MOUNT CARMEL — If last year’s Coal Bucket game was possibly the greatest in the history of the series, this year’s will be eminently forgettable — at least for the beleaguered Shamokin Indians.
Mount Carmel rolled up 325 yards of first-half offense and completely dominated the Indians 35-6 to win the Coal Bucket for the 20th consecutive year. The Red Tornadoes (6-4) will probably not be able to dent the top eight for the District 4 Class AA playoffs and will probably play an Eastern Conference playoff game.
Shamokin played like the 2-8 team it is, although the Indians didn’t have any help from the officials at a crucial point.
Trailing 14-0, the Indians had Mount Carmel pinned inside the 10-yard line and recovered a fumble on a run by Kyle Karycki. A Shamokin player was called for unsportsmanlike conduct on the play, and instead of having the ball at the 8, the Indians were driven back to the 23.
Then, wide receiver Thomas Campbell appeared to catch a touchdown pass from Nate Shurock inside the front pylon. The official on top of the play called the pass incomplete, then flagged Campbell when he objected, eventually ejecting the Shamokin senior.
By the time more flags were done flying, Shamokin was back in its own territory facing second-and-next year, and from that point on, Mount Carmel completely dominated.
“He had his foot in,” said Shamokin coach Pat DiRienzo of Campbell’s play. “It was a touchdown. Then the next thing you know, we had 30 yards in penalties on top of it. Cooler heads didn’t prevail, that’s for sure. That would have made the game 14-7. But I’m not pleased with how we reacted after that. We had another bad turnover on Nate’s pass, too. It’s been one of those seasons.”
Mount Carmel went ahead with two first-quarter touchdowns, the first set up by Michael Cuff’s interception of a Shurock pass, which gave Mount Carmel the ball at Shamokin’s 5. Quarterback John Ayres scored on a 2-yard run.
Lane Tanney broke through the Indians’ line for a 59-yard touchdown run on the next series.
Shamokin got something going with a Devin Pietkiewicz 24-yard run to Mount Carmel’s 35, but the Red Tornadoes forced a punt.
Mount Carmel took control of the game with a 10-play, 94-yard drive after the Campbell series. Ayres, who completed 9-of-14 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns, completed a 34-yard touchdown pass to Wes Shurock, then completely put a dagger in the Indians by directing a 13-play, 77-yard drive using a series of short passes to Allen Yancoskie, including one for a 4-yard touchdown with 4.5 seconds left in the half, putting the game out of reach.
“They did a very good job on that drive,” Mount Carmel coach John Darrah said. “Sometimes they even surprise us. We kept going to that flat pass because they (Shamokin) never adjusted to it. I didn’t realize we had a 300-yard half, but I really think our defense came out and physically hit people and didn’t give them much.”
A 9-yard touchdown run by Lane Tanney and a fifth extra point by Rosalino Mangiapane put the game into the mercy rule with 6:00 to play in the third quarter.
Shamokin scored a fourth-quarter touchdown on a 1-yard plunge by Shurock.
Game Summary
Sham (2-8) 0 0 0 6 — 6
MC (6-4) 14 14 7 0 — 35
MC — Ayres 2 run (Mangianpane kick)
MC — Tanney 59 run (Mangiapane kick)
MC — W. Shurock 34 pass from Ayres (Mangiapane kick)
MC — Yancoskie 4 pass from Ayres (Mangiapane kick)
MC — Tanney 9 run (Mangiapane kick)
S — N. Shurock 1 run (bad snap, conversion failed)
Sham MC
First Downs 6 17
Rushes-Yards 26-102 47-236
Passes 3-10-1 9-14-0
Passing Yards 23 141
Total Yards 125 377
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 3-1
Penalties 9-85 6-50
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Shamokin — Pietkiewicz 9-53, Burns 9-33, Shurock 6-6, Wetzel 1-10, Reiprich 1-0. Mount Carmel — Karycki 14-90, Ayres 15-86, Tanney 8-82, Yancoskie 2-19, Britt 2-13, McDonald 2-5, Team 4-(-59).
PASSING: Shamokin — Shurock 3-10-1, 23. Mount Carmel — Ayres 9-14-1, 141.
RECEIVING: Shamokin — Campbell 1-12, Pietkiewicz 1-8, Berge 1-3. Mount Carmel — Yancoskie 5-65, Shurock 2-55, Karycki 1-15, Duran 1-6.
INTERCEPTIONS: Mount Carmel — Cuff