Kobe Brish scored seven total touchdowns, six on the ground and one through the air, to lead Schuylkill Haven to a 63-21 road win over Minersville. The sophomore sensation also racked up 188 yards on 28 carries.
“Football games are won in the trenches,” Schuylkill Haven head coach Mike Farr said. “I thought we did a really good job tonight up front.”
Trailing 7-0 after a Brish score early in the first quarter, Minersville’s Jared Yoder broke off an 80-yard kick return touchdown that fired up the home crowd. The extra point missed, and Haven led 7-6.
From there, the Hurricanes scored 28 unanswered points by way of four Brish touchdowns on four straight possessions. The Miners found themselves down 35-6 in the second quarter, but never gave up.
Minersville reached into the bag of tricks and pulled out a halfback pass. Kenny Yurkonis found a wide-open Bryce Ellinger for the 58-yard score, cutting the deficit to 35-14 with six minutes left in the first half. Ellinger finished with three catches for 129 yards and two TD’s.
The Miners forced Haven to punt on the ensuing possession, and capitalized when quarterback Scott Schwalm hit Ellinger on a slant route that resulted in a 66-yard touchdown. The momentum shifted heading into the break, and 13 unanswered points pulled the Miners within striking distance at 35-21.
“Minersville was very scrappy. Hats off to them,” Farr said. “I was a little disappointed, and I voiced that at halftime.” It was all Hurricanes from there, as Schuylkill Haven blanked Minersville 28-0 in the second half and allowed just one first down.
The second half scoring opened when quarterback Josh Kalyan hit Brandon Koch on a screen pass that went 60 yards for a score. Two more touchdowns from Brish on the ground and another from his backup Jake Luckenbill capped off the scoring, making the final 63-21.
“It’s just another win,” Farr said. “We’re 3-4, we started out 0-4, we just have to continue to get better every week.”
Kicker Dawson Evitts was a perfect nine-for-nine on extra points in the win. Brish has been on an absolute tear, scoring 17 touchdowns in Haven’s last three games.
The Hurricanes are in the driver’s seat of Schuylkill League Division II and their playoff destiny, as they host Panther Valley in Week 8.
Minersville fell to 2-5 on the year and will visit Mahanoy Area for a league contest next week.
