Central York survives against Hempfield
LANDISVILLE — Near the end, with just seconds left, when one final heave from the arm of Hempfield quarterback David Robinson dropped into the arms of a Central York defender, the emotions came pouring out.
Central York players jumped into each other. One player rolled on the ground in relief. Another patted his chest.
It had been every bit as dramatic as they made it out to be.
This year's young Panthers squad, with a new coach and new system, took a couple giant steps forward with a 48-42 victory at Hempfield's Georgelis Law Firm Stadium on Friday night. It was the type of game Central York needed to learn how to win.
The Panthers (2-1) built a big early lead on the road, even after giving up an opening kickoff return 80 yards to their own 1-yard line.
Then they watched it almost melt away under the second-half pressure. Central allowed Hempfield (0-3) to take two long interception returns back for touchdowns on back-to-back drives. And then they watched a brilliant onside kick find a home in the arms of Hempfield with 1:19 left to play.
Robinson, Hempfield's junior quarterback, had already had himself quite a game.
He threw for more than 100 yards, rushed for 100 yards and returned an interception 73 yards for a score.
"Adversity is going to strike at some point, it doesn't matter when," Central coach Josh Oswalt said.
And Central York found it as a 30-14 halftime lead dwindled to 30-28.
"I knew this was going to be a wild game when we came out of the half, and Matt Sheerin grabbed that interception for a touchdown," Robinson said. "That just sparked our momentum."
Thrown into the pressure-cooker, Central came out on top, tying up Robinson on a couple plays on Hempfield's final possession near midfield before finally picking him off.
"We come out in the second half and throw two pick-sixes in successive drives, and we just had to grasp onto something," Oswalt said. "When you need to lean onto someone, you lean onto the guys that get you where you need to be."
Noreaga Goff carried the ball 31 times for 134 yards. Sophomore quarterback Cade Pribula threw for 252 yards. And even tight end Ben Ward pulled in two long second-half passes for 55 yards to take away some of Hempfield's momentum.
Central York did what Oswalt knew they could do: make plays.
And they made just enough to hold on for the victory.
Central York_13_17_7_11_—_48
Hempfield_7_7_14_14_—_42
First Quarter
H – David Robinson 1 run (Shawn Kreider kick), 11:39
CY – Kollin Vaught 22 pass from Cade Pribula (Carter Luckenbaugh kick), 10:05
CY – Sakai Barton 7 pass from Pribula (kick failed), 8:15
Second Quarter
CY – Luckenbaugh 25 field goal, 9:30
CY – Tim Sturgis 32 pass from Pribula (Luckenbaugh kick), 7:46
CY – Noreaga Goff 4 run (Luckenbaugh kick), 3:05
H – Stephen Wenzel 73 run (Kreider kick), 2:19
Third Quarter
H – Matt Sheerin 65 interception return (Kreider kick), 9:30
H – Robinson 73 interception return (Kreider kick), 6:32
CY – Tim Sturgis 28 pass from Pribula (Luckenbaugh kick), 4:50
Fourth Quarter
CY – Luckenbaugh 26 field goal, 11:55
H – Robinson 28 run (Kreider kick), 8:25
CY – Goff 1 run (Pribula run), 3:47
H – Robinson 3 run (Kreider kick), 1:22
_CY_ H
First downs_18_16
Rushes-Yards_46-184_35-246
Passing_14-25-3_15-25-2
Passing Yards_252_137
Total Yards_436_383
Punts_1-47_3-30.3
Fumbles-Lost_0-0_5-2
Penalties-Yards_6-54_4-37
Rushing — CY, Goff 31-134, Hunter Werner 4-10, Joe Jones 1-8, Pribula 5-14, Eddie Santiago 3-6, Barton 2-12. Hemp, Wenzel 11-138, Robinson 17-100, Jonathan Gutierrez 3-0, Luis Abreu 2-(-4), Nick Kauffman 1-8, Ty Vaughn 1-4.
Passing — CY, Pribula 14-25-3. Hemp, Robinson 15-25-2.
Receiving — CY, Barton 3-28, Vaught 1-22, Santiago 3-21, Mark Santos 1-32, Goff 3-66, Ben Ward 2-55, Tim Sturgis 1-28. Hemp, Matt Sheerin 3-66, Zeke Rodriguez 5-33, Kauffman 1-4, Hugh Mauck 3-19, Connor O’Brien 1-0, Quinn Bacha 1-6, Ty Vaughn 1-9.