MOUNT CARMEL-Even after the lights on the visiting side of the field and scoreboard were hastily turned off at what was a packed Silver Bowl, there was still plenty of celebrating going on. Fans, students, players, and coaches from Shamokin remained on the field for a long time after the game to relish in the moment. In a scene that was 29 years in the making, Shamokin finally broke the streak. For the first time since 1995, the Coal Bucket will be adorned in purple, as a dominant defensive performance propelled Shamokin to a 21-0 victory over archrival Mount Carmel.
“I think our defense played great,” Shamokin quarterback Logan Steele said. “We have Zakem (Clinton) coming off the edge, we have great inside linebackers. Our front line is the biggest around, and then in our backfield we have Ryan Bickert at corner, he’s just locking everyone down. Chase (Pensyl) and myself coming down at safety, and I think our defense is going to be really hard to play against for the rest of the teams we have on our schedule.”
Shamokin (10-0) completed its first perfect regular season since 1991, and perfect would appropriately describe how things started for the Indians. On the third play of the game, Steele found Pensyl down the middle on a 52-yard completion that was definitely a tone-setter for the historic night. Five plays later, Clinton powered his way across the goal line from a yard out to complete an outstanding opening drive for Shamokin.
“I think it really set the tone,” Steele said of the long pass to Pensyl. “Like, Mount Carmel had to keep eyes on him, and we’re going to go deep and we’re going to impose our will on them.”
Mount Carmel (7-3) struggled to generate any kind of consistent offense throughout the night. The Red Tornadoes were held to only 54 total yards in the opening half. Pass protection was an issue, as the Indians’ defense consistently pressured Gavin Marshalek, while tallying three sacks in the second half when the Red Tornadoes were in catch-up mode. Shamokin only allowed Mount Carmel to cross midfield twice, and the Red Tornadoes never came close to reaching the red zone.
“It just wasn’t our night,” Mount Carmel coach John Darrah said. “All around, everyone, players, it just wasn’t our night. I told our guys, we’re strong enough to handle this. We’re a very resilient team. They’ve been battling all year, and we’ll weather the storm. We’re looking forward now to the playoffs.”
Late in the second quarter, Shamokin took a 14-0 lead when Clinton broke free on a 28-yard touchdown run. The sprint to paydirt capped off an 11-play, 82-yard drive with 35 seconds left before halftime. After holding Mount Carmel to a three-and-out to begin the third quarter, Steele delivered the knockout punch. The sophomore quarterback delivered a strike to Rylan Price down the left sideline that went for a 40-yard touchdown pass. Given the way Shamokin’s defense was playing, the three-score lead was more than enough cushion.
“Rylan did great on that play,” Steele said. “I saw the safety cheating over, so I knew Rylan was going to be one-on-one with the corner, and he can win that one-on-one battle every day.”
It looked like Mount Carmel finally hit the scoreboard shortly after Price’s touchdown catch, as Jaylen Delaney hauled in a 64-yard reception from Marshalek, but the play was negated due to offensive pass interference. The drive ultimately stalled when a 4th and 2 pass fell incomplete. Shamokin used its balanced running attack to successfully run clock and win the field-position battle. Jayce Ginck led all rushers with 90 yards on 19 carries, and Clinton finished with 74 yards to go with a pair of touchdowns.
“They’re big, and they have a lot of size,” Darrah said. “I thought in the first half, we had a couple opportunities to get off the field on third down, and we just couldn’t do it, so hats off to them. They’re a very good team, and like I said, our guys are strong enough. We’re resilient enough, and we’re looking forward to the district playoffs.”
The District 4 playoffs start next week, and Shamokin will be the top seed in the Class 4A field. The Indians will host Athens in one semifinal, then look forward to a potential rematch with Jersey Shore in Week 12. Mount Carmel will face Milton in a Class 3A quarterfinal that is a rematch from last Friday night. The Red Tornadoes won that game 48-28, and could have trip to Lewisburg on the horizon the following week if things go well.
“We were really confident coming into this,” Steele said. “We always knew there was a chance something bad could happen, but we gotta fight through the storms, and when something bad does happen, we’ve just got to fight through it, and that’s what we did.”
Shamokin 7 7 7 0-21
Mount Carmel 0 0 0 0-0
Individual Scoring
First Quarter
S-Zakem Clinton 1 run (Chase Pensyl kick) 7:58
Second Quarter
S-Clinton 28 run (Pensyl kick) :35
Third Quarter
S-Rylan Price 40 pass from Logan Steele (Pensyl kick) 7:21
Team Statistics
………………………….S………………..MC
1st downs…………16…………………8
rush-yds…………43-215………….25-60
comp-att-int….5-11-2…………….8-24-0
pass yds………..145…………………84
total yds…………360………………144
fumb-lost……….1-0……………….0-0
pen-yds…………..9-80…………….6-53
Individual Statistics
Rushing-Shamokin: Jayce Ginck 19-90; Zakem Clinton 11-74, 2 TDs; Logan Steele 11-51; Chase Pensyl 1-1; Team 1-(-1). Mount Carmel: Luke Blessing 15-65; Al Bailey 3-12; Cooper Karycki 2-0; Jaylen Delaney 1-0; Team 1-(-1); Gavin Marshalek 3-(-16).
Passing-Shamokin: Steele 5-11-2, 145 yds., TD. Mount Carmel: Marshalek 8-24-0, 84 yds.
Receiving-Shamokin: Pensyl 3-88; Rylan Price 1-40, TD; Ben Delbaugh 1-17. Mount Carmel: Tait Adams 1-42; Delaney 4-22; Chase Balichik 2-16; Blessing 1-4.
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