MANDATA - Kyle Troutman got the school single-season rushing record.
Marty Beninsky was spot on with his passing.
The defense was outstanding.
Put them all together and they add up to Line Mountain's 38-0 District 4 Class A semifinal victory over Canton (7-4) Friday night at Eagle Stadium.
Up next, a much-anticipated rematch with Southern Columbia for the district title and a berth in the PIAA state playoffs.
Troutman, averaging more than 10 yards per carry on the season, rushed 13 times for 109 yards, scored a touchdown on a 5-yard run and now unofficially has 1,724 yards on the season, eclipsing the previous mark of 1,701 set by Dave Zerbe in the mid-1980s.
Beninsky, who has passed for more than 1,000 yards on the season and rushed for nearly 900, con-
nected on his first 11 passes and finished up with 13 completions in 16 attempts, including touchdowns of six yards to Tyler Bonawitz and 14 to Dillan Michael.
But it was the defense, a unit that put up a goose egg on the scoreboard and got solid play from a large group of reserves in the second half, that impressed head coach Mike Carson the most.
"The defense, that's the group that I'm most proud of," Carson said. "I expect what we got from our offense. We've been able to put points up all year.
"The defense gave a great effort."
The defensive unit not only kept the Warriors out of the end zone all night, but forced three turnovers - Kenny Rothermel's second-quarter interception of a Ben Pepper pass, and fumble recoveries by Michael and Austin Snyder.
Rothermel's pick led directly to Beninsky's second touchdown pass, the 14-yarder to Michael. Michael also returned the second-half touchdown 88 yards for a score that put the game into the mercy rule situation, ensuring a running clock throughout the final two quarters.
Carson said Beninsky's passing success was something the coaching staff anticipated being necessary with Canton's style of defense. He also felt it was good for the Eagles with the Tigers on the bill next week.
"Canton was pretty aggressive and I expected that," Carson said. "They were in man coverage with no free safety and they forced us to throw.
"Obviously, we'll need to be able to throw the ball next week because there's no way you can play a Southern Columbia team just as a running offense."