JERSEY SHORE – Steve Eck has been waiting for his Jersey Shore Bulldogs to make the big plays.
Finally, with some help from Mifflinburg miscues, his squad got it done.
Shore’s defense held Mifflinburg to a mere field goal in the second half, and the offense stepped up with big scores in the final 12 minutes as the Bulldogs defeated the Wildcats 31-10 Friday at Thompson Street Stadium.
Tied at 7-all with eight minutes remaining in the first half, Eck’s kids needed a big play to feed off of.
Kasey Kemmerer delivered the dessert.
The Wildcats fumbled deep in their own territory, and Kemmerer – who ended the night with 84 yards rushing – scooped up the pigskin at the 6-yard line to set up the tie-breaking score. English scampered into the end zone from 1 yard out, giving the Bulldogs a seven-point advantage before the half.
“I was just thinking to pick it up and get it in the end zone. I ended up a little bit short, though,” said Kemmerer, who had eight tackles. “It is just a great feeling overall. It’s great to get the win.”
The Bulldogs (2-4) kept Wildcat quarterback Barry Tomasetti scrambling in the pocket on numerous occasions, sacking the freshman five times. Jake Heck had two, Logan Shay had one unassisted and combined with Kemmerer for another. Late in the game, Kyle Miller popped the ball loose from Tomasetti’s hands, which led to a Shore field goal.
“The defense really stepped up,” Eck said. “A couple of times, they stopped them on fourth down. (Mifflinburg) actually changed their option and ran it to the open side almost exclusively last week. This week, they caught us a little bit by running to the tight-end side. They made some yardage there in the first quarter. The coaches made some adjustments and the kids did, too. They did a good job.”
Mifflinburg (1-5) used the option to move down the field in the first half.
After Clark Thompson gave the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard scamper, Tomasetti got the Wildcats down to the Shore 6 to begin the second quarter. Wildcat workhorse Matt Brouse rushed the ball in from 5 yards out for paydirt. Brouse earned 68 yards on 17 carries.
The second half was paced early by Mifflinburg as the Wildcats got close enough for a 40-yard field goal, pulling within four points.
“We have a freshman at quarterback that made some great plays, and then some that weren’t so great,” Mifflinburg head coach Mark Reitz said. “The option worked all game. That play relies a lot on the quarterback. To rely on a freshman, he did pretty well. We didn’t take advantage of a couple of things that we should have. That’s the way it goes when you play a freshman quarterback running the option.”
After getting fired up by a questionable fumble call in the third stanza, the Bulldogs rebounded in the fourth quarter with two consecutive scores.
A QB keeper by English put Shore at the Mifflinburg 2, and the junior ran it in for paydirt.
On the Bulldogs’ next series, Kemmerer had a huge rush from the Shore 24 to the Wildcat 30 with 6:30 remaining in the game. A bullet from English to Ian Sander put the Bulldogs at the Wildcat 8-yard line, and on third-and-goal, English caught Jake Potter on the TD strike.
The QB ended the night 13-for-18 with 194 yards passing, one TD and two rushing scores.
His main target was Sander, who had four catches for 45 yards. Ian Berry caught three for 51 yards, while Logan Mariano caught two for 34.
“That was certainly huge,” Eck said of Kemmerer’s fumble recovery. “At 14-10, it was still a tight game. (Mifflinburg) could have won it. That turned things in our favor.
“This was a big-play game. We had a couple big runs and had a lot of different people catching the ball. We set ourselves up for playing well next week. It’s going to be a challenge for sure, but we’re ready.”
The Bulldogs will travel to Mount Carmel Area for a showdown with the Red Tornadoes next week.
PHAC Division I
JERSEY SHORE 31, MIFFLINBURG 10
M 0-7-3-0 – 10
J 7-7-0-17 – 31
Score By Quarters
First Quarter
JS – Clark Thompson 1 run (Eli Skinner kick), 4:39
Second Quarter
M – Matt Brouse 5 run (Jon Himes kick), 11:56
JS – Taylor English 1 run (Skinner kick), 7:01
M – Himes 40 field goal, 5:38
Fourth Quarter
JS – English 2 run (Skinner kick), 9:37
JS – Jake Potter 5 pass from English (Skinner kick), 6:04
JS – Skinner 42 field goal, 2:28
Team Statistics
JS M
First Downs 11 14
Rushes-Yards 25-89 43-168
Yards Passing 194 95
C.-A.-I3-18-0 5-11-1
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 2-1
Individual Statistics
Rushing: M, Darren Reynolds 1-3; Barry Tomasetti 11-27; Travis Hartman 3-17; Matt Brouse 17-68; Chad Wolfgang 9-45; Derek Wiand 1-6; Travis Schreck 1-2. J, Jake Potter 10-(-5); Kasey Kemmerer 7-81; Clark Thompson 2-5; Eli Skinner 1-2; Taylor English 3-6; Shawn Ulmer 1-(-1); Logan Enders 1-1.
Passing: M, Tomasetti 5-11-95-0-1. JS, English 13-18-194-1-0.
Receiving: M, Reynolds 3-51; Anthony Wagner 1-33; Shawn Hurst 1-11. JS, Ian Sander 4-45; Ian Berry 3-51; Kemmerer 1-18; Logan Mariano 2-34; Skinner 1-19; Chad Wheeler 1-22; Potter 1-5.
