MINERSVILLE - Schuylkill Haven head coach Mike Farr had a couple concerns coming into Friday night's Anthracite Football League contest with Minersville.
First, the coach said that his Hurricanes don't always play their best at Minersville. Secondly, he was worried that his kids would overlook this game with North Schuylkill on the horizon.
It only took his players four minutes to let the coach know they weren't over looking anyone and playing at Minersville is just fine with them. Will Casella scored two of his four first-half touchdowns in that span as Schuylkill Haven defeated the Battlin Miners 41-7.
"Our staff did a great job preparing these kids for this game," Farr said. "I am really happy with tonight as our kids came out and took control."
After an onside kick attempt by Minersville to start the game went awry, the Haven offense went to work. Casella plunged in form the 1-yard line for his first score.
Then, on the kickoff, Minersville coughed the ball up and Haven junior Nick Kerschner pounced on it for the recovery. The result was the same as Casella rushed for his second touchdown, this time from 4 yards out.
The Schuylkill Haven defense forced a Minersville punt on the next possession, and once again it was Casella with a 27-yard touchdown run.
The first quarter saw the Hurricanes run 14 plays, all of which were runs, gain a total of 111 yards and score three touchdowns. Casella had a huge quarter, but it all started up front with the line, and Friday they did it without captain and starting center Zach Kerschner. Junior Brandon Naus filled in just fine, and the unit didn't miss a beat as the Hurricanes drove the Miners off the line of scrimmage.
"Our offensive line is really good and they don't get enough credit," Farr said. "They are the guys doing all the dirty work, and we don't do anything fancy, we just keep it simple."
While the offense and defense were having their way, the Hurricanes' special teams got into the act next. On the first play of the second quarter a Hurricane player got his first touch of the game. After sitting out the first quarter for disciplinary reasons, Ryan Fink took Luke Heffron's punt at his own 40-yard line. The junior started left and went to turn the corner. Out of nowhere senior Alec Bailey laid a devastating block on a Minersville defender to free Fink for a 60-yard return for a touchdown and a 28-0 lead.
The Hurricanes added one more score in the half, and, you guessed it, it was Casella again for his fourth and final touchdown of the night. The junior rushed 16 times on the night for 141 yards and the four touchdowns.
Down 35-0 at halftime, many teams would have just folded the tent. Minersville head coach Pat Mason was happy his team did not do that. After the Miners managed just 57 yards of offense in the first half, the team came out and put together an 80-yard drive to start the second. The Miners started to go to the air and sophomore quarterback Jon McBreen responded. He was 5-for-5 on the drive for 58 yards. McBreen used his legs to cap it off when he scrambled 18 yards for the Miners' lone score of the night.
"We are a young football team and I am trying to stress to these guys to get better every play," Mason said. "Anybody can say anything about wins and losses, but it's all about learning and all about getting better and these kids are doing the right things now. Hopefully we can build on the positives and keep moving in the right direction."
On a side note, the struggling Schuykill Haven kicking game took a turn for the better Friday night. Junior kicker Jason Trumbo was 5-for-5 on his extra points on the night.