Central Mountain gridder Ryan Pentz chooses Lycoming for football

BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP, PA – Central Mountain senior Ryan Pentz has made his choice as to where to continue his education and his football career. Pentz, surrounded by family and Wildcat head coach Shanon Manning, on Wednesday signed his paperwork at an appropriate site, Central Mountain’s Malinak Stadium where he had been a solid four-year contributor as a running back.

Pentz’s choice is Lycoming College where he will join two former Wildcat teammates, Jake Welch and Tyler Cygan, both of whom had blocked for him until his senior year; both are completing their freshman year at Lycoming.  He said those two, along with the personal touch from the Lycoming coaches and the academics at the Williamsport school were all factors in his decision.

He plans to major in engineering physics, ultimately obtaining a masters degree in mechanical engineering. Pentz said it was “awesome” to be a part of a Central Mountain football program that struggled for wins in his first two years with the team, as the Wildcats turned the corner to football respectability the last two years. He said he had “no bad experiences” with the program.

Pentz said he was recruited to Lycoming as a tailback and noted the Warriors had lost their top several tailbacks from last year’s squad. Pentz joins his brother J. T. Pentz, in playing college football. The older Pentz will be a senior at Juniata College this fall. Asked if he considered attending Juniata, Ryan Pentz responded with a “no.” He said Lycoming is not scheduled to play Juniata this fall, but the teams will meet in 2023.