Girls tennis wrapped up their season, volleyball continued their strong season, boys soccer played yet another overtime game and girls soccer picked up a special victory.

Those were the highlights in the land of Central Mountain athletics during the week that was.

Friday night lights saw the football team dropped 49-20 at Mount Carmel. The hosts dominated in all aspects during the first half to take a commanding 49-0 lead to the half. Playing reserves from the beginning of the second half, they were unable to score again as CM was able to make a few nice plays to put up 20 second half points.

Two big plays in the half were made by sophomore Gavin Heverly who scored a TD on a nice fourth-down end run and junior Dalton McDermitt who made a nice read on a Mount Carmel pass and made an interception that resulted in a nice return. It’s plays such as those that the Wildcats badly need to build from.

Perhaps they can give them a bit of confidence heading into the final two games of the 2024 campaign. While the competition will remain very strong, gaining a bit of momentum heading into the off-season will be very critical to the future of the Wildcat program.

Volleyball continued to dominate its PHAC competition as they rolled over Danville on Tuesday, 3-0. On Saturday, they headed to Martz Hall in Pottsville to compete in a tournament that saw them compete against four teams: Pottsville, Lake Lehman, Brandywine Heights and Marian Catholic.

Playing two sets against each of the four teams, the Wildcats went 7-1 to reach the championship bracket. In the semifinals, they were defeated by West Branch. Coach Chipp McCann was complimentary of his players effort and performance throughout the day.

For the tennis team, it was their final week of competition. Last Monday, they were in Altoona participating in the District 6 team championship. Unfortunately, they were dominated by State College in a 5-0 defeat. Their final competition was a senior night match-up with league foe Shikellamy. It proved to be a good sendoff for the Wildcat seniors as they celebrated with a 5-0 victory.

Boys Soccer went 1-1 on the week to keep their record at .500 for the season. On Monday, they hosted rival Jersey Shore in a senior night contest in which six seniors were recognized. As has been so common for the Wildcats of late, the game went to overtime before the home team picked up a huge 3-2 win.

Goals in the win came from Dylan Bechdel, Lincoln Breon and Griffan Confer. On Wednesday, coach Billy Hook’s team hit the road to take on another very solid PHAC team in Midd-West. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, the game resulted in a loss, 4-1, to drop their overall season record to 7-7-3. The lone goal in that contest came off the foot of junior Cole Cooper, his eighth of the season.

The Wildcats have just one game remaining, a matchup with district foe Altoona who defeated the Wildcats early in the season. Coach Hook understands the importance of the match-up for his squad.

“Getting a win Wednesday would be a huge boost. They are a very good team, have a great record this year, and already beat us our first time meeting this season,” Hook said. “Bouncing back against them and finishing with a winning record at this point in the season would certainly get our confidence up and roll into playoffs.”

Girls soccer also had a 1-1 week. Tuesday, they hosted league foe Shamokin in a senior night contest recognizing their lone two seniors, Jazzy Anderson and Archie Walker. The result of the contest was a good one as the Lady Wildcats came away with a hard fought 2-1 win. Anderson scored both CM goals to cement the victory. On Thursday, the girls were on the road to take on a solid Selinsgrove squad and fell by an 8-0 score.

The boys and girls cross country teams continued to match each other in wins and losses as they have done throughout much of the season. On Tuesday at Williamsport against multiple teams, the boys went 3-1 on the day as they fell to Williamsport but picked up victories over Selinsgrove, Shikellamy and Jersey Shore.

The top two runners for CM were the same as throughout most races this season, Damien Winner and Sam Wible. Also running strong races for the Wildcats were Riley Gonzalez, Xian Deems and Shane Walker. For the girls, it was also a 3-1 day as their wins and loss were to the same schools as they boys. Top finishers for the Wildcats were Grace Keohane, Gabbriella Hosley and Aubrey Eiler. Calienna Cardianl and Emma Wolfe also ran strong races.

Saturday was the PHAC Invitational at Shikellamy and again both teams had identical 5th place finishes. For the boys in a race featuring 95 total runners, Damien Winner and Sam Wible won medals as they finished in 10th and 17th places respectively. In the 98 runner girls race, it was Grace Keohane coming away with a medal as she finished in 10th place overall. Both teams will now prep for the District 6 championship on Oct. 26.

Cat Scratchings

As the regular season draws to a close, some of the teams look toward post-season matchups. For others it is a pivot toward winter sports.

Registration for winter sports will begin this week on the district website. Those looking to participate in a winter sport must now keep their eyes and ears open for registration information. The same holds true for youth sports as there are many opportunities out there for area youth this winter as well.

Team of the Week

OK, it was a little tough to decide this week as none of the teams had one of those weeks that just wows you. So, I used a bit of different criteria this week and select the boys soccer team.

Why? They won their rivalry game. That’s always tough but they did rise to the challenge in their OT win over Jersey Shore.

Athlete of the Week

Jazzy Anderson, girls soccer

While offense has been hard to come by for the Wildcat soccer team, where there is smoke there is usually fire on the foot of the senior as she is the team leader in goals scored for her team and she scored CM’s two goals in their 2-1 senior night win.

Honorable mention: Damien Winner continues to impress with his solid finishes for the boys’ cross country team.

WEEK AHEAD

Girls’ soccer wraps up their season with two games as they take on Bloomsburg and Athens. The boys have a big game with Altoona. The volleyball team hosts Tyrone to wrap up the regular season on Wednesday. Finally, Troy comes to Malinak Stadium on Friday night for some gridiron action under the lights.

Get out there and enjoy the few remaining outdoor contests of 2024.