Danville cruises to 54-8 win over Mifflinburg

MIFFLINBURG – Danville has very high expectations for this season, both in District 4 and beyond. The four-time defending District 4 Class 3A champions are not only looking for their fifth straight district title, but also hoping to take that next step in the postseason.

Teams that have such aspirations generally don’t want to let other teams, particularly ones that they clearly outmatch on paper, hang around, whether early or late in games. And in its first game last week, the Ironmen got off to a bit of a slow start and let Bloomsburg hang around early before pulling away late.

So, Danville coach Carl Majer emphasized a better start for his team’s game in Week 2 against Mifflinburg. The Ironmen answered the bell and then some.

Danville scored on its first two possessions, then poured in 33 points in the second quarter to race out to a 47-0 halftime lead, and ultimately drove home with a convincing 54-8 win over Mifflinburg, in which the outcome was never in doubt.

“We started off slow last week so they really busted their butts over the last week. I challenged them and they responded very well and they came out and showed everyone what Danville football is all about,” said Majer. “Our goal is to improve each game, so we’re going to be better than we were today next week.”

A trio of Ironmen put up big numbers on the night. Cole Duffy caught five passes for 165 yards and a pair of touchdowns for the Ironmen and had 216 all-purpose yards. His interception early on Mifflinburg’s first pass of the game set up Danville in Mifflinburg territory with a short field for their first touchdown and largely set the tone for the remainder of the game.

Quarterback Madden Patrick threw for 256 yards and three touchdowns on 12-of-19 passing, while Bo Sheptock had 207 yards on the ground on 14 carries and found the end zone three times.

Duffy picked off Chad Martin’s first pass of the game on Mifflinburg’s second play from scrimmage after the Wildcats had received the opening kickoff, giving Danville the ball at the Mifflinburg 36. Six plays later, Patrick found Carter Raup up the seam for a 23-yard touchdown pass.

Mifflinburg went three-and-out on its next drive, and Duffy returned the punt 19 yards to the Mifflinburg 34. Danville then needed just three plays to find the end zone again, this time on a four-yard run by Sheptock.

The Ironmen would start six more of their drives the rest of the game in Mifflinburg territory, with three of them ending with scores. One of those came early in the second quarter and ended with a 42-yard touchdown by Sheptock to make it 21-0.

“Offensively, we missed stuff early, had guys beat down the field and couldn’t get the ball there, didn’t stay on blocks well or at all to make it matter,” said Mifflinburg coach Cody Botts. “It was a disappointing effort. We didn’t bring it in any phase. We had some guys in the backfield defensively and couldn’t tackle and let them scramble and get away. You can’t do those things and get down early, especially to a team like them.”

Even when the Wildcats were able to gain some field position, such as later in the second quarter when a 41-yard punt put Danville back at its own 14 to start its next drive, it still led to Ironmen points. On that ensuing drive for the Ironmen, Patrick escaped a sack with some fancy footwork in the backfield, then found Duffy for a completed pass, who turned it into an 86-yard touchdown.

Patrick added a six-yard touchdown run of his own and later found Duffy from 18 yards out for his second score of the game later in the second quarter.

Meanwhile, Mifflinburg found it difficult to gain yards, as they were held to just 33 yards on the ground on 27 carries, and Mifflinburg quarterbacks managed just seven completions on 23 attempts for 103 yards. The first half was even more dismal, with the Wildcats having -3 yards on the ground.

“We worked all week on working with our hands, getting through the line, containing the ends and most importantly, playing our positions on defense. We stressed that very hard this week, and playing your spots, and if the guy to the left, right and in front of you did that, this was what was going to happen,” said Majer.

A big reason for the negative rushing yards in the first half was a fumbled snap on an attempted punt late in the second quarter that resulted in a safety, and then Garrett Hoffman kicked a 34-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to cap the ensuing drive following the safety and give Danville a 47-0 lead at halftime.

“They brought an extra guy probably every play, but we need to understand that and have a better football IQ and get the ball out faster. We’re running short stuff, seeing the blitz coming, but not getting the ball out or leaving the pocket instead of stepping up when the pressure is coming from the outside,” said Botts. “We need to establish something, whether it’s the pass or the run, just find something to dig into and have confidence to execute it.”

The Ironmen left their first team offense on the field for the first drive of the second half before pulling the starters, but the starters made it count as Sheptock put the finishing touches on the win with his third touchdown run, a 68-yarder that put him over the 200 yards mark on the night.

Mifflinburg, which lost by just a single point in Week 1 to Loyalsock managed a touchdown to end the shutout late in the fourth quarter as Jackson Marr ran it in from six yards out with 3:05 remaining.

Danville 54, Mifflinburg 8
Danville (2-0) 14 33 7 0 – 54
Mifflinburg (0-2) 0 0 0 8 – 8

First quarter
8:32 – (D) Carter Raup 23-yard pass from Madden Patrick (kick failed), 6-36, 2:39
6:01 – (D) Bo Sheptock 4-yard run (Kiersch pass from Patrick)

Second quarter
11:47 – (D) Bo Sheptock 42-yard run (Hoffman kick), 2-45, :23
10:22 – (D) Cole Duffy 86-yard pass from Madden Patrick (Hoffman kick), 1-86, :21
4:17 – (D) Madden Patrick 6-yard run (Hoffman kick), 6-20, 1:19
1:54 – (D) Cole Duffy 18-yard pass from Madden Patrick (Hoffman kick), 5-82, 1:29
:49 – (D) Safety
:00 – (D) Garrett Hoffman 34-yard field goal, 6-39, :49

Third quarter
9:51 – (D) Bo Sheptock 68-yard run (Hoffman kick), 3-81, 2:09

Fourth quarter
3:05 – (M) Jackson Marr 6-yard run (Hartman pass from Marr), 8-56, 6:57