Former CM Players Welch and Pentz named to All Landmark Conference Second Team while at Lycoming
WILLIAMSPORT, PA- Two former Central Mountain High School football players were recently named to the second team defense of the All Landmark Conference Team.
Lycoming College gridders Jack Welch and Ryan Pentz garnered the honors while playing under head coach Mike Clark.
Welch, a 6-2, 270 pound junior, led the team in tackles from his defensive tackle spot. He had 69 stops, including five for loss. Welch had two 10-tackle games, including 12 in the Cape Charles Bowl win over Washington & Lee.
After seeing some time as a freshman running back, Pentz switched to defensive back for his sophomore campaign. The 6-0, 180 pounder had 51 tackles and two interceptions.
The Warriors finished 5-6.
The complete release from Lycoming College Athletics:
WILLIAMSPORT, PA – Seventeen Lycoming College football players earned a slot on the inaugural All-Landmark Conference Football Team, tying with league champion Susquehanna University for the most all-conference honorees, the conference office announced on Monday, Nov. 20.
Senior Ian Plankenhorn (Montoursville, Pa./Montoursville Area) was named first-team all-conference as both a kicker and punter, first-year running back Terrence Oliver (Sharon Hill, Pa./Academy Park), sophomore wide receiver Dawson Debebe (Schwenksville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley), senior wide receiver Brandon Timothy (Woodland Park, N.J./Passaic Valley), senior offensive lineman Michael Golay (Swarthmore, Pa./Strath Haven), junior defensive lineman Jake Welch (Lock Haven, Pa./Central Mountain), sophomore defensive lineman Elisha Carothers (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle), senior linebacker Kevin Gianoni (Quakertown, Pa./Lansdale Catholic), junior linebacker Joey Rivituso (Easton, Pa./Notre Dame-Green Pond), sophomore defensive back Ryan Pentz (Mill Hall, Pa./Central Mountain), sophomore defensive back Jordan Rhinehart (Upper Darby, Pa./Father Judge) and senior defensive back Austin Rowley (Schwenksville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) were second team picks and junior quarterback Will Fish (Stroudsburg, Pa./East Stroudsburg South), sophomore tight end Brendan Clark (Montoursville, Pa./Montoursville Area), sophomore offensive lineman Braedon Hart (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) and senior offensive lineman Eric Vingom (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) were honorable mention selections.
Plankenhorn, who earned his third straight first-team all-conference honors as a kicker, finished the season 10-of-12 in field goal attempts with the sixth-best field goal percentage in Division III (0.833) and the 24th-most field goals made per game (0.9). Plankenhorn is ninth amongst active career leaders in field goals made (28) and third in Lycoming’s school history. He picked up his first all-conference honors as a punter after averaging 37.06 yards per kick and downing 14 of 63 punts inside the 20.
Oliver led the Warriors’ ground game, as the first-year running back rushed 135 yards for 757 yards (fifth in the Landmark) and seven touchdowns (tied for fourth), while his 5.6 yards per rush are tied for sixth in program history. He had five 100-yard rushing games as a rookie.
Debebe earned his first all-conference honors after finishing fifth in the league with 569 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. His 16.3 receiving yards per catch was second in the league. He had two 100-yard receiving games during the season, including a 152-yard game in the season opener at Widener.
Timothy picked up his first all-conference honors after he finished sixth in the Landmark Conference with 49 receptions and 545 receiving yards and he finished tied for eighth with four touchdowns. He also had two 100-yard receiving games, including posting a career-best 186 yards against Utica.
Golay, Hart and Vingom balanced an offensive line that helped the Warriors rush for 128.5 yards per game and pass for 187.5 yards, good for 316.1 yards of total offense per game.
Welch led the Warriors with 69 tackles, five for loss, as the defensive tackle also added 0.5 sacks, one breakup and a forced fumble en route to his first career all-conference honors. He had two 10-tackle games, including making 12 in the Cape Charles Bowl win over Washington & Lee.
Carothers posted 34 tackles during his sophomore season, tying for the team lead with three sacks and adding four tackles for loss. The defensive lineman had three quarterback hurries, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery to earn his first career all-conference honors.
Gianoni finished second in the Landmark Conference with 12.5 tackles for loss and he added three sacks in order to earn his first all-conference accolades. He added three breakups, 62 tackles, two quarterback hurries and one forced fumble.
Rivituso notched 65 tackles and posted 2.5 for loss to go with 1.5 sacks and four breakups, as he earned his first all-conference plaudits. Rivituso had two 10-tackle games, including posting 12 in the team’s 31-20 win over Moravian.
Pentz notched 51 tackles, posting 5.5 tackles for loss and he finished tied for second in the league with three interceptions. He also added three breakups and a fumble recovery as he was honored on all-conference team for the first time.
Rhinehart also finished with 51 tackles, as he notched six breakups, two interceptions, forced and recovered a fumble. He was named the Landmark Conference Athlete of the Week, as he clinched the 28-23 win over Catholic with an interception in the last minute.
Rowley picked up his second all-conference honors after he was a First Team All-MAC selection in 2022. The safety posted 58 tackles, two for loss to go with five breakups and two interceptions while playing in only nine games. The senior finished sixth in the league with 0.78 passes defended per game.
Fish earned all-conference accolades in his first year as a starter, as he finished third in the league with an average of 179.5 yards per game and 168 completions, tossing 19 touchdowns and completing a pass for more than 40 yards in seven of the 11 games this year. He threw for more than 200 yards five times, including a 336-yard, five-touchdown effort against Wilkes.
Clark appeared in all 11 games for the Warriors, posting eight catches for 50 yards and one touchdown to earn his first all-conference selection.
The Warriors finished 5-6 overall and tied for second in the Landmark Conference with a 4-2 record under 16th-year head coach Mike Clark. The Warriors won the inaugural Cape Charles Bowl, 20-17 over Washington & Lee, in the Landmark-ODAC Chesapeake Bowl Series.
