COAL TOWNSHIP – Shamokin was 4-0 at home going into this game. That streak ended as Danville (8-0) got a kickoff return for a score and three Ironmen ran for touchdowns as Danville claimed its first league championship in more than a decade with a 55-7 win.
With the win they ended Selinsgrove’s two-year reign in the Division I of the Heartland Conference. The last time they won a league crown was 1999.
Danville’s head coach Jim Keiser said, “They’re excited about this. They got a championship under their belt. But it’s not their main goal. They want to win a district championship and see how far they can go in states.”
The Ironmen had all phases of their game going last night.
In the first half Danville’s Junior quarterback Andrew Andreychik completed only four of five passes for 133 yards. But the four passes went for touchdowns.
Three of the touchdown passes went to wide receiver Mikael Owens-Wright. The other one went to wide receiver Garrett Llewellyn.
They also got a 90-yard kickoff return from Anthony Sori and touchdown runs by Sori, Russell Heath and Eric Haney.
Shamokin head coach Dan Foor said, “I said it all along. Danville has no weakness.”
The first quarter the Ironmen jumped out to a 14-0 lead. The first score was a 56-yard touchdown pass from Andreychick to Owens-Wright.
The second was setup when Russell Heath intercepted a pass by Shamokin quarterback Leon Supsic. The drive would only take one play when Andreychik threw a prefect pass to Owens-Wright for a 21-yard touchdown pass.
Shamokin’s Supsic scored on a one-yard run on the first play of the second quarter cutting the lead to 14-7.
The Ironmen would score two more times right before halftime. Andreyhcik would throw two touchdowns. Llewellyn caught a 17-yard strike and Owens-Wright 40-yarder made it 28-7 at the half.
Andreychik talked about his wide receiver, “With Mike out there, I don’t know if anyone can cover him.”
Sori’s 90-yard kickoff return in the second half added to their lead. A two-yard score by Sori would put the mercy rule into effect.
Heath and Eric Haney scored Danville’s final two scores on runs of four and 31 yards.