Karycki sets school rushing record
As the season of fall sunk its teeth into the football season Friday night in the form of rain and wind, it was very fitting that two heavyweight running backs dueled it out on the Joe “Jazz” Diminick Field at the Silver Bowl. Both Danville’s Trent Hilkert and Mount Carmel Area’s Kyle Karyicki each put in workhorse performances for their squads, but the night would belong to Karycki. The Mount Carmel Area senior broke MCA’s single game rushing record by carving the Ironmen defense for 369 yards on 38 carries. Karycki also scored all three Red Tornado touchdowns and continues to showcase his talents as one of the premier running backs in District IV and Eastern PA.
“We are proud him. He Earned it. Kyle ran hard and does so every week…I told him (about the record) and he didn’t believe it,” said MCA Head Coach John Darrah. “Coach grabbed me and stared right into my eyes and said ‘you’re two yards away’”, said Karycki, adding, “As a kid I always dreamed of breaking a record at Mount Carmel and leaving a mark somewhere on the program, and it’s truely an incredible feeling to know I accomplished something that I’ve always wanted to do. Getting the record feels great but I’ve got to give all of the credit to that line. If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be in this position right now.” That line that Karycki lauded has been Mount Carmel’s unsung hero each and every week. The group, with Ethan Bartos at center, Dylan Fiamoncini and Colin Krakowski at guards, and Brendan Boris and Billy Anderson at tackles, has paved the way for the Tornadoes to rush for over 1408 yards in 5 games.
With starting quarterback John Ayres out with an injury, Karycki took the controls on offense, running several direct snaps out of the shotgun single wing formation. His first touchdown came in the first quarter on a 69 yard burst to the end zone and was on the Tornadoes’ first offensive snap following a 29 yard field goal by Danville’s Peyton Riley. Zach Zarkowski would add the conversion run and the Tornadoes would lead, 8-3, in the opening period.
Danville’s offense would respond and produce two red zone drives behind the running of Hilkert on their next two possessions, but lost fumbles on each. The Ironmen, however, were not done in the quarter as Peyton Riley intercepted a Tommy McDonald pass and returned it to the 10 yard line. The interception would prove costly as Danville capitalized and scored on a 9 yard run by Hilkert. Riley added the PAT and Danville held a 10-8 lead with 1:40 left in the first half.
It would be Danville’s last lead of the night, as the Red Tornadoes’ defensive play and the running of Karycki, who would add second half touchdown runs of 3 and 66 yards, which would bring Mount Carmel Area its third victory of the season. Linebacker Manus McCracken, who notched 11 tackles in the game, said, “We stepped it up in the second half and played with Tornado Pride.” Darrah added, “I think our kids really showed a lot of pride in the way they played and willed themselves to a victory in a really ugly game.”
As fall has progressed, the Tornadoes have become one of the hottest teams in District IV AA and will face their biggest test of the season next Friday as they travel to Catawissa to take on their rival Southern Columbia, who is undefeated and ranked #1 in EasternPAFootball’s “AA” poll.
GAME STATS
MCA: 8-0-6-6 = 20
DANVILLE: 3-7-0-0 = 10
MOUNT CARMEL (3-2)
RUSHING:
Kyle Karycki 38-369 3 TD; Lane Tanney 3-4; Allen Yankoskie 6- 37; Zachary Zarkowski 5-4; Tommy McDonald 4-12; Team 1- (-12)
PASSING:
Tommy McDonald 2-11-2, 42 yds
RECEIVING:
Lane Tanney 1-27; Wes Shurock 1-15
Mount Carmel Area Stats provided by Jose Gonzalo
DANVILLE (2-3)
RUSHING:
Trent Hilkert 24-151; Ryan Palm 3-11; Gannon Feldman 6-11; Cross Truesdell 1-3
PASSING:
Feldman 2-4-0, 41 yards
RECEIVING:
Peyton Riley 1-32; Truesdell 1-9
