Work on special teams keys No. 3 Central Valley’s quarterfinal victory over Highlands

By: Michael Love
Friday, November 7, 2025 | 10:46 PM

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Previous Next

Highlands and Central Valley were separated by just four points in the early stages of the third quarter of their WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinal Friday at Central Valley’s Sarge Albert Stadium.

That is when things changed.

Spurred on by a couple of key special teams plays, the No. 3 Warriors ran off 17 points in a span of 3 minutes, 17 seconds to extend their lead and secure a 34-10 victory over the No. 6 Golden Rams.

“Credit to Highlands. They came here and played hard,” Central Valley coach Mark Lyons said.

“We kind of scuffled a little bit at times. I thought we shot ourselves in the foot a little bit early in the first half. We got into halftime, and there wasn’t a lot said. The guys understood what they needed to do. There wasn’t any fiery speech. We just needed to be who we are.”

Central Valley returned to the field after a first-round bye. The Warriors, who improved to 7-4 overall, will take on Imani Christian next week in the semifinals at a site and time to be determined.

“They handled (the bye week) well,” Lyons said. “We welcomed the rest. We played a tough schedule. It was a grind for us. We got healthy and got our legs back. There might have been some timing things early on, but that’s part of it.

“I am just proud of the way our guys respond each game. We’re back in the semifinals. That is where we always want to be. We’ll come in (Saturday) and get a lift in and get some rehab and go from there.”

Highlands capped its season at 8-4. The Golden Rams, who had their six-game win streak snapped with Friday’s loss, fell in the quarterfinals for the second year in a row.

“I just told the guys how proud I was of them,” said Highlands coach Matt Bonislawski of his postgame talk with his players.

“Especially the seniors with how much they gave this program over the years. They improved our program from where we were last year. Each year, it keeps going up. The bar keeps getting raised higher and higher. With positive attitudes and teamwork, we did a lot of good things this year.”

Leading 14-10, Central Valley took the second-half kickoff and drove down for a 32-yard field goal from junior Dominic Pratt with 8:30 left on the third-quarter clock.

Highlands then went three and out and set up to punt. Warriors’ sophomore Garrett Warsing broke in and blocked Jackson Babinsack’s kick. He scooped it up and raced 28 yards for the touchdown.

Central Valley wasn’t done as it recovered the kickoff near the Highlands sideline and set up with the ball at the Golden Rams 19. Warriors’ freshman Ethan Bosco finished off the short drive with a run in from 6 yards.

In no time, a four-point lead swelled to a 31-10 advantage.

“We always work on our special teams,” Lyons said. “We thought we could get one. I thought Garrett did a great job with the block and recovering it. And then (Pratt) placed one where we thought we could get it, and (senior) Brady (Noel) got it on the sideline before it went out. Those flipped the field and flipped the momentum.”

Pratt capped the scoring with a 42-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.

Bonislawski said that those critical special teams plays and the points produced off of them were tough for his team to overcome.

“Once we got behind, it kind of took us out of our game offensively,” Bonislawski said. “But I give our kids credit. They battle all the way through to the end.”

Central Valley’s powerful run game collected 271 yards on 49 attempts. Senior Ethan Shearer led the way with 22 carries for 137 yards. His 10-yard TD with 1:14 left in the first quarter capped a 10-play, 69-yard drive to give the Warriors a 7-0 lead.

Sophomore Ethan Ondrusek ripped off a 45-yard TD in the second quarter and finished with 84 yards on 11 carries.

“We knew they were big and strong,” Bonislawski said. “We were outsized, and we tried to do different things on the line of scrimmage and pressure with linebackers. They are just a physical football team. We tried to hold the ball and keep it away from them. We did that pretty well in the first half.”

Sophomore Tevin Owen-Cratsenberg led Highlands with 93 yards on 23 carries. Running several times out of the wildcat in the first half, he scored the Golden Rams’ only touchdown with a 2-yard plunge at the 9:31 mark of the second quarter.

Babinsack then added points for Highlands with a 21-yard field goal with just 9 seconds left until halftime. The Golden Rams drove from their 28 to the Central Valley 5 before an incompletion on third down brought out Babinsack for the kick.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Central Valley, Highlands