district title, and get after the remaining 5A teams in Pennsylvania.”
As for the 2022 schedule and the Heartland Conference, the coach said, “The Heartland is one of the strongest conferences in the state of Pennsylvania. Our schedule will determine if we have what it takes to win a district title.” As for District 6, Manning said Class 5A still runs through Hollidaysburg “until someone ends their reign.”
After last Saturday’s scrimmage at Bald Eagle Area with the host Eagles and visiting Juniata Valley, Central Mountain opens the new season this Friday at Malinak Stadium at 7 p.m., Class 6A Mifflin County the opponent for CM.
Asked about the Huskies, coach Manning said he knew little about them but expected to learn more from their scrimmage last Saturday. The Huskies went 0-10 a year ago and hired a new coach in Shane Breon this spring. He is a Mifflin County native who most recently was an assistant at Central York. Mifflin County will bring a 16-game losing streak to Malinak Stadium.
This will be Central Mountain’s first meeting with Mifflin County since 2013. According to information from local sports historian Joe Walker, the two schools have met three times, the Huskies taking all three: 40-20 in 2011; 19-6 in 2012; and 57-35 in 2013.
Following the home opener, Central Mountain goes on the road to Bloomsburg on Sept. 2 and returns home to play Shikellamy on Sept. 9. The Wildcats started last season 3-0, including wins over both Bloom and Shik.
Friday’s season opener with Mifflin County will be streamed audio/video on therecord-online.
