Building off of last week’s 70-28 victory at Milton, Mount Carmel Area stayed hot and fired on all cylinders in an impressive 58-20 win over Lewisburg in a PHAC Division II game at the Silver Bowl.
The Red Tornadoes wasted no time getting on the score board as senior CJ Reichard scored on the second play from scrimmage with a 70 yard touchdown run. Rosolino Mangiapane would add the PAT and the Tornadoes would lead 7-0 less than a minute into the game. Mount Carmel Area’s defense would also set the tone early forcing a three and out on Lewisburg’s first possession, which was highlighted by senior linebacker Manus McCracken’s third down sack of Lewisburg sophomore quarterback Nicholas Shedleski. McCracken, who is having an all-state caliber season, now has 81 tackles and 4.5 sacks through eight weeks.
After the change of possession, the Big Red would once again capitalize with Sophomore quarterback Tommy Reisinger finding CJ Reichard on a 28 yard scoring strike. Rosolino Mangiapane would once again add the PAT and Mount Carmel Area would lead 14-0. With their backs to the wall following the Red Tornadoes fast start, Lewisburg needed an answer on their next drive and they got it when Nicholas Shedleski would connect with junior Andrew Ramirez on a 52 yard pass down to the three yard line. Freshman running back Max Moyers followed shortly after with a 1 yard touchdown run. Senior kicker Nate Liscum would add the PAT and the score deficit would be cut in half 14-7.
Lewisburg would continue their late first quarter momentum by recovering a Mount Carmel fumble and capitalizing when Nick Shedleski would find junior wide receiver Dylan Farronato for a 33 yard touchdown pass. Nate Liscum would again add the PAT and the game was tied 14-14. Although Lewisburg had tied the game, it was at the start of the second quarter when Mount Carmel Area would begin an onslaught that would blow the game wide open. “When they tied it, we told everyone to stay calm. We have been in situations like this before and have a lot of veterans on this team and I think they did a great job keeping their composure,” said Red Tornadoes head coach John Darrah.
Following a Lewisburg punt, quarterback Tom Reisinger executed a play action pass to perfection and connected with CJ Reichard for an 86 yard touchdown pass. “It all starts up front with the line, they have been doing great all season, but these last two games were their best performances. They open up the run game for us, so then, when we keep pounding the ball, we can hit them with some pass plays,” said Reisinger.
Mangiapane would add the PAT and the Red Tornadoes would lead 21-14. Throughout the quarter, the Big Red would not relent and would score twice more before the halftime break.
Junior back Shane Weidner would notch the first of the two with a 3 yard run with 3:42 left in the second quarter . Mangiapane would again add the PAT and increase the lead to 28-14. For the second, Tom Reisinger would connect with CJ Reichard once again on a 30 yard pass with 1:26 left in the half. It would be Reichard, who has been white hot the past two weeks, set the school record for punt return yardage in a game last week against Milton, and followed that up with a 4 touchdowns against the Green Dragons. “We are going to start calling him ‘Al Bundy’,” head coach John Darrah said of Reichard’s touchdown performance, referencing the Married with Children character who boasted of scoring 4 touchdowns while playing for Polk High. “C.J. has a lot of talent. I think he was overdue and tonight he more than made up for it.” Reichard added, “This feels great…I just want to thank my offensive linemen. They did a heck of a job opening things up.”
Following Reichard’s score, Rosolino Mangiapane would add his fifth PAT of the night to increase the Red Tornado lead to 35-14, which is where the score would remain at the half. With that kick, Mangiapane would set a record for most consecutive PATs in school history, with 35. “No one told me I was going to break the record so I was just doing what I normally do,” said Mangiapane. Adding, “After they told me I broke the record, it didn’t really change anything. I know what my job is out there and I know I can do it, but there are some things that happen sometimes that aren’t directly in your control, but are still cool.” The senior kicker has now set two records in back-to-back weeks and his performance against Lewisburg followed an all-time school best 10 extra points last week at Milton.
After half, the Tornadoes stayed on the gas and would score twice in the third quarter. For the first, Reisinger joined Reichard in the “Bundy Club” and threw his fourth touchdown pass of the night, a 19-yard strike to sophomore tight end Logan Wills. “The Lewisburg game was our best offensive game yet i think,” said Reisinger. The pass game really opened up and we took advantage of it and the score proves what we can do.” Wills added, “It felt great to find the end zone, but it wouldn’t of happened without the protection from the line. Those guys played great, which opened up big holes for the backs and gave Reis time to find the open receivers.” After the score, Mangiapane would add the PAT and the Tornadoes increase their lead to 42-14. The senior kicker would also add the second score of the quarter, connecting on a 22 yard field goal, his 4th of the season, making the score 45-14.
Lewisburg could not get anything going offensively after half as the Red Tornadoes defense was stifling and aggressive. “This was a game where some former players (from junior high) and coaches (Marc Persing and Carm DeFrancesco) were coming back and we knew it was going to get physical, said sophomore defensive back Nick Troutman, who had perhaps the hardest it of the night. He added, “our defense went out hitting hard from the start and that seemed to set the tone for the rest of the game.”
Leading 45-14 as the game entered the fourth quarter, Coach John Darrah was able to rest his starters and get many new Red Tornadoes some valuable reps and they did not disappoint. Both Sophomore Noah Berkoski and Senior Tommy McDonald did a great job running the offense in the fourth quarter at quarterback and both would find paydirt. Berkoski scored on a 6 yard run with 8:16 left to make the score 51-14 (PAT was no good), while McDonald turned on the jets and coasted 45 yards for a touchdown run with 4:40remaining. Freshman Connor Krakowski would add the PAT making the score 58-14. Lewisburg would close out the scoring for the night with 2:55 left on a 51 yard run by sophomore Broghan Persun, making the score 58-20, (PAT was no good).
“This was a great team win,” said Coach Darrah, “The kids wanted it and got it done.” Junior running back and linebacker John Ayres added, “Our offense the last two weeks has been doing what it’s capable of. With the offense we run, it all starts up front in the trenches on the line. On defense, we wanted to bring back the gang tackling mentality. With some big games coming up, we need to keep getting better on both sides of the ball moving forward.”
Mount Carmel (5-3) will look to continue to stay hot in the playoff push as they travel to Selinsgrove to take on the Seals, while Lewisburg (3-5) will try to get back on track next week as they host Bloomsburg.
Statistics:
RUSHING:
Lewisburg:
Max Moyers 11-91 TD; Broghan Persun 2-45 TD; Gavin Sheriff 8-31; Charlie Blough 2-11; Draven Doebler 2-3; Dylan Farronato 1-0; Kameron Schreffler 1- (-1).
Mount Carmel:
CJ Reichard 2-72 TD; Tommy McDonald 2-53 TD; Tyler Owens 3-20; Noah Berkoski 8-64 TD; John Ayres 16-84; Tommy Reisinger 4-12; Shane Weidner 6-25; Connor Krakowski 3-23; Damon Dowkus 1-2; Reed Witkoski 2-5; Zachary Rowe 1-2.
PASSING:
Lewisburg:
Nick Shedleski 6-12-1, 107 yards, TD
Mount Carmel:
Tommy Reisinger 4-9-0, 163 yards, 4 TDs; John Ayres 1-2-0, 3 yards; Noah Berkoski 1-1-0, 10 yards.
RECEIVING:
Lewisburg:
Dylan Farronato 2-45 TD; Max Moyers 2 – (-9); Andrew Ramirez 1-52; Brett Newcomb 1-19
Mount Carmel:
CJ Reichard 3-144; Logan Wills 1-19; Connor Krakowski 1-10; Damon Dowkus 1-3.
