MOUNT CARMEL —
Shamokin decided to try some trickery on third-and-10 from its own 32. Tucker Yost snapped the ball and handed it off to Preston Burns who started to run before stopping and looking back at Yost to try and throw it back to him.
Burns let the pass go but could only cringe as Mount Carmel’s Mike Gilger read the play perfectly and made an interception he returned 36 yards down the far sideline for a Red Tornado touchdown.
The interception return was the key turning point in the game and led Mount Carmel to a 21-7 victory at the Silver Bowl on Friday over its rival to keep the Coal Bucket Trophy for the 17th straight year.
“That was huge. That was the game,” Mount Carmel coach Carmen DeFrancesco said. “The air was out of their balloon after that.”
The Red Tornadoes (6-4) offense struggled throughout much of the game against Shamokin (2-8). Mount Carmel’s first five possessions all ended with the Red Tornadoes punting the ball away, and their final drive of the half resulted in a turnover on downs.
Mount Carmel had just 44 yards of total offense at the half and had no success running it, rushing the ball 16 times for negative yardage.
“I thought second half our lines started to take over both defensively and offensively,” DeFrancesco said. “We started to move the ball on the ground and it was just a good performance. Our line played a lot better in the second half.”
That line opened up holes for Lucas Klingerman, who led the Red Tornadoes offense with 95 rushing yards. But while the Mount Carmel offense started clicking in the second half, it was the Red Tornadoes defense the led the way.
Late in the first quarter, Mount Carmel’s Elijah Duran recovered a fumble on the Shamokin 3 and dove for the goal line to put the Red Tornadoes ahead 6-0. It was then Gilger’s interception return that made it a 13-0 game before Mount Carmel quarterback Dominic Farronato (4 for 12, 47 yards) kept the ball and ran a keeper up the gut to make it 21-0.
“Our kids came to play tonight,” DeFrancesco said. “Our defense was just overwhelming, it was a great defensive effort tonight.”
The Red Tornadoes defense forced two fumbles, two interceptions, had two defensive touchdowns and even blocked a Shamokin punt.
Mount Carmel didn’t allow a Shamokin first down until five minutes remained in the game and only gave up one red zone possession. The Red Tornadoes played solid on third down as well, forcing Shamokin to go 0 for 8 on conversions. The Indians only moved the ball into Mount Carmel territory twice in the game.
The win not only kept the Coal Bucket Trophy with the Red Tornadoes, but kept Shamokin winless at the Silver Bowl since 1995, a 17-year drought.
“These teams play hard. It’s like no other game. This game just brings out the best in both teams, that’s why it’s a special game,” DeFrancesco said.
“One of these years, they’re (Shamokin) going to win (here). I just hope it’s later than sooner and I’m gone,” DeFrancesco added laughing.
Game Night Online
Defense lifts Mount Carmel to Coal Bucket
- Football News Wire
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High School Football Scoreboard
PIAA Playoffs
Friday
PIAA Class AAA Quarterfinal
at Bethlehem
Allentown Central Catholic 41, Selinsgrove 13 FINALSaturday
Continued ...
PIAA Class AA Quarterfinal
at HersheyPark Stadium
Wyomissing 52, Danville 0, FINAL
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Lewisburg's Brandon Smith will walk on at Penn State as a linebacker
LEWISBURG - Some may question Lewisburg Brandon Smith's decision to walk on at Penn State despite getting two offers from Ivy League schools at both Penn and Princeton. For the Lewisburg senior though, it all came down to his faith and believing in it.
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Brandon Smith sweeps 2012 high school football honors
LEWISBURG - When he was playing football at Lewisburg High, Nathaniel Brown once joked in a film session after watching himself throw a block that if he could block for himself, he would have a lot more yards.
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Daily Item names 2012 high school football all-stars
SELINSGROVE - If the 2012 edition of The Daily Item All-Stars were not a fictional team, the quarterback would find a familiar downfield target. But Bloomsburg quarterback Ricky Klingerman, while knowing he could make big plays with teammate and cousin wide receiver John Klingerman, the Panthers’ junior first-year starter might be just as content to hand the ball off to one of his elite running backs.
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Jim Keiser and Dave Hess are 2012 Coaches of the Year
Two of the pleasant surprises among Valley football teams this season were the turnaround by Selinsgrove and the solid season by a young Danville team.
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Nine local football stars earn all-state nods
LEWISBURG - For the third consecutive season Lewisburg linebacker Brandon Smith headlines the Valley’s contingent on the Pennsylvania Sports Writers All-State Football team.
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High school football: Eagles place five on All-Star team
Following a hotly-contested 2012 season, Line Mountain placed a combined five players on the 2012 Tri-Valley League All-Star Team, as selected by the league's head coaches.
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HAC champions dominate all-star teams
In addition to claiming its first District 4 Class AA title since 1999, Danville also put the most players onto the 2012 Heartland Athletic Conference All-Star team, as selected recently by the league’s head coaches.
Continued ...
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High School Football Scoreboard
- Box Scores
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- Wyomissing 52, Danville 0
- Allentown Central Catholic 41, Selinsgrove 13
- Danville 28, Mount Carmel 21
- Dunmore 35, Southern Columbia 29
- Southern Columbia 47, South Williamsport 12
- Mount Carmel 48, Montoursville 20
- Danville 14, Athens 13
- Selinsgrove 31, Milton 0
- Montoursville 37, Lewisburg 33
- Southern Columbia 28, Line Mountain 21
