Big Red Bags the Blue Jays 60-30.
If Kyle Karycki decides to go trick-or-treating this Halloween he is going to be hard pressed to have a better night than the one he gave us at the Silver Bowl on Friday. In the 123 year history of the Mount Carmel Area football program no player has accomplished what Karyicki did against Central Columbia. In helping defeat the Blue Jays 60-30, the senior running back not only broke his own single game rushing record with 398 yards, which he set earlier this season against Danville, but also set the single game touchdown record by scoring 7 times in the game. Karyicki’s 7 touchdowns broke the old school record of 6 which had been shared by Wally Diehl (1921) and Bob Zavarick (1976). Karycki’s double record breaking performance undoubtedly belongs in the conversation as being one of the single greatest performances in the Tornadoes’ storied history.
“Whenever you break a record it feels amazing. There is so much history here at Mount Carmel with all of the great athletes that have come through here. Breaking the touchdown record is incredible, the record has been there for over 90 years,” said Karycki. Continuing, “But I can’t ever do something like that alone. I always have to thank the big guys in front of me. They did a great job tonight. I thought they did an awesome job last week (against Warrior Run) and this week they somehow did even better. If it wasn’t for my line and all of my teammates working together none of this would be possible.”
The Tornadoes (5-4) would also go into the record books as a team as the Big Red would accumulate 592 team rushing yards, which according to longtime MCA statistician Jose Gonzalo, bests the old mark of 495 set in 1969 against North Schuylkill. The Tornadoes would also set a mark for total team offense with 665 combined yards rushing and passing, breaking the old mark of 537 set against Selinsgrove in 1998.
For how amazing the night was statistically, the Red Tornadoes would need each and every one of those yards to defeat the Blue Jays, who even though at one point trailed 26-0, would not go away quietly. This was mainly due to the gritty play of Central quarterback Aaron Farver who amassed 342 yards through the air and would throw for 3 touchdowns and that total would have been higher if several passes were not dropped by Blue Jay receivers. Farver had two long scoring strikes in the second quarter, a 70 yarder to junior Jensen Thivierge and a 91 yarder to senior Eli Petersheim, which cut the lead to 26-15 in the second quarter.
The Red Tornadoes would respond and freshman quarterback John Ayres would connect with junior tight end Wes Shurock on a 10 yard touchdown pass as time expired in the first half. Sophomore Rosolino Mangiapane would add his third PAT of the half and Mount Carmel Area went into the break leading 33-15. After halftime, Central Columbia would cut the deficit to 10 points as Farver connected with Petersheim again from 5 yards out. Farver and Petersheim would also connect on the 2 point conversion to make it 33-23. On the Tornadoes next drive Karycki would respond with his first of three second half touchdowns, with Mangiapane adding the PAT, to make it 40-23. The Blue Jays would come back and get their final score of the night in the 3rd quarter on 1 yard run by Farver. Junior kicker Garrett Barillar would add the PAT to make it 40-30 and that is how the score would look at the end of three quarters.
Mount Carmel Area, still fighting for their playoff lives, would not be denied this game and put together three scoring drives in the 4th stanza. The first of which was a 2 yard run by John Ayres who quietly had 115 yards of his own on the ground and continues to look more comfortable and confident from his quarterback spot. Ayres’ plunge would be followed up by two Karycki runs of 42 yards (the record tying score) and 20 yards (the record breker) to make the final score Mount Carmel Area 60, Central Columbia 30. Depending on results from this weekend and games in week 10 will determine if the Tornadoes qualify for either the District IV “AA” field or Eastern Conference playoffs.
Before the post-season is upon us, MCA has a huge backyard game as they will host arch-rival Shamokin next Friday at the Silver Bowl in a battle for the Coal Bucket. “It’s our biggest game of the year,” said Red Tornado head coach John Darrah. “Our kids played well tonight against Central but we have got to eliminate mistakes moving forward.” With the man of the night, Karycki, adding, “Next week is our biggest game. We plan on having a solid week of practice and go out and play Mount Carmel football and keep our momentum rolling.”
Central Columbia (1-8) will close out their season next Friday when they will also host their arch-rival Bloomsburg.
Fans of both Mount Carmel and Shamokin Area attending next week’s Coal Bucket matchup are reminded that the Anthracite Young Professionals will be holding a canned food drive at the main entrance gate starting at 6PM and lasting until halftime.
GAME STATS
MOUNT CARMEL: 19- 14 -7 -20 = 60
CENTRAL COLUMBIA: 0- 15- 15- 0 = 30
MOUNT CARMEL (5-4)
RUSHING:
Kyle Karycki 25-398 7 TD*; Lane Tanney 9-76; Allen Yankoskie 1-3; John Ayres 23-115 TD
*Karycki’s single game yardage total and touchdowns are both MCA school records
PASSING:
John Ayres 7-11-1, 73 yards TD
RECEIVING:
Lane Tanney 1-20; Wes Shurock 5-46 TD; Mason Duran 1-7
Mount Carmel Area Stats provided by Jose Gonzalo
CENTRAL COLUMBIA (1-8)
RUSHING: Brittain Cooke 7-17; Evan Campbell 4-11; Aaron Farver 6-(-24)
PASSING: Aaron Farver 15-28-0, 342 yards 3 TDs.
RECEIVING: Eli Petersheim 6-141, 2 TDs; Jensen Thivierge 3-126, 1 TD; Peter D’Ambrosio 3-52; Evan Campbell 1-12; Owen Gensemer 1-6; Luke Hook 1-3.
