By BILL ALBRIGHT
EasternPAFootball Senior Writer
JERSEY SHORE — The first time the Shikellamy and Jersey Shore football teams butted heads this season, it was a wild, high-scoring affair with the Bulldogs scoring the final 28 points of the game in the second half to pull out a 42-28 win over the Braves.
Friday night, it was the same two teams, the venue was the same, but this time the game might have had a little more meaning to it. This time the game was a semifinal matchup in the District IV Class AAA tournament, the winner moving on to battle Selinsgrove for the district title.
After a slow first half that saw the Bulldogs hold a 13-6 at the break, Shore picked up the tempo in the second half to outscore the Braves 28-7 to pull away for a convincing 41-13 win.
Faced with a lot of turmoil and adversity during the week, Shore head coach Tom Gravish was happy with the way his kids prepared themselves for the game.
“Nobody mentioned some of the things that were dealt our way during the week and we had a great week of practice,” Gravish said. “You have to give the assistant coaches a lot of credit for putting together a good game plan as well as getting the kids focused to play the game. We have a good group of young men, they all listened to the plan and things worked out well for us.”
The Braves hung tough early in the game, but in the end, it was too much Orange & Black power for them to deal with.
“Give them (Shikellamy) some credit because they are a tough bunch,” Gravish said. “Our seniors could have been facing playing their last game, but they didn’t want that to happen. We are really proud of these guys and they (seniors) are a part of 20 victories over a two-year period. At the same time, we are telling the underclassmen they are also a part of the wins and we are just proud of what those players have accomplished.”
With the absence of two-way player Bryce Charles from the game, it was time for Jarrett Guthrie to seize the opportunity and run with it and he did just that. Filling in for Charles, Guthrie carried the ball 11 times for 78 yards and one score while also blocking for tailback Levi Lorson.
“If you would ask anybody about reflecting on practice coming into the game here tonight, they would be quick to tell you that Guthrie had a great week of practice,” said Gravish. “There aren’t that many footballs to go around on this team and he took advantage of his opportunity. He did a real nice job tonight and he was one of the keys to this win.”
Anyone in the area who has watched a good number of football games would be quick to tell you that Todd Sanford is one of the top receivers in the area. Once again, the junior wideout did his thing as he hauled in seven balls for 89 yards and one touchdown.
“He is a real competitor and pound for pound he is as athletic and tough as they come out there,” Gravish said. “We are real proud of his efforts and what he has done for us at this point in the season.”
The Shore defense held the Braves to less than three yards per carry on the ground, while surrendering 126 yards through the air, 97 of that total coming on one play.
“We were really proud of our defensive line tonight,” said Gravish. “The guys in the trenches put some physical tackles on people and we are going to need that same type of effort against the (Selinsgrove) Seals next week.”
The only thing standing between the Bulldogs and another district championship is Selinsgrove, the Seals owning a regular season win over the Bulldogs by breaking up a close game with a strong second half.
“We like playing those guys and we are looking forward to getting back to the championship game,” Gravish said. “It is quality, intense football so we’ll go down there, see what we can do, and hopefully we can change the outcome this year.”
The Bulldogs scored the first two touchdowns of the game in the second period on a 21-yard connection by quarterback Travis Bradley to Sanford before Lorson, who rushed 38 times for 178 yards, scored his first of a pair of TDs.
Holding the 13-6 lead at the break, the Bulldogs showed their strength and conditioning in the final 24 minutes as they outscored Shik 28-7 to pull away for the win.
Guthrie got things started with a 37-yard jaunt to pay dirt before Bradley answered a Brave touchdown when he scooted around his own right end from ten yards for the score.
If the game was still in doubt, senior defensive end Isaac Stetts took care of that when he reached his big paw in the air, used the tip drill to deflect a pass to himself before racing untouched 30 yards for the score with the pick-six.
Lorson capped the Shore win and his outstanding night with a 4-yard TD scamper for the only points of the fourth quarter.
Now 9-2 for the season, Shore will make the trip down Route 15 Friday night for the anticipated rematch with the Seals. Selinsgrove advanced to the title game with a 62-8 thumping of Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech in the other semifinal.
Shik 0 6 7 0 — 13
Shore 0 13 21 7 — 41
Second Quarter
JS — Todd Sanford 21 pass from Travis Bradley. (Cameron Griffin kick) 5:54
JS — Levi Lorson 2 run (kick failed) 3:21
S — Shawn Turber 61 run (kick failed) 3:00
Third Quarter
JS — Jarrett Guthrie 37 run (Griffin kick) 9:24
S — Turber 97 pass from Tate Krankoskie (Dylan Snyder kick) 7:07
JS — Bradley 10 run (Griffin kick) 1:14
JS — Isaac Stetts 30 interception return. (Griffin kick) :39
Fourth Quarter
JS — Lorson 4 run (Griffin kick) 2:41
Team Statistics SHIK JS
First Downs 5 20
Rushes-Yards 26-75 57-289
Passing Yards 126 150
Passing 5-15-2 11-19-0
Fumbles-Lost 3-1 1-0
Penalties-Yards 13-95 8-65
Individual Statistics
Rushing
Shik: Shawn Turber 10-80 1 TD; Gabe Tilford 7-13, Luke Tilford 1-8, Pierson White 1-minus 4, Kobe Swanger 2-minus 4, Joe Folk 1-minus 6, Tate Krankoskie 4-minus 12.
Shore: Levi Lorson 38-172, 2 TDs; Jarrett Guthrie 11-78, 1 TD; Travis Bradley 8-21, 1 TD; Chase Braim 4-17, Willie Stevenson 1-1.
Passing
Shik: Tate Krankoskie 4-14 123 yards, 2 interceptions, 1 TD; Shawn Turber 1-1, 3 yards.
Shore: Travis Bradley 10-18, 123 yards, 1 TD; Levi Lorson 1-1, 27 yards.
Receiving
Shik: Shawn Turber 1-97, 1 TD; Owen Long 2-19, Hunter Dodge 1-7, Tate Krankoskie 1-3.
Shore: Todd Sanford 7-89, 1 TD; Cole Eiswerth 3-54, Tyler Smith 1-7.
