JERSEY SHORE — Shamokin’s game plan coming into Friday’s game with Jersey Shore was to stop Levi Lorson.
In the first matchup between the two teams this season, Lorson scored three touchdowns and rushed for 246 yards.
So, in their opening round game of the District 4 Class AAA playoffs, the Indians stacked the box and committed to stopping Lorson.
It was Lorson’s teammates, however, that made the Indians pay Friday.
Jersey Shore threw for two touchdowns to open the game and won 37-0 to oust the Indians from the District 4 Class AAA playoffs.
“We figured we would stop the run and dare them to throw,” Shamokin head coach Pat DiRienzo said. “They threw and completed some. We wanted to stop the run first — that was our game plan coming in.”
If you call holding Lorson to 172 yards and no scores containing him, then the Indians (5-6) bottled him up.
But with so much attention paid to Lorson, Bulldogs quarterback Logan English was able to first find receiver Brody Smith for a 14-yard touchdown in the first quarter to put the Bulldogs up 7-0.
Shamokin’s offense, however, never got into a rhythm. The Indians mustered 99 total yards of offense and turned the ball over three times.
“I thought we would generate a little bit more offense, but they manhandled us on the line of scrimmage and that was the difference,” DiRienzo said.
It didn’t help matters when Shamokin offensive lineman Matt Fabian left the game with a leg injury. Senior Josiah Miller, who recorded 20 tackles, tried to fill the gap up front but Jersey Shore’s defense was too active.
Despite the offense sputtering, DiRienzo was happy with his team’s first-half performance and wasn’t shocked that the Indians (11-0) kept the game close.
“We knew we could play with Jersey Shore, but I think last week — a rivalry game with Mount Carmel — took a lot out of us,” DiRienzo said. “We had a decent week of practice and we were ready, but I’ll also hand it to Jersey Shore, which is a quality football team.”
The second half was all Bulldogs. They had three drives of at least 11 plays, scored twice on the ground, once on a fumble recovery and booted a 33-yard field goal for good measure.
For Shamokin, the early exit from the playoffs, and second shutout loss to Jersey Shore this season, was not about to sour the year.
“I don’t think I can be any more proud of our team,” DiRienzo said. “We came in 0-10 from last year and not knowing who the coach was going to be until June, when I got hired. The time they put in to just get to this point has been great. We have five wins this year — that’s five more than we had last year and I’m so proud of their accomplishments. In a short period of time, we’ve built a foundation here at Shamokin and I told our underclassmen that now we have to start building block by block, season by season.”
Game Summary
District 4 Class AAA Semifinal
Sham. (5-6) 0 0 0 0 — 0 JS (11-0) 7 6 17 7 — 37
J — Smith 14 pass from English (Koch kick)
J —Leese 42 pass from English (kick blocked)
J — FG Koch 33
J —English 5 run (Koch kick)
J —Charles 5 run (Koch kick)
J —Bashaw 4 fumble return (Koch kick)
Sham JS
First Downs 6 20
Rushes-Yards 31-38 54-244
Passes 8-16-2 7-13-1
Passing Yards 61 103
Total Yards 99 347
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 4-1
Penalties 6-60 8-75
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Shamokin — Demsko 14-43, Pietkiewicz 13-27, Yost 3-(-7), Campbell 1-(-25). Jersey Shore — Lorson 36-172, Charles 8-39, Guthrie 3-13, English 4-12, Costa 1-4, Braim 1-3, Bashaw 1-1.
PASSING: Shamokin — Yost 7-16-2, 61. Jersey Shore — English 7-13-1, 103.
RECEIVING: Shamokin — Mirolli 2-42, Campbell 3-7, Henz 2-8, Pietkiewicz 1-4. Jersey Shore — Leese 1-42 , Smith 3-38, Loffredo 2-22, Lorson 1-1.
INTERCEPTIONS: Shamokin — Mirolli. Jersey Shore — Bradley, Smith.