Michaels looked solid in debut
By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9)
Drew Michaels hadn’t played football since 8th grade, but the junior decided to come out this season after two seasons off and was listed third on the depth chart entering last week. Seven days later he was making his first career varsity start against Bloomsburg, replacing injured starter Nick Becker, and Michaels threw for 155 yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone on the way to a 56-19 Southern Columbia win. “It’s really been a whirlwind. I came in last week in the second half against Mifflinburg which I wasn’t really prepared for. Then I got the starting reps all week in practice to get ready for this game,” Michaels said. The Tigers didn’t call any designed quarterback run plays after losing Becker on one early last week, but Michaels did get the opportunity to air it out 11 times in the opening half and only had one blunder. “The only negative for Drew was the one interception he threw when he was late on a slant pattern. Other than that he played a pretty solid game. I was really impressed with the way he scrambled to avoid their defense on some of his pass attempts,” said Southern’s head coach Jim Roth.
The scoring started on the Tigers first offensive play when Blake Marks took a hand-off up the sidelines for a 73 yard score outrunning the back end of the Panthers defense. On Southern’s next possession, Hunter Thomas caught a screen pass and scored from 58 yards out behind the effort of his linemen. “The offensive line has been a key for us in the early going so far. We knew the talent we had at the skill position, but had to replace some guys up front. I’m very pleased with their performance in these first two games,” Roth stated. Josh Yoder and Aaron Kroh were the only two returning starters Southern had coming back from a season ago, and now they are joined by Gabe Delbo whose made the transition from tight end, sophomore Andrew Bell, and the center is Dale Houser.
Coty Kashner had a 50 yard carry for the Panthers on the ensuing possession, and he finished the drive with a short touchdown from four yards out to make the score 14-7 in favor of Southern. Steve Toczylousky caught a touchdown pass from Michaels on the next drive to make it a two score game again. “I have a lot of talent behind me. It makes my job a whole lot easier when you know that you have three great backs and then play-makers on the outside,” Michaels said. Not to be outdone though, Bloomsburg quarterback Nick Anderson connected with Christian Lee for a 39 yard score through the air to finish off the high scoring first quarter with SCA in the lead 21-13.
Thomas started the second quarter with a five yard rushing touchdown to extend Southern’s lead. “I was excited to play against Bloomsburg, and I feel our offense really showed up to play tonight,” said Thomas who moved to Southern from Bloomsburg three years ago. The most shocking Tiger offensive statistic was the fact that Thomas’ five yard touchdown was the shortest rush by a Tiger starter in the backfield on the night. Between Thomas, Marks, and fullback Jared Torres the trio carried only 13 total times but racked up 258 yards, which is a staggering 19.8 yards per carry. On Southern’s next possession, Thomas was at it again with a 77 yard stroll to pay dirt. Right before the half, Toczylousky grabbed his second touchdown reception, this one from 13 yards out, on a fade pattern from the newcomer. “Drew came in and he did an outstanding job. On his throws he put them where they needed to be. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting him to play as good as he did since it was only his first start,” said Toczylousky. With that score the Tigers were able to go into halftime with a much more comfortable feeling than last week leading 42-13.
In the second half, Thomas started the scoring with his fourth touchdown of the night. This one came when he picked off Anderson and returned it 39 yards for the score. “The defense got off to a little bit of a rough start, but after the first quarter I think the whole team settled in and started to make some plays,” Thomas said. The final score of the third quarter came when Billy Marzeski scored on a nine yard plunge on the Tigers next possession to make the score 56-13 after Tyler Keiser converted on his eighth consecutive PAT. The only score of the fourth quarter came when Bloomsburg backup Cooper Thrush hit a wide open Logan Klinger for Bloomsburg’s only score after the first quarter. The two point conversion was no good, and the Tigers ran the clock out after that to pick up the convincing 56-19 victory. Next week the Panthers will host Towanda and try to pick up their first win. The Tigers will take their 2-0 record on the road to battle the Shamokin Indians.
SCA: 21-21-14-0 = 56
BLOOM: 13-0-0-6 = 19
SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (2-0)
RUSHING:
Hunter Thomas 4-100, 2 TDs; Blake Marks 3-118, TD; Jared Torres 6-40; Billy Marzeski 2-10, TD; Nic Fetterman 2-30; Thomas Manley 4-33; Dylan Kranzel 4-17; AJ Goodlunas 5-12; Sami Abdul 1-12; Cole Potter 2-(-2)
PASSING:
Drew Michaels 8-11-1, 155 yds, 3 TDs
RECEIVING:
Steve Toczylousky 4-74, 2 TDs; Hunter Thomas 2-66, TD; Jared Torres 1-7; Blake Marks 1-8
1st DOWNS: 25
PENALTIES: 3-24
BLOOMSBURG (0-2)
RUSHING:
Coty Kashner 8-63, TD; Darius Green 13-55; Nick Malatesta 3-8; Nick Anderson 3-3; Tommy Harrison 2-3; Christian Lee 1-2; Jake Frye 1-(-3); Zahier Stewart 2-(-4)
PASSING:
Nick Anderson 5-9-1, 86 yds, TD; Cooper Thrush 1-1-0, 39 yds, TD
RECEIVING:
Eric Foust 2-59, TD; Christian Lee 2-24; Logan Klinger 1-39, TD; Tommy Harrison 1-5; Darius Green 1-(-2)
1st DOWNS: 7
PENALTIES: 4-25
