SCHUYLKILL HAVEN – Zach Barket of Schuylkill Haven had one more encore in front of the home crowd Saturday night at Rotary Field and boy did he put on a show last night. He rushed 17 times for 207 yards and one touchdown leading the South to a 21-13 victory over the North in the Schuylkill County Football All-Star Game.
Barket talked about playing with his teammates, “It was like every other game. I had Swoyer, Murphy and Devlin in front of me. So things weren’t too different, it was like a comfort level that I had.”
After a scoreless first quarter, the South got the first score of the game when Chuck Rodichock of Williams Valley darted down the sidelines for a 40-yard touchdown run giving the South a 7-0 lead.
The North was trying to answer the South scoring drive, driving to the South one-yard line on first and goal. The North fumbled the ball however, which was recovered by South’s Ryan Morgan of Pine Grove. This ended the North’s threat deep in South territory.
The North would get on the board on the next drive when Will Eckhart of Marian Catholic hit Caleb Shilko of Tamaqua for an 8-yard slant pass for the touchdown. Nathan Schmidt of Jim Thorpe added the extra point to tie the game up at 7.
Kysheem Lynch of Jim Thorpe and Shilko were both big targets for Eckhart last night. Lynch had five catches for 112 yards. Shilko had 11 catches for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Shilko was named North MVP (Terry Case Award).
Eckart talked about his receivers, “They make it a lot easier to play quarterback, they run great routes and all I had to do is throw it up to them.”
On the final play right before half Barket took the handoff, weaved through the field and went 56-yards for the score. The South went into halftime with a 14-7 lead.
After a scoreless third quarter the South increased their lead when Corey Seasock of Blue Mountain took the ball and went 20-yards for the touchdown run. The South led 21-7 with 8:28 to go in the game.
The North cut into the South lead with 5:51 to go in the game, the combo of Eckhart and Shilko would strike again, Eckhart hit Shilko for a six-yard touchdown pass. After a missed extra point the North squad trailed 21-13.
The North drove down one more time late in the game but the drive would end at mid-field. The South ran down the clock and preserved the 21-13 win over the North
Barket was named South MVP (Terry Case Award). Barket said, “It was really fun! Being able to do it one more time is special here.”
