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MOUNT CARMEL – There have been several negative things that have unfortunately come about in 2020, and for high school football fans, a delay to the start of the season has been just one small thing.
For the state’s winningest program, Mount Carmel, that delay was a little longer, as the start to this season was delayed an extra week-and-a-half. Yet, without those negatives, Tuesday’s matchup with Williams Valley, the first-ever meeting between these two very successful programs, likely wouldn’t have taken place.
But the few fans that were fortunate enough to get inside the gates of the famed Silver Bowl were treated to an outstanding high school football game between two of most successful programs in the state in recent years, and when it was over, Mount Carmel was able withstand a scrappy Vikings team with a potent passing game and defeat Williams Valley 43-28.
“I think we were all a little bit nervous. It’s tough to not know what you’re going to look like and know what you need to fix, so we all had a few butterflies but by game time, once we got that first contact and made the first play, I think that all went away and we were able to play a pretty solid game,” said Mount Carmel coach John Darrah.
“Our guys were waiting to get out here for a long time, we were shut down a few times but our guys did what we asked them to and remained mentally tough and I’m glad they were able to come out and get a win.”
The Red Tornadoes, who didn’t have any traditional scrimmages heading into their first game of the season on the unconventional Tuesday date, ran for 334 yards, and that combined with three turnovers generated by their defense was the difference in the game.”
“They have big guys up front and they can move. They have a lot of size and obviously know where the weight room is,” said Williams Valley coach Tim Savage. “The difference in playing Mount Carmel and other teams is their backs have a lot of dense muscle mass. They’re strong kids. There’s no sticking them where they stand and putting them down. They run through tackles.”
Despite the difference on the ground, the Vikings, a perennial Class A title contender in District 11 and the state, hung with the Red Tornadoes for much of the game. Only an interception return for a touchdown by Garrett Varano in the first half prevented it from being a tied game at halftime. Williams Valley outgained Mount Carmel 268-164 in the first half, as Bryce Herb threw for 196 of his 320 passing yards in the opening half, including an 84-yard touchdown to Jesse Engle with 4:31 left in the second quarter, the first of three on the night.
Herb completed 13-of-30 passes but was also picked off three times. Two of those interceptions went off the fingertips of the intended receivers, and one was an underthrow on the run, and Mount Carmel was able to turn those three turnovers into two touchdowns – the difference in the game.
“Bryce is better than that. He made a mistake on the one, and on another, Jesse was just gassed and the ball bounced up in the air (off his hands) and they got that pick and got the momentum,” said Savage. “Bryce was just a little snake bitten tonight but we’re going to clean it up and be much better going forward.”
Though their miscues were costly, if not for Herb and Engle’s work, the game likely wouldn’t have been as competitive. Earlier in the half, Herb and Engle had connected for a 41-yard reception, which keyed Williams Valley’s first scoring drive that ended with a one-yard touchdown run for Herb early in the second quarter, which tied the game 7-7.
But after a Mount Carmel punt, Herb was picked off by Varano, who returned it 52 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown, followed by a two-point conversion after Williams Valley got an illegal substitution penalty on the extra point.
After Engle’s long touchdown reception pulled the Vikings to within 15-13, Mount Carmel answered with an eight-play drive capped by Reed Witkoski’s four-yard touchdown with under a minute to play in the half to take a 22-13 halftime lead.
From there, the Red Tornadoes asserted their advantage up front as they ran for 193 of their rushing yards in the second half. An eight-play, 73-yard drive – all rushes – put Mount Carmel up 29-13 just over four minutes into the second half.
Williams Valley answered right back with a 61-yard drive of their own to pull within 29-21 on the second Herb-Engle touchdown connection on the night, this one an eight-yard catch.
But Herb was intercepted on Williams Valley’s next two drives, and Mount Carmel took advantage of the first, putting together a short drive of six straight rushes, capped by Julien Stellar’s seven-yard touchdown, which came on what appeared to be a quarterback sneak on a 4th-and-1 play to give Mount Carmel a 36-21 lead early in the fourth. Stellar, in his first game as the starting quarterback following the graduation of four-year starter Tom Reisinger, finished with 36 rushing and 32 passing yards.
“There were multiple situations where we kind of needed to score again to keep the game from getting too tight and really putting the pressure on us and it seemed like each time we needed it, we were able to make it happen,” said Darrah.
Not to be denied, the Vikings clawed back and overcame Herb’s third interception of the night – two of which were on throws that went off the fingertips of the intended receivers – and put together a nine-play, 66-yard drive on their next possession, capped by Herb’s third touchdown to Engle of the night, to make it 36-28 with just 2:45 to play.
That final catch of the game for Engle gave him a game-high 213 receiving yards, and it wasn’t due to a lack of good coverage from Mount Carmel as the all-state tight end hauled in multiple passes with Red Tornado defenders all over him.
“I give a lot of credit to their quarterback and receivers, especially Engle,” said Darrah. “They have very good receivers and the quarterback put the ball on the money. I think not having as many 7-on-7s in the summer and not being able to judge the ball a little bit better was a factor but our guys covered pretty well and I think they’ll get better with some reps and game experience.”
With it still just a one-score game, Mount Carmel rushing attack put the exclamation point on the opening-night victory as after recovering an onside kick, the Red Tornadoes needed just four plays to go 59 yards and put the game away with Stellar’s second touchdown run on the night, which followed a 29-yard pickup by Damon Dowkus and a 21-yard pickup by Tyler Owens. Both Dowkus and Owens went over the century mark, with Dowkus finishing with 114 and Owens with 125 rushing yards.
Mount Carmel 43, Williams Valley 28
Williams Valley (1-1) 0 13 8 7 – 28
Mount Carmel (1-0) 7 15 7 14 – 43
First quarter
2:42 – (MC) Damon Dowkus 14-yard run (Stellar kick), 10-88, 5:11
Second quarter
9:24 – (WV) Bryce Herb 1-yard run (Rafferty kick), 5-83, 2:56
6:22 – (MC) Garrett Varano 52-yard interception return (Stellar run)
4:31 – (WV) Jesse Engle 84-yard pass from Bryce Herb (pass failed), 3-81, 1:51
:52 – (MC) Reed Witkoski 4-yard run (Stellar kick), 8-59, 3:39
Third quarter
7:56 – (MC) Tyler Owens 11-yard run (Stellar kick), 8-73, 4:04
3:39 – (WV) Jesse Engle 8-yard pass from Bryce Herb (Engle pass from Herb), 9-61, 4:17
Fourth quarter
11:27 – (MC) Julien Stellar 7-yard run (Stellar kick), 6-53, 2:21
2:45 – (WV) Jesse Engle 5-yard pass from Bryce Herb (Rafferty kick), 9-66, 2:51
1:38 – (MC) Julien Stellar 2-yard run (Stellar kick), 4-59, 1:07
Statistics
WV MC
First downs 19 17
Rushes-net yards 29-102 44-334
Passing yardage 320 32
Passing 13-30-3-3 3-5-0-0
Fumbles-lost 1-0 0-0
Penalties-yards 6-39 11-85
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Williams Valley: Hunter Wolfgang (16-62), Bryce Herb (7-23-1), Logan Williard (5-17), Jesse Engle (1-0); Mount Carmel: Damon Dowkus (14-114-1), Tyler Owens (11-125-1), Reed Witkoski (10-52-1), Julien Stellar (6-36-2), Garrett Varano (1-3), Michael Farronato (1-3), Jacob Zarski (1-1)
PASSING: Williams Valley: Bryce Herb (13-30-320-3-3), TEAM (0-1-0-0-0); Mount Carmel: Julien Stellar (3-5-32-0-0)
RECEIVING: Williams Valley: Jesse Engle (7-213-3), Brady Evans (2-73), Logan Williard (2-12), Tristan Jillard (1-14), Hunter Wolfgang (1-8); Mount Carmel: Damon Dowkus (1-20), Michael Balichick (1-9), Tyler Owens (1-3)
