LEWISBURG – Oftentimes, missed scoring opportunities will come back to haunt you.
On Saturday night, Shamokin went just 1-of-4 in red zone scoring opportunities against Lewisburg, but thanks to its standout defense, managed to still come away with a win, 13-9, over the Green Dragons.
“This was the game of missed opportunities. Good luck finding a team that had this much offense that put 13 points on the board,” said Shamokin coach Henry Hynoski. “We made it much more difficult on ourselves than it needed to be but you can’t complain about how both the offense and defense played.
“We really did a great job containing (Cam) Michaels and offensively, we were pretty much able to do anything we wanted. We took the ball down the field many times but we just didn’t do what we had to do inside the red zone.”
The Indians outgained the Green Dragons 375-190, ran 61 plays to just 42 for Lewisburg, and had the ball for over 30 minutes, over 12 minutes longer than Lewisburg. The Indians’ ground game was its strength on the night as they ran for 329 yards on 53 carries. Leading the way was Knowledge Artis-Jones, who carried the ball 28 times for 170 yards and a touchdown while his brother Wisdom Artis-Jones notched 106 yards and a score on just five carries.
“Knowledge did outstanding and is turning into a true leader out there. When a kid like him gets hot, you just have to keep giving him the ball,” said Hynoski. “Our offensive line did great. We’ve got tough, gritty guys in there. We had some holes you could drive a truck through and then Knowledge made guys miss at the second level and that’s what makes him special.”
“We’ve got to get our run stoppers to do a little better of spilling and setting up blocks,” said Lewisburg coach Eric Wicks. “A lot of our guys are running around blocks. We have a young group but they have to understand to take on a block and then get to the ball instead of running around blocks. We’re over pursuing everything. They’re running toss and are able to cut it back in the opposite gap.”
Shamokin’s first possession could not have gone much better if had been scripted. Wisdom Artis-Jones returned the opening kickoff 20 yards, and then on Shamokin’s second play from scrimmage of the year, he burst loose for a 68-yard touchdown to give the Indians a 7-0 lead just over a minute into their season.
That would be the easiest that Shamokin found the end zone on the evening, however, as it proved to be nearly elusive for the remainder of the contest despite the Indians seldom having trouble moving the ball.
Shamokin committed its only turnover of the game on its next possession, which spoiled a 60-yard drive.
Lewisburg, which was held to just 62 first-half yards, put together a long drive of 76 yards on its ensuing drive, taking 6:39 off the clock, but settling for a 19-yard field goal by Cohen Hoover to cut the lead to 7-3.
“We came out in this game very confident, but as Mike Tyson says, everyone is confident until they get punched in the mouth and we got punched in the mouth and our confidence went out the window,” said Wicks. “So, we just need to shape these guys back into position and understand that bad things are going to happen, so we have to prepare for that, stay positive and keep working.”
Shamokin then put together an 18-play drive that took up the remaining 9:25 of the first half, but the drive stalled when the half ran out as the Indians came up short on fourth down inside the Lewisburg 10.
The Indians did manage to capitalize on their next drive, their first of the second half, which came after forcing a three-and-out by Lewisburg. Shamokin took over near midfield and went 54 yards in eight plays, capped by a two-yard run by Knowledge Artis-Jones, who also ripped off a 34-yard run earlier in the drive to convert a third down.
Lewisburg then took its next possession and put together its best drive of the night, taking up 5:33 and going 81 yards in 12 plays, capped by a Sean Field four-yard touchdown run. Wade Young completed 5-of-6 passes on that drive, and for the game was 8-of-19 for 116 yards and also led the team rushing with 68 yards on 13 carries. He also threw two interceptions, however, on Lewisburg’s final two drives of the game following its lone touchdown.
Shamokin missed a 28-yard field goal on its next drive after it stalled at the Lewisburg 11 and the Indians also were stopped at the Lewisburg 8 on its subsequent drive.
“We need to clean that up quick because we won’t be able to survive next week again Southern with those missed opportunities,” said Hynoski. “We left four touchdowns on the field. Part of it is first game stuff, so each week that’ll get a little better, so we just have to fine-tune things and get better each week.”
But Shamokin’s defense came up big to make sure the Green Dragons wouldn’t rally late, as Knowledge Artis-Jones intercepted a pass near midfield midway through the fourth quarter to stop a Lewisburg drive, and the Green Dragons’ final chance was snuffed out by Chase Pensyl, who picked off Young also near midfield with 1:29 remaining to clinch the win.
Shamokin 13, Lewisburg 9
Shamokin (1-0) 7 0 6 0 – 13
Lewisburg (0-1) 0 3 6 0 – 9
First quarter
10:51 – (S) Wisdom Artis-Jones 68-yard run (Pensyl kick), 2-76, 1:09
Second quarter
9:25 – (L) Cohen Hoover 19-yard field goal, 14-76, 6:39
Third quarter
7:13 – (S) Knowledge Artis-Jones 2-yard run (run failed), 8-54, 3:23
1:40 – (L) Sean Field 4-yard run (kick blocked), 12-81, 5:33
Statistics
S L
First downs 20 12
Rushes-net yards 53-329 23-74
Passing yardage 46 116
Passing 5-8-0-0 8-19-0-2
Fumbles-lost 4-1 0-0
Penalties-yards 9-83 7-51
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Shamokin: Knowledge Artis-Jones (28-170-1), Brett Nye (10-24), Corey Adams (7-30), Wisdom Artis-Jones (5-106-1), Jayce Ginck (1-3), TEAM (2-(-4)); Lewisburg: Wade Young (13-68), Cam Michaels (6-5), Sean Field (4-10-1)
PASSING — Shamokin: Brett Nye (5-8-46-0-0); Lewisburg: Wade Young (8-19-116-0-2)
RECEIVING — Shamokin: Chase Pensyl (3-23), Ryder Zulkowski (2-23); Lewisburg: Jack Blough (3-64), Cam Michaels (2-35), Quinn Michaels (2-7), Trent Wenrich (1-10)
