MOUNT CARMEL – Midd West and Mount Carmel are almost as contrasting of programs as can possibly be. The Red Tornados are Pennsylvania’s all-time winningest program, while the Mustangs’ program only just recently began in 2018.
And while this year’s version of the Red Tornados has only been responsible for five of those nearly 900 lifetime wins entering Friday’s game, the present contrast between the programs was very evident on the field on Friday.
Even with a new starting quarterback making his first varsity start, Mount Carmel had no problems with Midd West as the Red Tornados blanked the Mustangs 60-0 to improve to 6-0 on the season.
With Cole Spears gone for the year due a knee injury suffered at Bloomsburg last week, sophomore Matt Balichik stepped in and started, and largely continued the extremely effective and efficient offense that Spears had previously guided through five games.
Balichik threw for a pair of touchdowns on 198 yards and 8-of-15 passing – all in the first half – before exiting the game after halftime.
We wanted to get some throws under his belt there so that’s what we started in and some of the looks they gave presented some opportunities to throw,” said Mount Carmel coach John Darrah. “They had the box really loaded and it would have been tough to run in our spread stuff so early on, trying to throw, that was part of our game plan.
“I think Matt got better as the game went on and got more comfortable so that was good to see. He’s a really mentally-tough kid. He started a little slow but didn’t let it bother him, so we’re happy to see that,” said Darrah.
When the Red Tornados did go to the ground, they mixed it up, as 12 different plays saw rushing carries. The team’s leading rusher was Luke Blessing, who officially ran the ball just one time – a 59-yard run for a touchdown midway through the second quarter that put the Red Tornados up by four possessions. In all, six different Mount Carmel players had a rushing touchdown, but only one Red Tornado had more than two carries.
The Red Tornados scored on five of their six first-half possessions, as Xaviar Diaz and Michael Farronato both had rushing scores in the first quarter, and then Balichik tossed touchdown passes to Matt Schicchitano and Diaz in the second quarter, sandwiched around Blessing’s long touchdown run.
Garrett Varano returned a punt following Midd West’s first second-half possession 55 yards for a touchdown to put the game into the mercy rule.
“Offensively, they just have the speed that we don’t have right now, and they beat us in the open field and we didn’t make tackles,” said Midd West coach Lance Adams.
Although Midd West did manage to move the ball decently at times in the first half, the Mustangs only managed 165 yards of offense in the game, and they were picked off four times through the air by the Mount Carmel defense, which with the younger quarterback will become more important as the Red Tornados hit the stretch run of the season and head into the postseason.
“Our defense definitely has to step up,” said Darrah. “Our offensive line has been playing great all year but they’ll need to step up as well. Anytime that happens, your whole team needs to step up and assume more responsibility.”
The Mustangs were led by Austin Dorman, who managed 73 rushing yards on 22 carries, and at times managed to slip past Mount Carmel defenders at the line of scrimmage. But Midd West only managed 165 yards in the game on 60 plays – just under three yards per play.
“We played in the first half with some grit and intensity and ran the ball well in spurts,” said Adams. “But credit to them and their talent and overall team defense. We’re not overly gifted with team speed so we literally are three yards and a cloud of dust, but three plus three plus three still equals nine and we need to be able to rip off a few big plays and when we don’t and get behind the sticks, it’s extremely hard to make up on that.”
Mount Carmel 60, Midd West 0
Midd West (1-5) 0 0 0 0 – 0
Mount Carmel (6-0) 13 21 13 13 – 60
First quarter
10:22 – (MC) Xaviar Diaz 11-yard run (kick failed), 6-52, 1:38
1:32 – (MC) Michael Farronato 28-yard run (Yagodzinski kick), 2-35, :47
Second quarter
9:16 – (MC) Matt Scicchitano 24-yard pass from Matt Balichik (Yagodzinski kick), 4-55, 1:11
5:53 – (MC) Luke Blessing 59-yard run (Yagodzinski kick), 2-58, :57
:30 – (MC) Xaviar Diaz 47-yard pass from Matt Balichik (Yagodzinski kick), 5-59, :49
Third quarter
9:46 – (MC) Garrett Varano 55-yard punt return (kick blocked)
4:03 – (MC) Jacob Zarski 8-yard run (Yagodzinski kick), 6-66, 3:08
Fourth quarter
8:33 – (MC) Michael Kimsal 5-yard run (Schoppy kick), 5-62, 1:53
2:55 – (MC) Brady Wolkoski 22-yard run (run failed), 6-34, 3:08
Statistics
MW MC
First downs 10 20
Rushes-net yards 45-104 22-268
Passing yardage 61 206
Passing 5-15-0-4 9-18-2-0
Fumbles-lost 1-0 2-1
Penalties-yards 5-45 6-78
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Midd West: Austin Dorman (22-73), Bryce Hackenburg (12-29), Jasher Wolf (4-(-16)), Kyle Shupp (2-2), Edgar Murphy (2-(-5)), Avery Englehart (1-22), Keaton Kreider (1-2), Colby Brower (1-(-3)); Mount Carmel: Michael Kimsal (4-25-1), Ryan Weidner (2-37), Michael Farronato (2-32-1), Al Bailey (2-22), Xaviar Diaz (2-18-1), Jacob Zarski (2-17-1), Gavin Marshalek (2-2), Matt Balichik (2-(-10)), Luke Blessing (1-59-1), Orville Fesniak (1-26), Brady Wolkoski (1-22-1), Andrew Lukoskie (1-18)
PASSING — Midd West: Jasher Wolf (4-11-54-0-3), Colby Brower (1-4-7-0-1); Mount Carmel: Matt Balichik (8-15-198-2-0), Gavin Marshalek (1-3-8-0-0)
RECEIVING — Midd West: Kaden Kullman (2-14), Avery Englehart (1-28), Cory Weiand (1-12), Elliot Crabb (1-7); Mount Carmel: Michael Farronato (3-67), Xaviar Diaz (2-81-1), Garrett Varano (2-26), Matt Scicchitano (1-24-1), Jacob Schultz (1-8)
