MOUNT CARMEL – Not content with just a first-round appearance in the state playoffs, Wyalusing tried to make history on Saturday afternoon.
And while the Rams weren’t able to pick up the win over the home team, Mount Carmel, in the first round of the District 4 AA playoffs, what they were able to do most definitely got everyone’s attention, not the least of which is Mount Carmel.
Despite running for 348 rushing yards on an astounding 72 carries, and running 76 offensive plays to just 37 for Mount Carmel – usually unheard-of numbers when playing at the Silver Bowl, Wyalusing was unable to convert on enough scoring opportunities, and Mount Carmel made up for its unusual deficit in the rushing yards category with some big plays on offense to escape with a 43-21 win over the opportunistic and confident Rams and advance to next week’s district semifinals.
“We made some good stops, but it definitely wasn’t our best game, defensively,” said Mount Carmel coach John Darrah. “We’ll definitely need to clean some things up and do better there. Wyalusing is a very physical football team. They came here to run the ball and that’s what we expected them to do. We got some crucial stops when we needed to, but we definitely wanted to play a little better all around, both offensively and defensively.”
While the Red Tornados advance to meet their rival Southern Columbia in the district semifinals next week, Wyalusing finishes its season with a 6-5 record, the most win for the program since 2010 when it won eight games, and also the first season with a winning record since 2010.
“We came out and played Ram football today and I’m nothing but proud of what we did here today,” said Wyalusing coach Rich Rogers. “On paper, no one had us close in this game. We had no quit until the end. I’m proud of every one of these guys, and they should be proud of themselves. We’re holding our heads high on the way out of here.”
Despite holding the decided advantage in time of possession and rushing yards, while also compiling 20 first downs in the game, Wyalusing was held to just 1-for-7 on fourth down. The Rams also had to battle the injury bug, as two of their skill players had to leave the game due to injuries. Dylan Johns, one of the three backs in Wyalusing’s wishbone offense, was hurt near the end of the first half, and then quarterback Parker Petlock was carted off the field after getting injured on the first play of the second half.
Even in spite of those injuries to key players, the Rams showed confidence from the beginning to the end of the game. They showed they came to play right at the very beginning as they recovered an onside kick on the opening kickoff and drove the ball all the way down to the Mount Carmel 14 before being stopped by the Red Tornados on a fourth-and-4 play.
Mount Carmel then went three-and-out and was forced to punt, but Ayden Hunsinger blocked Max Karycki’s punt out of the end zone for safety.
Wyalusing then drove the ball down to the Red Tornado 26 on their ensuing drive after receiving the free kick, but Mount Carmel’s defense again stopped the Rams shy of the end zone.
Without their leading rusher Luke Blessing, who sat out the game with a leg injury, the Red Tornados turned to fullback Al Bailey to deliver the first big play for Mount Carmel as he took the direct snap on the fullback wedge play and managed to get free for a 74-yard touchdown run to put Mount Carmel up 7-2 with just under four minutes left in the first quarter.
“Al did a great job there finishing the run,” said Darrah. “That may have been the longest wedge we’ve ever run and it was great to see him finish and get in the end zone.”
Wyalusing’s only turnover of the game was then capitalized on and turned into more points by Mount Carmel. Andrew Lukoskie had outstanding coverage on the Wyalusing receiver and picked off a well-thrown ball by Petlock to give the Red Tornados the ball at their own 35 after a penalty on the return. Four plays later, Cole Spears and Jacob Schultz connected for the second big play of the afternoon, a 46-yard touchdown reception to put Mount Carmel up 14-2 with 1:25 left in the quarter.
The Rams’ running game kicked into high gear to start the second quarter. Following a Mount Carmel punt, they put together a 12-play, 66-yard drive that took nearly half the quarter and ended when Johns found the end zone for a five-yard touchdown run on a fourth-and-1 play, pulling Wyalusing back within a single score, 14-8.
But the Rams’ second onside kick attempt of the game was unsuccessful, and the Red Tornados were given a short field after recovering it at the Wyalusing 43. Mount Carmel needed just six plays to get into the end zone on a misdirection 1-yard run by Xaviar Diaz.
Wyalusing, which didn’t punt a single time in the game, was stopped on fourth down on each of its next three drives – its final first-half drive in which it was stopped at the Mount Carmel 32, and then back-to-back four-and-outs to start the second half.
On the second of those, Mount Carmel took over at its own 47, and put together a seven-play, 53-yard drive capped by a 1-yard run by Spears to extend its lead to 29-8.
The third big play of the game extended the Red Tornado lead to 36-8 on the second play of the fourth quarter when Diaz bounced off some tackles on the inside got outside to some space and used his speed to outrun everyone else on the field for a 45-yard touchdown run. Diaz finished with 71 rushing yards as the Red Tornados turned to a running back by committee approach to fill the slot of the missing Blessing, and Diaz also hauled in six catches for 51 yards.
The Rams put together an 11-play, 75-yard drive that took 5:52 and was capped by a Hunsinger 3-yard run. Hunsinger, who had 171 yards on 29 carries to lead the Rams, also tacked on a 33-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter.
Sandwiched in between Hunsinger’s two fourth-quarter touchdowns was the fourth and final big play for the Red Tornados – a 76-yard touchdown strike from Spears to Schultz for their second scoring connection of the day. Schultz finished his day with 139 receiving yards on four catches.
The Red Tornados will now have a Week 12 showdown with their archnemesis Southern Columbia. Mount Carmel beat the Tigers for the second straight year in the regular season back in Week 8, and will now be looking to knock off the six-time defending state champions in the playoffs after Southern ended what was a previously unbeaten season for the Red Tornados in the district final last year. The teams have met in the district final in five of the last six seasons dating back to 2017 but with both teams losing games this year and Troy going undefeated to lock up the top seed, this year’s postseason meeting will occur a week earlier in the district semifinals.
Mount Carmel 43, Wyalusing 21
Wyalusing (6-5) 2 6 0 13 – 21
Mount Carmel (9-2) 14 8 7 14 – 43
First quarter
7:04 – (W) TEAM Safety
3:59 – (M) Al Bailey 74-yard run (Schoppy kick), 1-74, :13
1:25 – (M) Jacob Schultz 46-yard pass from Cole Spears (Schoppy kick), 4-65, :57
Second quarter
4:28 – (W) Dylan Johns 5-yard run (run failed), 12-66, 5:43
3:11 – (M) Xaviar Diaz 1-yard run (Bailey run), 6-43, 1:17
Third quarter
3:32 – (M) Cole Spears 1-yard run (Schoppy kick), 7-53, 1:46
Fourth quarter
11:43 – (M) Xaviar Diaz 45-yard run (Schoppy kick), 3-52, :19
5:51 – (W) Ayden Hunsinger 3-yard run (Haley kick), 11-75, 5:52
5:04 – (M) Jacob Schultz 76-yard pass from Cole Spears (Schoppy kick), 2-80, :47
1:14 – (W) Ayden Hunsinger 33-yard run (kick failed), 7-68, 3:50
Statistics
W M
First downs 20 13
Rushes-net yards 72-348 17-177
Passing yardage 0 194
Passing 0-4-0-1 12-20-2-0
Fumbles-lost 0-0 3-0
Penalties-yards 9-60 8-90
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Wyalusing: Ayden Hunsinger (29-171-2), Casey God (17-61), Ethan Vanderpool (12-43), Dylan Johns (11-73-1), Parker Petlock (2-(-7)), Joey Gonsauls (1-7); Mount Carmel: Cooper Karycki (6-14), Xaviar Diaz (5-71-2), Cole Spears (4-13-1), Al Bailey (2-79-1)
PASSING: Wyalusing: Parker Petlock (0-3-0-0-1), Jonathan Earle (0-1-0-0-0); Mount Carmel: Cole Spears (12-19-194-2-0), Gavin Marshalek (0-1-0-0-0)
RECEIVING: Wyalusing: None; Mount Carmel: Xaviar Diaz (6-51), Jacob Schultz (4-139-2), Chase Balichik (1-12), Cooper Karycki (1-(-8))
