He entered Friday night's game with longtime rival Manheim Central as the L-L's leading rusher.

So you think Conestoga Valley senior Kevin Kelley was on the Barons' mind this week?

"His picture," Central coach Mike Williams said with a grin, "was on our locker room wall."

Safe to say that Joe Gruber, the Barons' inside hammer on both sides of the ball, gave said photo more than a passing glance this past week.

"He's a phenomenal player and he runs hard," said Gruber. "But we went in believing we could shut him down, and we shut him down."

Fronted by Gruber, who rushed for a team-best 138 yards and a touchdown, and quarterback Justin Gorman, who ran for 133 yards and a TD, Central stormed past CV, 36-0, in an L-L Section Two battle for first place on a cold, rain-slick Homecoming in Witmer.

"We're a long way from where they're at," said Buckskins' coach Tom Nichols. "But we're 5-2 and we've got three games left, so we're still alive (for the district playoffs)."

Such was the silver lining for CV on a night when the Barons (4-0 L-L, 7-0 overall) held the Bucks (3-1, 5-2) to two first downs and 60 yards of offense through the first three quarters.

"They tried running the ball inside," Williams said, "but we had a lot of folks inside."

Folks named John Fair, Eric Drake and Dan Hanselman; Lowen Johnson, Dakota Royer, Brett Barber and Gruber.

Kelley, a thousand-yard rusher this season who entered the game averaging 200 yards per game and 6.4 per carry, was held to five yards on his first seven carries by the L-L's top-ranked defense.

"We knew if we shut him down, we shut their whole team down," Gruber said.

A point well taken. Kelley got untracked in the fourth quarter and ripped off a 65-yard run to push his totals to 142 yards on 25 carries. By game's end, he had accounted for all but 18 yards of CV's offense.

Central's spread offense, meanwhile, spread the wealth.

Gruber ground out chunks of terra firma on bruising runs between the tackles, and Gorman sprinted outside on a series of keepers and options.

Gorman (7-of-15 for 88 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) completed passes to six different receivers, including TDs of 23 yards to Dan Trafford and 15 yards to Royer.

"He's an excellent quarterback, an excellent athlete," Nichols said of Gorman, who accounted for 221 yards and three scores.

And Gruber?

"A freakin' stud," Nichols said.

Central dominated statistically, totaling 17 first downs to CV's 4 and 392 yards to 160.

A big reason was the Barons' offensive line. Center Blake Kreider, guards Joe Weaver and Rob La Porte and tackles Peter Ireland and Shaun Buller provided the push up front.

"They did an outstanding job," Gruber said. "They do an outstanding job every week."

Central scored on its first series. Gorman, under pressure from the Bucks defense on fourth-and-7 at the CV 23, rolled right and found Trafford in the back of the end zone.

Taylor Groff capped Central's first series of the second quarter with a 22-yard field goal. The Barons upped their advantage to 16-0 when Gruber scored from the 5, then made it 23-0 when Gorman threaded a pass to Royer in the end zone from 15 yards out with 45 seconds left in the half.

Gruber's 66-yard jaunt early in the third set up Royer's nine-yard scoring run.

CV countered late, Kelley gaining 83 yards on their final drive. But on the game's final play, Trafford blocked Robbie Cardina's field goal attempt and Royer covered the loose ball and sprinted 80 yards to the end zone.

"I was a little surprised," Gruber said of the shutout, Central's third this season.

"It's CV, the rivalry, a big game."

He paused, then smiled.

"Love it," he said.