Blue Jays fall, but keep fighting
SOUTH CENTRE TWP. — It's been tough sledding for Central Columbia up to this point as it's been dealt a tough hand with top-notch opponents and having to go against them with a great number of injuries.
That trend continued Friday night when the Blue Jays hosted Montoursville. Christian Banks had his way early and often, scoring his first of four touchdowns on the second play from scrimmage in the Warriors' 49-0 victory.
His first score went for 58 yards untouched on a jet sweep down the left side. Even when the Jays could get a hand on him, it didn't do much against Banks.
He added a 28-yard touchdown in the first quarter, avoiding two tackles and another diving attempt from behind. Banks helped the Warriors capitalize on Owen Kleinman's fumble recovery after he punched the ball out from behind on Tanner Regan's 50-yard kick return with a 1-yard touchdown run. Banks' final touchdown came from 9 yards away, going untouched following a beautiful pump fake by quarterback Jimmy Mussina.
Banks finished with 172 yards on 14 carries, averaging 12 yards per carry.
"We were missing two of our key guys and had some guys playing out of position," Central coach EJ Smith said. "[Banks] runs hard and we couldn't get him down. I wasn't expecting us to get gashed like we did, but we'll go back to the drawing board. Getting one guy back after playing three guys out of position will help a bit."
The defensive positioning hurt all night, regardless of who carried the ball for the Warriors. Alex Felver rushed for a pair of touchdowns of 10 and 11 yards as part of an 87-yard performance on 11 carries from the final play of the third quarter on. Felver's first score was set up by a Banks' 50-yard interception return.
Hayden Harvey also had a 2-yard touchdown run to help create first-quarter separation. He finished with 53 yards on nine carries, helping the Warriors finish with 318 on the ground — 199 coming before halftime.
That was when the Blue Jays put together their best drive.
Looking like it might be a five-play series, including their initial first down of the game, Kane Moore fumbled the ensuing punt and Crue Chipeleski came up with it, giving quarterback Parker Day and the Blue Jays some life.
They needed it after starting running back Ty Regan was taken out of the game after being swarmed by a number of Warrior defenders in the backfield. Smith said after the game, he thought Regan had the wind knocked out of him, but was ultimately taken to the hospital for precautionary measures.
Day took over the running duties, calling his own number three times for 34 yards. He also threw the ball six times, completing it once to Jansen Sarisky, who made a heads-up play on a tip drill after hitting Banks' hands.
Facing a fourth-and-1 with seconds remaining in the half, Central opted to give the ball to freshman Aidan Mahamadou, who got swallowed up for minus-3 yards, putting an end to any momentum the Jays had all night offensively.
"We finally got Jansen Sarisky back, but we haven't had him since the first quarter of Mount Carmel game," Smith said. "Then we lost our running back and we were very limited in what we could do. We were grasping a little bit. We were hoping to run the ball there, get a first down and stop the clock, and then take a shot at the end zone."
Parker led the Jays with 60 yards on the ground on 13 rushes. He also finished 2 of 15 passing for 14 yards and the interception.
The Blue Jays recorded seven first downs all night and were held to an average of 2.5 yards per play. They also went 1-for-9 on third down plays.
Still, Smith likes the fight he sees from the players and has a few he relies on to set an example. He'll need that and health to be on the Blue Jays' side as the team finishes with a much simpler schedule than the one it started with. That includes three more home games in the final four weeks.
"I have a couple of kids that are just unbelievable — Kole Hummer, Crue Chipeleski, Josh Worthington, Parker Day — they play multiple positions every day and try to find something. We call them 'war daddies' and they are 100% war daddies. I'm hoping we just keep grinding after missing a couple of guys tonight."
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