DANVILLE — Mount Carmel had a solid game in some respects, and a not-so-solid game in others, but the bottom line, as head coach Carm DeFrancesco said after the Red Tornadoes’ 44-13 win over Danville on Friday was, “We came here expecting a win, and we got a win.”
The way the Red Tornadoes won probably was an accurate summation of their team. The skill players made big plays, the line had some issues and the defense, while not exactly dominant, made big plays of its own.
Nobody made more big plays than Blake Panko, for the second straight week. Although Panko only rushed for 55 yards, he ran for two touchdowns and put the game out of reach with a 96-yard kickoff return to start the second half, his second kick return touchdown of the season. Panko also had a 32-yard punt return.
“Blake’s amazing,” DeFrancesco said.
But other guys made big plays too. Panko’s first touchdown, a 1-yard run, was set up by a 65-yard pass from Dominic Farronato to Christian Kelley, and Kelley later scored on a 55-yard return of a 52-yard field-goal attempt which was blocked by Wes Shurock.
Treyvon White only caught one pass, but it was for a 65-yard touchdown, and he added a 31-yard gain on a reverse to set up another score.
Placekicker Tom Bielski kicked a 32-yard field goal, his third successful attempt of the season.
All that being said, the Red Tornadoes never really controlled the line of scrimmage. Zach Zarkowski’s 44-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter made the Red Tornadoes’ rushing total look a little better but they were never able to line up and push it down Danville’s throat.
Danville did some things early which gave the defense trouble. Sophomore Trent Hilkert had 15 carries for 71 yards, 61 of which came in the first half, and freshman quarterback Gannon Feldmann completed 5-of-8 passes in the first quarter.
“In the first quarter, they did some good things against our defense,” DeFrancesco said. “We were trying to not show some things for next week (against Southern Columbia) but when we eventually did, we shut them down.”
“And then we got some kids in the game to run some plays and we just didn’t execute well.”
Any hopes Danville had of staying in the game probably ended when the Ironmen let kicker Shayne Riley attempt a 52-yard field goal early in the second quarter instead of going for a first down or punting on fourth-and-5 from Mount Carmel’s 36. A number of Mount Carmel players broke through, with Shurock batting the ball and Kelley picking it up and returning it for a touchdown.
Later, a 24-yard punt return by Juwan Sullins and White’s 31-yard reverse set up an 11-yard touchdown by Panko.
White’s 65-yard touchdown pass from Farronato with 3:41 left in the half made it 31-0.
Danville (1-4) scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns, a 28-yard run by Joe Strausser and a 25-yard run by Raiden Williams against Mount Carmel reserves.
Game Summary
MCA (4-1, 2-0) 10 21 7 6 — 44 Danv (1-4, 0-3) 0 0 0 13 — 13
MC —Panko 1 run (Bielski kick)
MC —FGBielski 32
MC —Kelley 55 blocked field goal return (Bielski kick)
MC — Panko 11 run (Bielski kick)
MC —White 65 pass from Farronato (Bielski kick)
MC —Panko 96 kickoff return (Bielski kick)
D —Strausser 28 run (Riley kick)
MC —Zarkowski 44 run (no attempt)
D —Williams 25 run (no attempt)
MC Dan
First Downs 10 10
Rushes-Yards 33-184 35-167
Passes 5-9-0 7-16-2
Passing Yards 145 42
Total Yards 329 209
Fumbles-Lost 4-2 1-1
Penalties 5-48 1-10
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Mount Carmel — Panko 9-55, Zarkowski 3-47, White 1-31, Farronato 8-14, Yancoskie 3-11, Tanney 4-9, Kelley 1-9, Shurock 1-9, McDonald 3-(-1). Danville — Hilkert 15-71, Brouse 8-45, Williams 4-43, Strausser 1-28, Hagenbuch 4-6, Feldmann 2-(-17), Team 1-(-9).
PASSING: Mount Carmel — Farronato 5-9-0, 145. Danville — Feldmann 7-14-1, 42; Ryan 0-2-1, 0.
RECEIVING: Mount Carmel — White 1-65, Kelley 1-65, Sullins 1-12, Thompson 2-3. Danville — Hilkert 1-26, Shope 3-16, Strausser 2-5, Feldmann 1-(-5).
INTERCEPTIONS: Mount Carmel — Bogutskie. Danville — None.