By BILL ALBRIGHT
EasternPAFootball/WesternPAFootball Senior Writer
JERSEY SHORE — Any coach will tell you that to be successful in the game of football, you many times have to subscribe to the “next man up” approach in terms of personnel.
Friday night at Thompson Street Stadium, Jersey Shore employed that approach to near perfection as the Bulldogs pulled away from Shamokin to post a 28-7 win over the Indians.
Shore built up a 14-0 lead at halftime, but Shamokin’s first possession of the second half wound up in the end zone.
Seeing its lead cut to 14-7, Shore responded to the task at hand as they scored their final pair of touchdowns in a span of 83 seconds before cruising to the win.
Shore features one of the top receivers in the state in Todd Sanford, but the senior wideout was on the sidelines nursing an ankle problem. With Sanford out of the Shore lineup, that meant that Austin Breon became the next man up to join Kevin Titus and Hunter Frantz in the outstanding Bulldog group of receivers.
For the game, Breon led all receivers with 105 yards on five catches good for the game’s final touchdown.
Frantz was next in line with five catches for 57 yards and a pair of scores, while Titus didn’t reach the end zone, but made the most of his two catches for 52 yards. And if you are wondering about the future, Breon, Titus, Frantz and quarterback Elijah Shemory are all juniors.
“The receivers are running good routes and they are fighting for the ball when it is up in the air, in some tight windows” Gravish said. “I am hoping they continue to do that.”
A little arithmetic applied to those receiving numbers will give you the passing numbers for quarterback Elijah Shemory he completed the 12 passes for 214 yards and the three scores. Shemory also ran for one score as well.
“What a game Austin Breon had on both sides of the ball,” said Jersey Shore head coach Tom Gravish. “We have known for a while now that we have more than just two or three receivers. They did it in the summer (workouts) and it is too bad for them that there aren’t enough spots for all of them to get in the games at the same time.
Another starter among the missing was fullback Max Mason so that meant sophomore Kyle Tomb stepped in and did an outstanding job. For the game, Tomb rushed 12 times for 83 yards, his longest run of 47 yards left him just short of the end zone.
During the game, starting running back Jarrett Guthrie went down with an ankle problem, and that meant that Chase Braim got the call. All Braim did was provide the Bulldogs with some tough yards on the ground, showing 45 yards on 14 carries.
Following the game, Gravish was quick to point out the outstanding job turned in by the offensive line.
With Tomb’s team leading 83 yards rushing, add to that Guthrie’s 64 yards, Braim’s 45 and Christian Tawney’s 28 yards on just three carries, the Bulldogs rushed for 224 yards. Along with Shemory’s 214 yards through the airways, that gave the Orange & Black a total offense of 438 yards for the game.
“What a job that offensive line did tonight,” said Gravish. “Not only did they block well for the run game, but the didn’t allow Shamokin to get to Shemory one time in the game. If he gets time, he can do a lot of damage. We are getting better at that and it is a whole unit thing.”
Although they won by 21, it could have been worse as Shore saw three of their possessions come to a halt in the red zone, twice on lost fumbles, once on the 2-yard line.
“We faced some adversity when we were driving and had some turnovers at crucial times,” said Gravish. “But we battled through those times because these kids are so resilient. We believe in them and they have responded well during the season.”
Every year the Bulldogs make a trip to a Division I game. That team trip will take place today when they depart Jersey Shore at 5:30 in the morning to travel to the Illinois at Rutgers Big 10 game.
After that, the Bulldogs (5-3) will return home to prepare for their next game which will take place Friday night when Bald Eagle Area rolls into town. Kickoff for that fray is slated for 7 p.m.
Shamokin 0 0 7 0 — 7
Jersey Shore 7 7 14 0 — 28
First Quarter
JS — Hunter Frantz 17 pass from Elijah Shemory. (Cameron Griffin kick) 10:19
Second Quarter
JS — Shemory 1 run. (Griffin kick) 1:50
Third Quarter
Sham — Zack Johnson 2 run (Alex Washuta kick) 7:21
JS — Frantz 5 pass from Shemory. (Griffin kick) 4:30
JS — Austin Breon 29 pass from Shemory. (Griffin kick) 3:07
Team Statistics Sham JS
First Downs 12 22
Rushes-Yards 31-90 47-224
Passing Yards 68 214
Passing 10-22-1 10-20-0
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 2-2
Penalties-Yards 5-27 7-50
Individual Statistics
Rushing
Sham: Dan Pietiewicz 20-101, David Stephens 2-2, Jacob Jeremiah 1-1, Zack Johnson 8-minus 14.
JS: Kyle Tomb 12-83, Jarrett Guthrie 16-64, Chase Braim 14-45, Christian Tawney 3-28, Elijah Shemory 2-4, 1 TD.
Passing
Sham: Zack Johnson 10-22-1, 68 yards.
JS: Elijah Shemory 12-20-0, 214 yards, 3 TDs.
Receiving
Sham: Marcus Deivert 2-26, Jacob Jeremiah 3-19, David Stephens 4-19, Sam DePtula 1-4.
JS: Austin Breon 5-105, 1 TD; Hunter Frantz 5-57, 2 TDs; Kevin Titus 2-52.
