MOUNT CARMEL-Throughout the first three weeks of the season, Mount Carmel had its share of struggles defensively. Subpar performances against North Schuylkill and Mifflinburg had raised some doubts as to whether or not the Red Tornadoes had what it took to slow down a Southern Columbia offense that put up 96 combined points in wins over Loyalsock and Milton. After Friday night’s strong effort, all doubts have been erased.
Mount Carmel (3-1) stopped Southern inside the 10-yard line on three separate occasions in a classic bend-but-don’t-break performance. The Red Tornadoes didn’t a do a lot offensively, but they did enough to win. Jaylen Delaney’s 68-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter proved to be sufficient, and a blocked extra point by Ben Miller was a substantial play on special teams, as Mount Carmel held on for a hard-fought 7-6 victory.
“Yeah, it was just a really gritty win,” Mount Carmel coach John Darrah said. “I thought our guys gave great effort. The biggest thing is, I think we were just able to control our emotions. There were a lot of times we were in a bad position, they had the ball down in the red zone, or down near the goal line, and we were able to just get big stop after big stop. I’m really proud of the kids.”
Southern (2-2) looked like it was poised to finally take the lead twice in the second half. Early in the fourth quarter, the Tigers reached the Mount Carmel 7, and sent out Preston Shadle for a 24-yard field goal attempt. The referees waved Shadle off the field for not having his mouthpiece in. After some confusion forced Darrah to call timeout, quarterback Ayden Hockenbroch ended up trying the kick, which sailed low and wide left.
“We’re being creative in ways to hurt ourselves,” Southern coach Jim Roth said. “We’re a young team, but just too many mistakes in crucial situations. We obviously became pretty one-dimensional tonight as far as running the ball, working on the right side, and so forth. But the bottom line is, we’ve just got to establish some better balance on offense.”
Penalties hurt Southern on a 17-play drive in the first half that came up empty. Brayden Andrews picked up 22 yards on two consecutive running plays that put the ball on the 2-yard line. However, a false start and holding penalty backed the Tigers up, and three consecutive incomplete passes ended it. Just before halftime, a quarterback sneak was stuffed for no gain on a fourth down play inside the 10.
“The time we got to the 2, the penalties killed us, because we had the five-yarder, which changed the complexion of things, and we had the holding right after it,” Roth said. “We just went backwards by not executing at that point. It was frustrating, and in a game like this, I’m thinking all along that they may be critical points we left on the field if we don’t score in that situation, and that’s kind of the way it played out.”
What little scoring there was started with 9:03 left in the second quarter. Quarterback Gavin Marshalek threw a strike to Delaney, who beat man coverage. Delaney did the rest by sprinting the final 45 yards to pay dirt. It continues to be a breakout season for the sophomore receiver, as Delaney finished with 156 yards on seven catches. Marshalek completed only 8-of-20 passes for 163 yards, but did not turn the ball over.
“It’s just crazy,” Darrah said. “You just never know what’s going to happen. I didn’t think that would be the last touchdown we scored. You wouldn’t think that blocked extra point would play so big, but it just goes to show you football’s a funny game, and any play could be a difference-maker.”
On the first possession of the second half, Joey Williams broke loose on a 67-yard touchdown run, pulling Southern to within a point. Try as they might, the Tigers couldn’t finish off a go-ahead scoring drive. Chase Balichik intercepted a long pass inside the 10, and Max Karycki came through with one last huge defensive play by coming up with a sack on 4th-and-3 at the Mount Carmel 27 with 4:30 left. Mount Carmel churned out four first downs on the final series of the game, led by a 15-yard run from Michael Kimsal, and a couple of completions to Delaney.
“I think we’ve been working hard,” Darrah said. “I think we have a really, really good team, but we just haven’t been able to click, so we’ve been seeing some different stuff, stuff that we haven’t really seen in the past. But they’re a familiar foe, and our kids have been locked in this week. Hopefully, this is a springboard now for the rest of the season.”
Southern Columbia 0 0 6 0-6
Mount Carmel 0 7 0 0-7
Individual Scoring
Second Quarter
MC-Jaylen Delaney 68 pass from Gavin Marshalek (Robert Schoppy kick) 9:03
Third Quarter
SC-Joey Williams 67 run (kick blocked) 9:59
Team Statistics
………………….SC………………MC
1st downs……17……………….12
rush-yds…..48-209…………..28-54
comp-att-int…9-17-1………8-20-0
pass yds……..87………………..163
total yds………296………………217
fumb-lost…..2-0…………………1-0
pen-yds………..6-65……………3-25
Individual Statistics
Rushing-Southern Columbia: Brayden Andrews 23-91; Joey Williams 10-84, TD; Grady Garcia 6-25; Ayden Hockenbroch 6-11; Nate Gallagher 3-(-2). Mount Carmel: Cooper Karycki 14-53; Michael Kimsal 7-27; Gavin Marshalek 2-(-7); Team 5-(-19).
Passing-Southern Columbia: Hockenbroch 9-17-1, 87 yds. Mount Carmel: Marshalek 8-20-0, 163 yds., TD.
Receiving-Southern Columbia: Jace Malakoski 4-39; Blaise Kissinger 3-31; Andrews 1-9; Gallagher 1-8. Mount Carmel: Jaylen Delaney 7-156, TD; Tait Adams 1-7.
