Jays’ Dennis is optimistic despite loss to Selinsgrove
SELINSGROVE — Central Columbia’s season has been anything but easy — and that trend continued with a 42-0 loss to Selinsgrove Friday — but coach Scott Dennis remains hopeful for what’s in store.
The Blue Jays are playing a large number of underclassmen on both sides of the ball, and the growing pains continued.
Despite the lopsided score and the fact it’s the fourth loss in a row, Dennis still had a lot of good things to say about his athletes. He also has challenged the seniors to leave a lasting impression as the season winds down.
“We haven’t talked playoffs all season, even when our record was 0-0 — that’s just one of my philosophies. If it happens, it happens,” Dennis said. “I put an onus on the seniors at the end of the game telling them they have two more weeks of their career, potentially, and they have to set the team up for success in the future. They have to prepare hard, practice hard and show them how to do that. That’s really how we plan on attacking the next two weeks.”
Any preparation the Blue Jays had for the Seals’ rushing attack this week made little difference. The Seals exposed gaps in the middle of the field, rushing for 355 yards. All six of their scores came via the ground game.
Leading the charge was Brandon Hile, rushing for 203 yards on nine carries (22.5 yards per carry). He took over the game on the Seals’ first possession, reeling in a 20-yard reception and finishing the two-play drive with an 11-yard rush. He added a 10-yard touchdown run to cap off the first quarter. Both first-quarter scores went right up the gut, exposing a hole in the center of the Central defense that existed all night.
Then in a 2-minute stretch, spanning both halves, Hile put the game to rest. In the final minute of the first half, he capped off Selinsgrove’s longest scoring drive (nine plays), with a 2-yard power run. His final score was the longest run of the game, 88 yards, in the opening minute of the second half. The Seals had no other scoring drive take more than five plays.
Selinsgrove scored one last touchdown in the fourth quarter, a 3-yard keeper by backup quarterback Cale Bastian.
“We certainly anticipated that they would throw the ball around a little bit more,” Dennis said. “Obviously, they have a great running game and great running backs. Ultimately, even though we knew they were running the ball, we were starting three freshmen. We’re just not used to getting up, filling holes, taking on lead blocks. It’s all a learning process for us. … It’s a pretty impressive running game they had tonight.”
Tucker Teats was another thorn in the Blue Jays’ side, running for 93 yards on five carries (18.6 ypc). His longest run was a 65-yard touchdown scamper, going untouched up the middle.
While the Seals were taking advantage of the middle of the field, the Blue Jays appeared to shy away from it all game. Instead, they attempted to stretch the field with bubble and flat routes, and off-tackle runs.
“We think they’re a pretty good interior, and we were trying to get the ball on the perimeter so that we could try and make plays,” Dennis said. “We weren’t sure we could line up and punch them in the mouth. We were trying to get the ball to the edges and hopefully make a play.”
The Seals snuffed it out frequently, holding the Blue Jays to 112 total yards. Central’s longest play from scrimmage was a 43-yard reception by Cameron Humphreys, with backup quarterback Ryan Hons finding him deep down the right sideline.
When penalties didn’t kill a drive for the Blue Jays — they committed seven — it was turnovers. The Jays threw two interceptions (both by Hons) and lost two of their three fumbles.
It proved to be an uphill climb all night with Greysen Shaud leading Central with 20 rushing yards. He also had six completions for 23 yards passing.
“Despite what the score was, our kids are still playing hard,” Dennis said. “That is something that makes me very proud.”
Arguably nobody was better than Gage Chipeleski.
The junior was often the first one to break past the Seals’ offensive line, rushing a number of passing plays. He also had two open-field tackles on special teams that could have been big returns for Teats.
“That’s back-to-back weeks now [for Chipeleski],” Dennis said. “Against Southern, it was much of the same thing. He was definitely the outstanding player for us defensively. He’s starting to turn into a pretty good football player for us. He barely got any reps leading up to this season, but with so many spots needing to be filled, he got his opportunity. He’s taken advantage of it.”
The Seals completed four of 10 passes for 50 yards. The numbers could have been better across the board for Selinsgrove if not for 12 penalties — none bigger than a block in the back that called off a 90-yard kick return by Teats to open the second half — that cost it 114 yards.
Link to story: https://www.pressenterpriseonl...
