When looking over the final scores of Central Mountain’s first four games of the season, the painted picture is one of all-around, start-to-finish dominance from the opposing side. So far, the Wildcats have been shut out thrice, have yet to score a touchdown, have given up an average of 36 points per game and have been outscored 146-3.

It’s an ugly sight on the surface, and there have certainly been some ugly moments in reality. But in context, the losses are less ugly and more positive-laced than you might think, especially through the first two quarters.

Now, I’m not saying there haven’t been negatives. Those numbers didn’t just appear on the scoreboard unprompted or unearned by Central Mountain’s opponents. I’m not saying the positives outweigh the negatives, either.

What I am saying is that when this team has played confidently and its best brand of football, it’s been right in the game or at least competitive. It’s really just a matter of maintaining that through four quarters, as obvious and cliché as that sounds.

That was most applicable in its most recent game against Selinsgrove (1-3). There, the Wildcats outgained an opponent for the first time this season, but struggled to capitalize on multiple promising drives.

Following a scoreless first quarter for both teams, one which saw Central Mountain force a three-and-out and turnover, the Seals would crack the scoreboard first with a touchdown at the second quarter’s ten-minute mark. The Wildcats proceeded to respond with a 14-play, eight-minute drive that culminated in it cutting their deficit to four.

That drive featured three third-down conversions, back-to-back big gains from running back Dalton McDermott and most notably, confidence and energy. With the crowd egging the Wildcats on, they looked as competitive as they have in two years, turning the momentum their way for what felt like the first time in a while.

But in a game where teams live and die by maintaining momentum, they just couldn’t hold the line.

Central Mountain forced an immediate three-and-out, getting a chance to take the lead before halftime, before seeing that opportunity derailed by a muffed punt. Selinsgrove then got it back at its 48-yard line, thanked the Wildcats for an additional 15 yards on the next play and scored its second touchdown just over 30 seconds later.

It was a punch in the mouth, which happens often in football. To a certain degree, Central Mountain has been dealt one in each of its four games. And in all four scenarios, it’s struggled to bounce back.

Against Bloomsburg two weeks prior, that punch came in the form of an 11-yard passing touchdown on fourth and goal, one which gave the Panthers a two-score lead nearing the end of the first. Despite traversing into Bloomsburg territory on both its drives up to that point, getting to the red zone on their first, the Wildcats would never do so again. They never even picked up another first down.

And against Selinsgrove, it was a similar story.

There was a bit more success out of the break, as Central Mountain held the Seals scoreless through 18 minutes, got past midfield twice and even set itself up for a 41-yard field goal. But it would never impact the scoreboard again, and its initial lapse following the muffed punt also played a role in the team never re-establishing a position to win.

A lot of those issues have to do with its offensive struggles.

While Dalton McDermott has emerged as a consistent bright spot during the team’s last two games, Kyle Everett has completed over 60-percent of his passes and the team is building up its big-play ability, those big plays are still few and far between and McDermott can only do so much. The positives come in the occasional burst or prolonged drive, not in the form of touchdowns or field goals.

“Dalton runs the ball well, runs the ball hard, so I’m really happy with the way he’s running. We’ve just got to get through sustained drives with it,” said Central Mountain head coach Travis Thompson on the offense. “We can’t have the negative plays. It’s always got to be positive, positive, positive.”

But what it truly boils down is growing pains and inexperience.

Whether it be the big plays surrendered against Bloomsburg, the turnovers against Williamsport or the penalties and costly mistakes against Selinsgrove, the downs that come with putting a young team out on the field have overshadowed the ups. It’s a matter of struggling with inconsistency, overcoming adversity and handling the little things for a full 48 minutes.

And in terms of handling adversity, it seems like most punches in the mouth end up being knockout blows.

“It’s that discipline,” said Thompson on the biggest key to overcoming those issues. “Working at practice throughout the week to not jump offsides, working on our holds, working on everything, so we’re not doing those dumb things over and over again.”

It’s an unfortunate reality given that the team does have impactful upperclassmen.

McDermott is a senior. Standout linebacker Kole Corman – who’s on pace for 150 tackles this season, is a junior. Evan Hardy and Nick Lose – two cornerstones of both lines – are seniors. Its two leading receivers, Ricky Rohrbach and Mario Serafini, are seniors. And that’s just scratching the surface.

But that leadership and impact get trumped by where the team lacks experience. Of its four classes, the two biggest are its freshmen and sophomores. The team has just 13 seniors on its roster.

“We’re still a young team from last year,” said Thompson following the team’s loss to Selinsgrove on Friday. “I’m starting sophomore at offensive line, we’ve got a sophomore quarterback and we’ve got some young guys in skill positions that are going through some growing pains in their first time starting.”

Everett has shown promise through his first four starts at quarterback, but they’ve come with the inconsistency you would expect. Pressure has remained a problem to deal with, often leading to scrambles that go nowhere. And he’s passed the ball more than ten times in a game just once, emphasizing a lack of offensive balance for the Wildcats.

“He’s prepared for it,” said Thompson on Everett handling a larger workload for future games. “We had times today where we had good line protection. We had times where there were some breakdowns, and Selinsgrove did a good job putting pressure on him. But he’s ready to learn; he’s willing to learn.”

Though there was optimism heading into the season, it was always anticipated that a team departing with a fair share of seniors and coming off a winless season would endure its fair share of hardships.

It’s important to recognize this as an era of development for Central Mountain football, one that’s displayed more positives than recent final outcomes have indicated. Development takes time, effort and belief and while the former can’t be controlled, the latter two can.

“I believe in the guys, and they believe in each other. As long as they continue to come back to work, we’re going to keep working and keep grinding,” said Thompson on the team. “Just continue to fill them with experience, get that confidence, and it’s going to happen.”

UPCOMING ISSUES

While Central Mountain’s opening slate has featured some tough squads, including undefeated Bloomsburg and 3-1 Williamsport, it’s safe to say it doesn’t quite hold a candle to what lies ahead.

The Wildcats’ next six opponents – Shamokin (4-0), Shikellamy (3-1), Montoursville (3-1), Mount Carmel (1-3), Troy (3-1) and Jersey Shore (3-1) – possess a nerfed, combined record of 17-7. When I say nerfed, I mean literally every loss came to an even tougher team, and all six teams are likely better than the previous four (apart from maybe the Red Tornadoes).

The implications of that are fairly obvious. Though tough schedules are great for improvement, both physically and mentally, Central Mountain’s confidence will certainly be tested in the coming weeks. It should be interesting to see how it handles that adversity.

It’s worth noting that at the time these schedules were made, things were a bit different. Bloomsburg (4-0) and Shikellamy (3-1) have developed from struggling programs into dynamic squads, turning the Wildcats’ already-challenging schedule into a complete gauntlet.

With that in mind, at least the two-year cycle is set to change in 2026.