MAHANOY CITY — Perhaps North Schuylkill quarterback Bobby Grigas took a look at Mahanoy Area’s one-loss record and figured there was no time to waste.
“We just came in with our heads on fire, thinking we had to take this over from the start,” Grigas said about the Spartans’ 49-7 Anthracite Football League rout of Mahanoy Area on Friday at Alumni Field. “We just had to stop their offense and that gave us motivation on offense to start scoring, get up big.”
The unbeaten Spartans (5-0, 5-0 AFL) certainly did that, piling up 378 yards from scrimmage in the first half and rolling to a 43-0 halftime lead that included a 28-point second quarter.
“It’s a total team effort. I tell the guys that every week,’’ North Schuylkill coach Wally Hall said. “Nobody can be selfish. We don’t have selfish players. They’re working together and they know it’s about us.”
Friday’s display was more about team than usual.
Armed with the huge lead, most of the Spartan starters spent the second half on the sideline while teammates played an accelerated half because of the mercy rule.
Using the no-huddle offense at the outset, North Schuylkill scored on its first possession, a seven-play drive that ended when Grigas found wide receiver Tevin Murray for a 27-yard touchdown pass.
The Spartans’ John Rupinski opened the floodgates near the end of the first period. Taking a second-down handoff from the Spartans’ 6-yard line, he worked through the line, darted left and used a block at midfield by Richie Zahodnick to outrace the secondary for a 94-yard touchdown run.
That play, his sixth carry of the game, put him over the 100-yard mark. He finished the game with 206 yards rushing on 13 carries, all in the first half.
Alek Hummel, Rupinski and Major Jordan followed with rushing touchdowns in the second quarter. After North Schuylkill took two timeouts on a Mahanoy Area possession to regain the ball in the final minute, the Spartans then hiked the edge to 43-0 as Zahodnick caught a 27-yard touchdown pass from Grigas with 28.6 seconds left.
Meanwhile, Mahanoy Area (3-2, 3-2) got its biggest break of the game when Chris Caravella recovered a fumbled punt return at the North Schuylkill 32 in the second period, but the Golden Bears’ drive ended on downs.
With its reserves handling the football after the second-half kickoff, North Schuylkill drove for the entire third period, finally coming up short on downs as the quarter ended.
But on the Golden Bears’ first play of the final period, a fumble was scooped up by the Spartans’ Austin Dietz, who returned it 12 yards for a touchdown.
“That’s unfortunate for a school of our size, especially when you’re playing a team with the level of North Schuylkill,’’ Mahanoy Area coach Dave Holman said of his team’s injuries. “They’re probably a Double-A district qualifier and possibly champions.”
Game Summary
NS (5-0. 5-0) 15 28 0 6 — 49 MA (3-2. 3-2) 0 0 0 7 — 7
NS —Murray 27 pass from Grigas (Grigas kick)
NS —Rupinski 94 run (Rupinski run)
NS —Hummel 4 run (Grigas kick)
NS — Rupinski 10 run (Grigas kick)
NS —Jordan 8 run (run failed)
NS —Zahodnick 27 pass from Grigas (Murray pass from Grigas)
NS —Dietz 12 fumble return (run failed)
MA —Dulsky 5 run (Bradley kick)
NS Mah
First Downs 19 4
Rushes-Yards 40-351 28-116
Passes 7-10-0 2-5-0
Passing Yards 143 8
Total Yards 494 124
Fumbles-Lost 3-1 3-2
Penalties 3-15 3-16
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: North Schuylkill — Rupinski 13-206, Wagner 4-52, Schwalm 1-34, Zahodnick 3-18, Weist 7-14, DeAngelo 2-13, Jordan 2-11, Fischer 4-7, Grigas 1-(-4). Mahanoy Area — Dulsky 10-70, Ryan 9-31, Lewandowski 3-9, Evitts 3-7, Team 2-(-1), Yedsena 1-(-6).
PASSING: North Schuylkill — Grigas 7-10-0, 143. Mahanoy Area — Ryan 2-5-0, 8.
RECEIVING: North Schuylkill — Murray 4-90, Zahodnick 3-53. Mahanoy Area — Evitts 1-7, Dulsky 1-1.
INTERCEPTIONS: None.