COAL TOWNSHIP -- Jim Roth stood near midfield and wondered out loud how exciting his Southern Columbia football team could be this season, while underneath the far goalpost Shamokin mentor Dan Foor was undecided if his glass was half full or half empty as fans emptied out of Kemp Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
Either way, both coaches have reason to feel good about their squads following a typically hard-fought Coal Region opener.
Unfortunately, feeling good and coming off the field do not equate into the same feeling, and it was the Tigers who scored early and then rode the performance of their youthful defense to beat the Indians, 21-7.
"I haven't felt like this about an opener in quite some time," Roth said. "There are a lot of big unknowns for our team, especially on defense, but our young group really came through against a very good Shamokin team that is not going to be a pushover."
The Tigers stunned the Indians on the game's initial possession when Jake Morton, who led all rushers with 140 yards, broke over the right side of the line and outraced the Shamokin secondary en route to a 75-yard touchdown jaunt just 1:13 into the matchup.
Two possessions later, following a Tim Benner punt return to the Tigers' 46, Jake Townsend found Jared Hallick on a fade good for 25 yards down to the 35. Two plays later Morton broke over the left side again and slipped a few arm tackles to score from 25 yards out for a 14-0 advantage.
"On both of their scoring plays we had people in position to make the play, but Southern just out-executed us," Foor said.
Shamokin finally got on the scoreboard with a 16-play, 90-yard drive, culminating with Jared Haddock circling right end for a five-yard touchdown. Brent Forbes added the PAT to cut the deficit to 14-7 by the half.
Senior Tyler DiRienzo played a huge role in the scoring drive with 66 yards on three carries, including a 62-yard scamper.Both teams appeared listless in the second half and were guilty of first-game mistakes. However, the miscues hurt the Indians most and at least twice took away outstanding field position.
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High school football: Southern Columbia earns tough win over Shamokin in opener
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