Sep 28, 2019 3 min read

WAYNESBURG – For Waynesburg Central football, Friday night started with a celebration. Waynesburg commemorated the 20-year anniversary of the 1999 Raiders squad that was the last Greene County team to win a WPIAL football championship.

The head coach of that team, Russ Moore, was on hand, along with several assistant coaches, players and cheerleaders from the championship season.

Unfortunately for Waynesburg, the current Raiders squad (0-4, 2-4) didn’t quite play like it was 1999. Central Valley (4-0, 6-0) dominated from the start, taking a 42-0 lead into halftime and coasting to a 42-6 win in a Tri-County West Conference game.

Within the first six minutes of the game, the Warriors jumped out to a 21-0 lead. Even more impressive was the fact that the defense, offense and special teams were each responsible for a score.

“We work hard at all three,” head coach Mark Lyons said. “They’re important. They’re going to come into play at some point the rest of the year, so we want to always talk about being able to score at every part of the field and any facet of the game.”

After forcing Waynesburg to go three-and-out on the game’s first possession, Myles Walker ran a blocked punt in from 55 yards for a score. Ethan Ott’s extra point was good, and the Warriors had a 7-0 lead. Ott would go 6-for-6 on extra points.

Central Valley’s first possession only lasted two plays, ending on a 47-yard jaunt by running back Jaylen Guy.

Less than a minute later, the defense got in on the parade when Reed Fitzsimmons recovered a fumble and ran into the end zone. The Warriors had 21 points, and they’d add 21 more to put the game to bed before the bands performed at halftime.

Waynesburg head coach Chad Coss said Central Valley excels at “everything.”

“They’re fast, they’re big, the come off the ball hard,” Coss said. They’re nothing fancy. What they do, they do well.”

Waynesburg broke the shutout in the third quarter on a two-yard QB keeper by Darnell Johnson, but it was far past too little too late. The Raiders’ only bright spot was running back Trevor Stephenson, who ran for 112 yards on 21 carries. Landon Alexander led the way on the ground for Central Valley, picking up 87 yards on seven carries, highlighted by a 59-yard run in the second quarter.

Waynesburg’s schedule only gets easier from here. All four of its remaining opponents have at least two losses. The Raiders’ next game is against winless Quaker Valley, who they’ll take on in Sewickley at 7 p.m. next Friday.

“There’s no reason why we can’t win all four,” Coss said. “I just told them that out there. We just have to come back and execute better, hold on to the football, and we’ll be fine these next four games.”

Central Valley has yet to be tested. It’s six wins have come by an average of more than 32 points. The days of waiting to be pushed to the limit might be dwindling, however. The Warriors’ next opponent is a non-conference clash with undefeated Thomas Jefferson, who handled Connellsville 61-7 Friday.

“There’s no more impatience, because we have the number one team in the state in quad A coming into our place next week,” Lyons said. “We just talked about respecting the game, respecting the process of getting better every week. Don’t take these weeks for granted. You know, it’s your high school career. Enjoy them.”