SUNBURY – Over the offseason, Mount Carmel installed a new offense. Although it still features plenty of the traditional ground game that the Red Tornado program has been known for over the years and it came following a very successful stretch over the last handful of years, there has no doubt been a learning curve.
But that new offense appears to be hitting its stride just in time for the biggest games of the season.
A week after stunning previously unbeaten Southern Columbia 42-30, in which they scored 28 first-quarter points, the Red Tornados followed that up with another 28 points in the first quarter on Friday, as Mount Carmel scored on all seven of its first-half possessions and took care of business in the classic “trap” game in between Southern and the Coal Bucket game next week against rival Shamokin with a dominating 69-13 win over Shikellamy.
“We took care of business. I was happy we didn’t have too many penalties, we didn’t have a turnover until the second half, so we were looking to play clean, I thought our defense tackled well and it was a good team win,” said Mount Carmel coach John Darrah.
The Red Tornados scored eight touchdowns total in the first half to take a 56-0 halftime lead. The non-offensive touchdown that opened the scoring came on a blocked punt. After the Braves went three-and-out on their first possession, Jon Morgante took the ball directly off punter Asher Moyer’s foot and then recovered the ball himself in the end zone for the score to give Mount Carmel an early 7-0 lead before the Red Tornados even had the ball.
Xaviar Diaz then scored the first of his three touchdowns on the night on Mount Carmel’s first offensive drive, when he took a short slip screen from Cole Spears and turned it into an 11-yard scoring reception at the 6:24 mark of the first quarter, and that was just the first of a steady stream of Red Tornados finding the end zone.
Mount Carmel finished with 532 yards of offense, including 402 in the first half. The Red Tornados had 375 on the ground for the game, including 271 in the opening half.
Friday marked the second time in the last five games that the Red Tornados have scored more than 60 points, the fourth time in the last five contests they have scored over 50, and the fifth consecutive game with at least 40 points. This five-game string followed a 12-7 loss to Milton back in Week 4, but the Red Tornados appear to have turned the corner offensively since then.
“We’re trying to improve our tempo each week. We do have the ability to score fast, so it’s nice when you get up early and can just play a little more relaxed and continue playing,” said Darrah. “We’re at the point now where we feel comfortable. It’s a big decision when you revamp our offense, especially having had success in the old base offense. We knew there was going to be a learning curve and some hiccups, but I feel we’re now at the point where both the coaches and players are more comfortable, we’re good with the lingo and they’re not thinking as much, so we’re starting to get rolling.”
Leading the way was Luke Blessing, who had 164 rushing yards on just nine carries, all in the first half, along with a touchdown that capped his evening to put Mount Carmel up 34-0 with 9:06 left in the first half. Blessing picked up 67 of Mount Carmel’s 72 yards on that three-play drive that took just :49, with a five-yard penalty accounting for the other yardage.
Diaz turned in another all-around performance as he had 127 all-purpose yards to go with his three scores. He capped a nine-play, 79-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown run to put Mount Carmel up 28-0 late in the first quarter. He later finished his night with a 23-yard touchdown run at the 6:36 mark of the second quarter to put the Red Tornados up 41-0.
The second team was largely in before halftime for the Red Tornados, and that unit also produced a touchdown as Jaylen Delaney caught a 39-yard touchdown pass from Gavin Marshalek just before halftime to put Mount Carmel up 55-0 at the break.
Meanwhile, despite running one more offensive play in the first half than Mount Carmel, Shikellamy was limited to just 37 yards of offense in the first half and just two first downs primarily against Mount Carmel’s first-team defense. While it’s generally difficult going up against Mount Carmel even with a team at full strength, Shikellamy was playing without its top two offensive playmakers in running back Luke Snyder, who is out for the season, and freshman speedster Thomas Pollock. The Braves’ offensive line, which was also missing a starter, had trouble protecting quarterback Brody Rebuck, who was scrambling out of the pocket all night and had several throws rushed.
“Even against Selinsgrove and Jersey Shore, our offensive line didn’t do bad, but tonight, for some reason, we just didn’t want to move our feet and they beat us to the ball,” said Shikellamy coach Jim Keiser. “We lost three more guys tonight to injuries, so it’s going to be difficult, but the kids we have are going to get reps and hopefully get better and we can get this turned around. We’re young, they’re giving us all they’ve got, but injuries are killing us.”
The Red Tornados opened up a 62-0 lead when Cooper Karycki returned the second-half kickoff 81 yards for a touchdown before Shikellamy was finally able to get on the scoreboard against Mount Carmel’s second-team defense.
A Marshalek pass that went off the hands of the intended receiver was picked off by Chris Winston and returned 21 yards for a touchdown with 4:30 remaining in the third quarter to spoil the shutout.
Shikellamy would later hit on a 68-yard pass from Rebuck to Moyer, but that was answered near the end of the game with a 20-yard touchdown run by Karycki, who finished with 120 rushing yards on the night, mostly in the second half.
Mount Carmel 69, Shikellamy 13
Mount Carmel (7-2) 28 27 7 7 – 69
Shikellamy (2-7) 0 0 7 6 – 13
First quarter
9:26 – (MC) Jon Morgante blocked punt recovery in the end zone (Schoppy kick)
6:24 – (MC) Xaviar Diaz 11-yard pass from Cole Spears (Schoppy kick), 7-75, 1:49
4:23 – (MC) Jacob Schultz 14-yard pass from Cole Spears (Schoppy kick), 4-62, 1:16
:19 – (MC) Xaviar Diaz 3-yard run (Schoppy kick), 9-79, 2:22
Second quarter
9:06 – (MC) Luke Blessing 2-yard run (kick blocked), 3-72, :49
6:36 – (MC) Xaviar Diaz 23-yard run (Schoppy kick), 3-46, :38
5:37 – (MC) Al Bailey 2-yard run (Schoppy kick), 1-2, :04
2:38 – (MC) Jaylen Delaney 39-yard pass from Gavin Marshalek (Schoppy kick), 4-87, 1:24
Third quarter
11:49 – (MC) Cooper Karycki 81-yard kickoff return (Schoppy kick)
4:30 – (S) Chris Winston 21-yard interception return (Steese kick)
Fourth quarter
5:46 – (S) Asher Moyer 68-yard pass from Brody Rebuck (run failed), 8-94, 5:25
:43 – (MC) Cooper Karycki 20-yard run (Schoppy kick), 9-74, 5:03
Statistics
MC S
First downs 27 8
Rushes-net yards 35-375 23-64
Passing yardage 157 116
Passing 10-17-3-1 12-29-1-1
Fumbles-lost 2-0 3-0
Penalties-yards 1-15 5-32
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Mount Carmel: Luke Blessing (9-164-1), Cooper Karycki (9-120-1), Aiden Deitz (5-15), Xaviar Diaz (4-38-2), Al Bailey (3-4-1), Cole Spears (2-18), Gavin Marshalek (2-14), Keegan Brown (1-2); Shikellamy: Brody Rebuck (8-39), Asher Moyer (6-15), Luke Keally (5-16), Bysaire Baez (3-7), TEAM (1-(-13))
PASSING: Mount Carmel: Cole Spears (6-9-92-2-0), Gavin Marshalek (4-8-66-1-1); Shikellamy: Brody Rebuck (12-29-116-1-1)
RECEIVING: Mount Carmel: Jaylen Delaney (3-59-1), Xaviar Diaz (3-43-1), Tait Adams (2-26), Jacob Schultz (1-14-1), Chase Balichik (1-16); Shikellamy: Asher Moyer (5-67-1), Charlie Walter (3-26), Bysaire Baez (2-8), AJ Benedict (1-10), Connor Fishbinder (1-5)
