South Williamsport at Central Columbia preview
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South PPG--42.0, PPA--4.6; YPG--337.7, YPA--123.7
South notes: South (7-2) is seeking its first eight-win regular season since 2023 when it captured the District 4 Class A championship and reached the state semifinals. The Mounties will likely be the No. 4 seed in next week's 2A quarterfinals and host either Hughesville or Warrior Run. If the Spartans win tonight and/or Warrior Run loses, South plays Hughesville. If Warrior Run wins and Hughesville loses, South plays Warrior Run. Either way, the Mounties are trying to extend a dominant five-game winning streak. They have outscored those five opponents, 252-12, shutting out three. South has five shutouts this season and has held every opponent to two or fewer touchdowns. South leads District 4 in both yards and points allowed and forced four turnovers in last Friday's win against Wellsboro. Caleb Johnson, Garrett Lorson and Taylor Naugle all picked off passes in that win. Lorson has a team-high four and he and Colton Paulhamus have taken picks for touchdowns. Lorson had a big offensive game last week, running for 141 yards and three touchdowns. The sophomore needs seven yards tonight to join juniors Eli White and Cade Lusk in the career 1,000-yard club. White leads the area with 809 yards and 12 touchdowns and Lusk is the area's second-leading active career rusher. All three backs have gone over 400 yards for a second straight year, running behind an outstanding line. Cole Gerber has thrown 10 touchdowns the last three weeks and Levi Butler has caught seven. Butler joined Dylan Scheller last week as the only players to reach 90 career catches in program history. Neeko Bowen has developed into one of the area's premier tight ends and caught a 25-yard touchdown last week.
South player to watch--Oz Bird: The junior lineman has fit like a glove up front, starting for the first time this season. His older brother Owen was vital to South winning the 2023 district title and Oz has carried on the strong blocking family tradition. He is one of four underclassmen starting up front, too, making the present and future bright at South.
Central PPG--5.8, PPA--43.6; YPG--202.4, YPA--408.4
Central notes: Central (0-9) nearly snapped a 22-game losing streak last week, leading Midd-West by 10 in the fourth quarter before the Mustangs rallied for a 14-10 victory. The Blue Jays are one of District 4's younger teams and have faced a tough schedule which has included Mount Carmel, Southern Columbia and Bloomsburg teams which are a combined 26-1. Hard-nosed running back Owen Zanoline has had a nice season and leads the team in rushing and receiving. He ran for 118 yards against Midd-West, while freshman quarterback Blake Edgar added 92. Those two and Dominic Keller all have gone over 80 yards in a game this season. Zanoline also averages 6.2 tackles per game and has nine for loss. Gus Bauman is one of District 4's best kickers and is 4 of 4 on field goal attempts this season, drilling a 45-yarder against Northwest.
Central player to watch--Logan Robbins: The junior linebacker ignites the defense and averages 8.4 tackles per game. He has a nose for the football, as well, making 15 tackles for loss. Robbins has made at least six tackles eight times in nine games, has forced two fumbles and had four tackles for loss at Milton.
Outlook: South can't get caught looking ahead to next week since Central is a battle-tested team with nothing to lose. Still, if it continues playing the complementary football it has the last five weeks, South should enter the playoffs on a high.