FOUNTAIN SPRINGS-Mount Carmel put together its most complete performance of the season to date in a 55-7 dismantling of North Schuylkill on Friday night. The Red Tornadoes hit for big plays up and down the field, as they continue to pile up both yards and touchdowns in bunches. Once again, it was the running game that did almost all of the damage. Jaylen Delaney rushed for 152 yards and four touchdowns and Cooper Karycki added 115 yards on the ground and three total touchdowns, as Mount Carmel was sharp from start to finish in a third consecutive easy win.

“I was really proud of our kids,” Mount Carmel coach John Darrah said. “I’ll be honest, the game’s kind of a blur. I can’t even remember who scored and things like that. It seemed like it went pretty quick. But, obviously we did a good job and executed very well, so it was a big win.”

It would be easy for Darrah to feel that way, given the speed in which his team put up points. Delaney got things started with a 59-yard touchdown run where he suddenly broke through the line of scrimmage on a quarterback keeper and was off to the races. North Schuylkill (0-4) briefly tied things up on a 51-yard touchdown pass from Brock Holmes to Daniel Brake at the 5:51 mark of the opening quarter. However, in the blink of an eye, the Red Tornadoes would take the lead back for good when Cooper Karycki took a handoff, outran the defense, and crossed the goal line on an 83-yard sprint only 15 seconds after the Spartans scored. It was that kind of night for Mount Carmel, where everything just seemed to work. Karycki has now rushed for over 100 yards in all four games this season.

“Like, we’ve got some explosive guys,” Darrah said. “Cooper is one of those guys, he’s maybe the fastest guy on the team, he gets a little crease like that, and he could score at any time. Like I said, just really happy with our team. Really, really proud of our guys.”

The next three times Mount Carmel touched the ball, it would produce. Delaney scored on a 3-yard run in the waning seconds of the first quarter, and then the Red Tornadoes, who were beneficiaries of excellent field position all night, converted a short drive after Karycki went in untouched on a sweep to the left side from four yards out. Just for good measure, the passing game got involved. Karycki made it the fifth touchdown in as many possessions following his diving 27-yard touchdown catch on a pass from Delaney. Mount Carmel tallied 291 yards in the first half, and would finish the night with 569 yards of total offense.

“I think our kids just seem very focused,” Darrah said. “It was a just a team effort. I thought our line blocked well, our backs ran hard. They were mixing up some fronts, our guys were just executing, and once those guys got loose, we made some big plays. Overall, top to bottom, I thought every guy on the team did a nice job.”

Leading 35-7 at halftime, the offensive onslaught continued into the second half. Jason Klokis broke off a 47-yard run to help overcome a 2nd-and-21 situation, and three plays later, Delaney got free for his third score of the game, this one courtesy of a 19-yard run. The last drive for the first-team offense ended like most others did, with a touchdown. Delaney put an exclamation point on things by making a house call on a 4th-and-1 play which resulted in a 34-yard dash to pay dirt. The single-wing offense looked pretty good once again, as Delaney becomes more and more comfortable with his role at quarterback.

“Jalen’s a great athlete,” Darrah said. “Jalen can do anything you ask him to do. Made some big plays for us tonight, and I’m glad he’s on our team.”

On the very first play with reserves in for both teams, Jaxon Boblick got a handoff, and he joined the scoring party. The junior made the most of his only carry, going 94 yards for a touchdown to close out the scoring with 10:55 left in the game. One year ago, it was North Schuylkill who dealt Mount Carmel a lopsided defeat on opening night by a score of 62-20. Mount Carmel has flipped the script in a big way, while temporarily exorcising some demons. Dating back to 2014, the Spartans had won 10 of the previous 11 matchups between the two teams. Mount Carmel was the fourth state-ranked opponent North Schuylkill has faced as part of a brutal early-season schedule.

“Our guys were fired up,” Darrah said. “I think they remember that from last year. But what I could say about this team is, they just love playing football. They show up every day, they love practicing, they love getting after people, and they love hitting. It’s just a very fun team to coach.”

Mount Carmel 21 14 13 7-55
North Schuylkill 7 0 0 0-7

Individual Scoring
First Quarter
MC-Jaylen Delaney 59 run (Josh Miller kick) 7:33
NS-Daniel Brake 51 pass from Brock Holmes (Wes Urban kick) 5:51
MC-Cooper Karycki 83 run (Miller kick) 5:36
MC-Delaney 3 run (Miller kick) :20

Second Quarter
MC-Karycki 4 run (Miller kick) 10:04
MC-Karycki 27 pass from Delaney (Miller kick) 2:44

Third Quarter
MC-Delaney 19 run (kick failed) 8:01
MC-Delaney 34 run (Miller kick) 4:12

Fourth Quarter
MC-Jaxon Boblick 94 run (Miller kick) 10:55

Team Statistics
…………………MC………………NS
1st downs………20…………………8
rush-yds………47-534…………28-79
comp-att-int…2-4-1…………….5-17-0
pass yds………….35………………136
total yds……….569…………….215
fumb-lost………1-0……………..1-0
pen-yds………….4-30…………..8-54

Individual Statistics
Rushing-Mount Carmel: Jaylen Delaney 12-152, 4 TDs; Cooper Karycki 9-115, 2 TDs; Jaxon Boblick 1-94, TD; Jason Klokis 4-66; Michael Higgins 7-54; Max Karycki 3-27; Preston Pultynovich 2-15; Austin Ventilli 2-9; Gabe Higgins 2-5; Jayden Rotolo 1-5; Bailey Pisarz 1-3; Vincent Addman 2-0; Team 1-(-11). North Schuylkill: Bryce Kile 16-63; Otilio Lopez-Montz 3-20; Daniel Brake 1-5; Francis Kowalonek 1-0; Brock Holmes 7-(-9).

Passing-Mount Carmel: Delaney 2-4-1, 35 yds., TD. North Schuylkill: Holmes 5-16-0, 136 yds., TD. Kowalonek 0-1-0.

Receiving-Mount Carmel: C. Karycki 1-27, TD; Logan Shuder 1-8. North Schuylkill: Xavier McNally 3-80; Brake 1-51, TD; Seth Hubler 1-5.

RUNNINGBACKS: 

Quintin Rucker of Mahanoy Area rushed for 233 yards on 13 carries and scored 4 td’s in their win over Pine Grove.  In the same game, the Grove’s Logan Troup carried the ball 45 times for 326 yards and 3 td’s and is the District leader after 3 weeks with 598 yards rushing.  Troup’s 326 yards is the third highest game total for a Cardinal.  Ryan Heim holds the record when he rushed for 352 yards vs Juniata in 2013, and Nick Frantz has the second highest total when he rushed for 336 yards vs Upper Dauphin in 2002.  TJ Lawrence of Parkland has the second highest total this season with 528 yards after rushing for 186 yards and 3 td’s in their win over Easton.  Lawrence and Rucker lead the District with each scoring 8 td’s this season.  Lawrence also moved up 10 spots on the all-time list to 60th place with 55 career td’s.  He joins Bob Tarola of Bethlehem Catholic (55 from 1965-67), John Gruver of Palisades (55 from 2005-08), and Darnell Ferrell of Central Catholic (55 from 2014-16).  TJ also went over 3,000 yards rushing for his career (3,124).  Tyler Price of Marian Catholic is the third player to rush for over 500 yards in the first 3 weeks.  Price has rushed for 506 yards and scored 7 td’s this season.  Jack MoDavis of Southern Lehigh rushed for 209 yards and 2 td’s in their win over Jim Thorpe.  There are 7 players who scored 7 td’s in the first 3 games.  They are Colton Reber of Schuylkill Haven, Terrence McDowell of Tamaqua, Chase Keeler of Northampton. Lukas Croizier of Lehighton, Evan Garrett of PM East, Carson Eckhart of Palmerton and the already mentioned Price of Marian Catholic.

QUARTERBACKS:

Thomas Murphy of Notre Dame threw for 297 yards and 6 td’s in their win over Salisbury.  The 6td’s ties the school record held by Cole Defranco and Collin Quintano. Defranco threw 6 td’s vs Saucon Valley in 2018 and Quintano threw 6 td’s vs Jim Thorpe in 2021.  Murphy joined the chart this week with his 1,008 career yards passing and also leads the District with 10 td passes this season.  We have three QB’s that threw for 200 yards in all 3 games this season.  They are Axel Burkart of Bethlehem Catholic (774 yards), Jackson Mitchell of Stroudsburg (726 yards), and Cooper Madson of Nazareth (686 yards).  But, Colton Sams of Southern Lehigh leads the District with 826 passing yards based off his two 300-yard passing games.  His 7,127 career passing yards move him into 10th place all-time in the District, leaping over Cole Hidabrant of Pius X, who threw for 6,991 yards from 2003-06.  Sams now stands alone in 4th place all-time for td passes in the District with 88.  Cohen Kirby of Blue Mountain threw for 234 yards and 3 td’s in their win over Schuylkill Haven putting him over 700 yards passing for the season (705).  Julian Pagen of Allen threw for 229 yards and 3 td’s in their loss to PM East.  Tanner Dogmantis of Whitehall threw for 218 yards and a score while also rushing for 156 yards and 3 td’s in their win over Northampton.  Michael Stofanak of Freedom and Finn Coen of Parkland both went over 2,000 yards passing for their careers in week 3.  Five players have thrown 9 td passes this season and trail Murphy by one.  They are Sams (SL), Kirby (BM), Madson (Naz), Pagen (Allen), and Ethan Bench of Shenandoah Valley.  Garrett Smoyer of Northern Lehigh threw 4 td passes in their win over over Pen Argyl and is now tied for the school record for career td passes with his brother Dylan, who threw 38 td passes from 2020-21.

RECEIVERS:

District 11 longest field goals:  (more added)

TIDBITS:

1st recorded 200-yard receiver(s) for a game:

Bill Pilconis of Panther Valley vs Parkland in 1966 (200 yards on 7 catches) lost 33-26.

2025 single-game highs: ( ) is the week the player accomplished the stat

Single Game Touchdowns (4)

6 (2) Terrence McDowell (Tamaqua)  *Modern Day School Record*

Single Game Rushing Yardage (200)

337 (2) Terrence McDowell (Tamaqua)

Single Game Passing Yardage (200)

363 (1), 304 (2) Colton Sams (Southern Lehigh)

237 (1) Michael Stofanak (Freedom)

Single Game TD Passes (4)

6 (3) Thomas Murphy (Notre Dame)  *Ties School Record*

Single Game Receptions (10)

11 (3) Carter Vassa (Bethlehem Catholic)

Single Game Reception Yardage (140)

202 (1), 153 (3) Carter Vassa (Bethlehem Catholic)

Single Game Reception TD’s (3)

3 (2) Luke DiPietro (Nazareth)

Field Goals (40 yards)

52 (2) Jordan Bowers (Minersville)  *School Record*

District 11 Season Leaders

Rushing (400)

596 Logan Troup (Pine Grove)

528 TJ Lawrence (Parkland)

506 Tyler Price (Marian Catholic)

499 Terrence McDowell (Tamaqua)

476 Chase Kessler (Northampton)

449 Christian Stiehler (Pocono Mountain West)

432 Fletcher Thompson (Williams Valley)

Touchdowns (7)

8 TJ Lawrence (Parkland)

7 Terrence McDowell (Tamaqua)

Passing Yards (600)

826 Colton Sams (Southern Lehigh)

774 Axel Burkart (Bethlehem Catholic)

726 Jackson Mitchell (Stroudsburg)

686 Cooper Madson (Nazareth)

Touchdown Passes (8)

10 Thomas Murphy (Notre Dame)

  9 Colton Sams (Southern Lehigh)

Receptions (12)

24 Carter Vassa (Bethlehem Catholic)

20 Otto Young (Southern Lehigh)

17 Luke DiPietro (Nazareth)

17 Sean McPeek (Easton)

16 Chase Guers (Blue Mountain)

16 Henry Shultz (Whitehall)

13 Chase McArdle (Panther Valley)

13 Zyaire Davis (Liberty)

13 Michael Lagowy (Northwestern)

12 Brady Zimmerman (Northwestern)

Reception Yardage (260)

445 Carter Vassa (Bethlehem Catholic)

285 Luke DiPietro (Nazareth)

266 Otto Young (Southern Lehigh)

Reception Touchdowns (4)

5 Carter Vassa (Bethlehem Catholic)

Liberty put together a balanced offensive performance Thursday night, scoring a touchdown in every quarter to defeat Stroudsburg 28-14 and earn its first victory of the 2026 season.

The Hurricanes improved to 1-2 behind a big night from running back Treyce Whitlow and quarterback Alsaiah Gross. Whitlow rushed for 148 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries, while Gross threw for 185 yards and two scores.

Stroudsburg, which fell to 2-1, struck first. Keyen Johnson opened the scoring with a 13-yard touchdown run, and Hunter Fuller’s extra point gave the Mounties a 7-0 advantage.

Liberty answered before the end of the first quarter when Whitlow broke loose for a 33-yard touchdown run. Christian Hackett’s extra point tied the game at 7-7.

Liberty put together a balanced offensive performance Thursday night, scoring a touchdown in every quarter to defeat Stroudsburg 28-14 and earn its first victory of the 2026 season.

The Hurricanes improved to 1-2 behind a big night from running back Treyce Whitlow and quarterback Alsaiah Gross. Whitlow rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries, while Gross threw for 183 yards and two scores.

Stroudsburg, which fell to 2-1, struck first. Keyen Johnson opened the scoring with a 13-yard touchdown run, and Hunter Fuller’s extra point gave the Mounties a 7-0 advantage.

Liberty answered before the end of the first quarter when Whitlow broke loose for a 33-yard touchdown run. Christian Hackett’s extra point tied the game at 7-7.

The Hurricanes took control in the second quarter. Gross connected with Greg Tillman for a 35-yard touchdown, putting Liberty ahead 14-7 at halftime.

Whitlow struck again in the third quarter, this time racing 35 yards for his second touchdown of the night. The score extended Liberty’s advantage to 21-7 and gave the Hurricanes touchdowns in each of the first three quarters.

Stroudsburg refused to go away.

Quarterback Jack Mitchell connected with Victor Cassese on a 13-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, and Fuller’s extra point cut Liberty’s lead to 21-14.

But the Hurricanes answered with the game’s final score. Gross found Tillman again, this time for a 27-yard touchdown, to give Liberty some breathing room and secure the 28-14 victory.

Whitlow was the driving force behind Liberty’s ground attack, averaging 9.6 yards per carry on his 15 attempts. Gross completed 10 of 18 passes for 183 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. The Hurricanes finished with 168 rushing yards and 181 passing yards.

Tillman made the most of his two receptions, turning both into touchdowns while finishing with 62 receiving yards. Zyaire Davis led Liberty with five catches for 93 yards.

Stroudsburg moved the football through the air behind Mitchell, who completed 16 of 31 passes for 222 yards and a touchdown without an interception. Joshua Ivers-Green was his leading receiver with five catches for 105 yards, while Cassese caught three passes for 33 yards and a touchdown.

Johnson provided a strong all-around performance for the Mounties. He rushed 20 times for 98 yards and a touchdown while adding two receptions for 39 yards. Stroudsburg totaled 124 yards on the ground.

Liberty’s ability to answer every Stroudsburg challenge proved to be the difference. After falling behind 7-0, the Hurricanes scored four touchdowns over the final three-plus quarters and never trailed again, finishing off a 28-14 victory for their first win of the season.

Scoring summary:

1st Quarter
S – Keyen Johnson 13-yard run (Hunter Fuller kick good) 8:15
L – Treyce Whitlow 33-yard run (Christian Hackett kick good) 3:00

2nd Quarter
L – Greg Tillman 35-yard pass from Alsaish Gross (Christian Hackett kick good) 1:17

3rd Quarter
L – Treyce Whitlow 35-yard run (Christian Hackett kick good) 9:53

4th Quarter
S – Victor Cassese 13-yard pass from Jack Mitchell (Hunter Fuller kick good) 9:07
L – Greg Tillman 27 yard pass from Alsaiah Gross (Christian Hackett kick good) 7:30

Jordan Bowers goes up for an interception against Northern Lebanon on Friday (photo by Robbie McGrath)

MINERSVILLE — A valiant comeback attempt by Minersville was unsuccessful as they fell to Northern Lebanon on Friday night at Veteran’s Memorial Stadium 25-20.

Both teams were forced to punt on their first possessions.

It took 11 minutes for the first points to be scored as Derenzo ran one yard into the end zone for a Miners score. Jordan Bowers followed with the extra point to make it a 7-0 game.

Less than a minute into the next frame, John Lutsky had the first of two interceptions for the Miners defense. On that drive, they were stopped on fourth and one as Lutsky’s run was not enough to move the chains.

When the Vikings got the ball back, they scored thanks to freshman Markus Miller connecting with Landon Copenhaver for a 29-yard touchdown. Aaron Wanyo’s extra point was good to make the game tied at seven.

Following a Minersville punt, Northern Lebanon was driving downfield when Bowers leaped up and caught the second interception for the Miners, this one in the back of the end zone.

On the first play out of the locker room, Brady Miller started his rushing show by going 75 yards to the house for the Vikings. However, the extra point attempt was blocked by Lutsky to keep the score at 13-7.

Switching to the defense for the Vikings, they blocked a Battlin’ Miners field goal, but nothing good happened from there on the following drive. Northern Lebanon was forced to punt.

Minersville gave the ball back to the Vikings and Ryan broke off for another big run, this one for 77 yards, but the extra point was no good.

Their defense had another clutch moment, corralling Derenzo 18 yards in the backfield for a fourth down sack. Ryan did not stop scoring following that as he took a 28-yard catch to the end zone for his third score of the evening. The two-point pass attempt was no good to keep the score at 25-7.

Following a turnover on downs by the Minersville offense, they recovered a fumble with around six minutes left to kickoff the fourth quarter of fun.

31 seconds after they took possession back, Derenzo found Camden Rogers on a 20-yard pass for his first career touchdown, but the run on the two-point conversion failed.

Bowers recovered his own onside kick immediately following the score to keep the ball with Minersville with around five and a half minutes left in the contest.

With 4:36 remaining on the clock, Derenzo rushed for a 12-yard score and Bowers converted the extra point to make it a 25-20 game.

Northern Lebanon was forced to punt, however the Miners came up empty on fourth and six with around a minute and a half left as Derenzo’s pass was tipped by the Vikings defense and fell incomplete.

Looking ahead to Week Four, the Battlin’ Miners travel to Marian Catholic who fell 12-10 to Tamaqua in a renewed rivalry contest. Northern Lebanon goes to Wyomissing for their contest next week.

Game Summary

Northern Lebanon 25, Minersville 20

Min — Derenzo 1 run (Bowers kick)

NL — Copenhaver 29 pass from Miller (Wanyo kick)

NL — Ryan 75 run (kick failed)

NL — Ryan 77 run (kick failed)

NL — Ryan 28 pass from Miller (2-point conv. failed)

Min — Rogers 20 pass from Derenzo (2-point conv. failed)

Min — Derenzo 12 run (Bowers kick)

Team Statistics

NL-Min

First Downs —- 16      16

Rushes-Yards — 26-289      35-166

Passes —- 10-15-2      10-27-0

Passing Yards —- 143      77

Total Yards —- 432      243

Individual Statistics

RUSHING: Northern Lebanon — Ryan 21-258, Spencer 5-31. Minersville — Derenzo 17-70, Lutsky 15-89, Ballard 2-5, Sims 1-2.

PASSING: Northern Lebanon — Miller 10-15-2, 143. Minersville — Derenzo 10-27-0, 77.

RECEIVING: Northern Lebanon — Ryan 4-53, Copenhaver 3-44, Hilton 1-20, Bush 1-5, Clemmer 1-0. Minersville — Bowers 3-29, Rogers 3-20, Cutler 3-8, Lutsky 1-18.

INTERCEPTIONS: Minersville — Lutsky, Bowers.

RUNNINGBACKS: 

Terrence McDowell of Tamaqua rushed for 337 yards and 6 td’s in their win over Schuylkill Haven. The 337 yards are the 3rd highest single game total for a Blue Raider.  Nate Boyle holds the record with his 391 yards he had vs Notre Dame in 2019.  Tyler Hope racked up 350 yards vs Schuylkill Haven in 2013.  Tyler’s uncle Jim drops to 4th highest with his 331 yards he had vs Shenandoah Valley in 1989.  McDowell’s 6 td’s is a modern-day school record besting 5 former players that scored 5 td’s in a game. They were Jim Hope in 1990, Dalton Nunemacher in 2012, Bud Moyer in 2015, Nick Breiner in 2016, and Nate Boyle in 2019.  In old day Tamaqua lore, a player named McNulty scored 9 td’s in the infamous game against St. Clair in 1915.  Tamaqua won the game 194-0.  His Teammate Burke scored 6 td’s and kicked an incredible 19 extra points in the game.  McDowell, a junior, also went over 2,000 yards rushing for his career and has scored 25 td’s. TJ Lawrence of Parkland rushed for 255 yards and 3 td’s in their win over Freedom.  Lawrence went over 50 td’s for his career and currently has scored 52 which ties him with Jason Figuara of Jim Thorpe (2001-04), Joey Flail of North Schuylkill (2020-23), and Caden Henritzy of Northampton (2021-23) for 67th place all-time in the District.  Fletcher Thompson of Williams Valley also went over 50 td’s for his career when he scored 2 in their loss to Southern Columbia.  Thompson, just a junior, has 51 career td’s and is currently tied with Brett Snyder of Northwestern (1993-95), Komlan Lonergan of Central Catholic (1995-97), Scott Lavalva of Bangor (2007-10), and Kyle Boney of Emmaus (2013-15) for 71st place.  Tyler Price of Marian Catholic rushed for 250 yards and 3 td’s in their win over Panther Valley.  Evan Garrett or Pocono Mountain East rushed for 226 yards and 4 td’s in their win over Bangor.  Junior Christian Stiehler of PM West went over 2,000 yards rushing in his career in week 2.  Stiehler has 2,004 yards rushing.

QUARTERBACKS:

Cohen Kirby of Blue Mountain threw for 310 yards and 3 td’s in their shootout loss to Southern Lehigh.  Colton Sams of Southern Lehigh in the same game threw for 304 yards and 4 td’s and is nearing 7,000 career passing yards.  Sams has thrown for 6,968 yards and 87 td passes in his career.  His yardage moves him into 11th place all-time in the District and his 87 td’s moves him into a 4th place tie with Tyler Smith of Wilson (2006-09).  T.K. Gursky of Palmerton threw 5 td passes in their win of Greater Nanticoke Area.  Matt Machalik owns the school record when he threw 6 td’s vs Pine Grove in 2022.  Bethlehem Catholic’s Axel Burkart threw for 223 yards and 4 td’s in their win over Central Catholic.  Cooper Madson of Nazareth threw for 246 yards and 5 td’s in their win over Whitehall.  Jackson Mitchell of Stroudsburg threw for 262 yards and 3 td’s in their win over Wilkes-Barre.  Ethan Bench of Shenandoah Valley threw for 248 yards and 4 td’s in their win over Pine Grove.  Bradyn Diehl of Schulkill Haven threw for 222 yards and 3 td’s vs Tamaqua.  Iovani Lopez of Salisbury threw for 242 yards and 4 td’s in their loss to Roxborough.  The 4 td passes seen elsewhere are not a school record.  Brian Ernst holds the school record when he threw for a Colonial League record 406 yards and a school record 5 td’s vs Southern Lehigh in 2007. Burkart, Bench and Madson all went over 2,000 yards passing for their careers and all 3 have thrown 20 career td passes.  Just behind them, Michael Stofanak of Freedom is nearing 2,000 career yards and has also thrown 20 career td passes.

RECEIVERS:

Kole Luckenbill of Blue Mountain caught 9 passes for 200 yards and 2 td’s in that shootout vs SL.  His 9 catches is one catch short of the school record of 10 held by Nate Calderone vs Muhlenberg.  Luckenbill’s 200 yards breaks Calderone’s school record of 179 yards that he had on his 10 catches vs Muhlenberg.  Luke DiPietro of Nazareth caught 6 passes for 114 yards and 3 td’s vs Whitehall.  Another big game for Carter Vassa of Bethlehem Catholic vs CC when he caught 5 passes for 90 yards and 2 td’s.  Vassa is now tied with Paryss Marshall of Catasauqua for 13th place all-time in the District with 2,541 receiving yards.  His 148 receptions move him ahead of Jeff McGeehin of CC (144 from 1971-73), Jacob Del Priore of SL (144 from 2011-13), and Talon Dogmantis of Whitehall (144 from 2023-25).  Five new players joined the chart for the 2nd week in a row, including another player leapfrogging over 9 players on the chart.  That would be Luckenbill of BM who now has 646 career receiving yards as a junior.  The other 4 players are Teshon Gaynair of Allen (554 yards), Colton Reber of S. Haven (549 yards), Omar Pacheco jr  of Catasauqua (545 yards), and Gene Sinkus of Shenandoah Valley (539 yards).  Jadiel Gonzalez of Salisbury had 143 receiving yards and 2 td’s in the loss to Roxborough.  Jayden Rapoli of Wilson caught 5 passes for 138 yards and 3 td’s in their win over Palisades.  The 3 td catches ties the schol record held by 8 other players.

TIDBITS:

1st recorded 200-yard receiver(s) for a game:

Bill Pilconis of Panther Valley vs Parkland in 1966 (200 yards on 7 catches) lost 33-26.

2025 single-game highs: ( ) is the week the player accomplished the stat

Single Game Touchdowns (4)

6 (2) Terrence McDowell (Tamaqua)  *Modern Day School Record*

Single Game Rushing Yardage (200)

337 (2) Terrence McDowell (Tamaqua)

Single Game Passing Yardage (200)

363 (1), 304 (2) Colton Sams (Southern Lehigh)

237 (1) Michael Stofanak (Freedom)

Single Game TD Passes (4)

5 (2) TJ Gursky (Palmerton)

Single Game Receptions (10)

Single Game Reception Yardage (140)

202 (1) Carter Vassa (Bethlehem Catholic)

Single Game Reception TD’s (3)

3 (2) Luke DiPietro (Nazareth)

Field Goals (40 yards)

52 (2) Jordan Bowers (Minersville)  *School Record*

WILLIAMSTOWN-Whether is was an emotional hangover from last week’s huge win over Wyomissing, a rare Saturday afternoon game, or a combination of both, it took some time for Southern Columbia to kick things into high gear against a Williams Valley team that came ready to play. The Tigers faced a worthy opponent who kept them mostly contained for the better part of three quarters. But if the cream rises to the top, the Tigers did just that in the last 14 minutes of play. Grady Garcia rushed for a game-high 175 yards and three total touchdowns and Southern’s defense established control in the second half, as the Tigers were able to pull away for a 30-12 victory.

“We didn’t seem like ourselves in terms of just our intensity and overall effort,” Southern coach Jim Roth said. “When that happens in a game like this, you kind of look back and think, was it the week before? And I think that probably had something to do with it. I think we need to take a lesson from that. You can say, well, odd game time, afternoon, warm, but they’re dealing with the same issues. It just seemed like we just didn’t have the right frame of mind to start with. Maybe we were taking them a little bit lightly, and that’s what can happen against a good team. You can tell by the way they were playing, they were very inspired, especially in the first half. With the guys up front on defense, it was evident.”

Williams Valley (1-1) won in overtime against Upper Dauphin last Friday night, and the Vikings started strong against the defending Class 2A state champions. Junior running back Fletcher Thompson broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage, and was gone on a 62-yard touchdown run that gave his team a 6-0 lead at the 2:55 mark of the opening quarter. Southern (2-0) needed a spark, and the Tigers got one thanks to the combination of Ayden Hockenbroch and Jace Malakoski. Facing 4th-and-goal at the 8, the duo connected against good coverage on a really nice throw by Hockenbroch, who put it where only Malakoski could get it in the back-right corner of the end zone. Hockenbroch ran in the two-point conversion, giving the Tigers an 8-6 lead which they carried into halftime.

“They had some coverage there, and that was a huge play in the game,” Roth said. “Those guys have gotten to point where they’re in a pretty good position. They had two touchdown passes last week and they have good rapport with one another as far as running routes and throwing the ball. The thing that’s nice is, Ayden knows in most cases that even if there’s pretty good coverage, if you put it in the right spot, Jace can outreach people and take the ball away. So that makes it nice when you have a bigger guy like that who is athletic.”

Early in the second half, Williams Valley was able to move the ball into Southern territory, but a holding penalty helped put an end to the drive. From that point on, it was all Tigers. Things started to open up, with Garcia being one of the main beneficiaries. Garcia made a house call from 60 yards out with 2:15 left in the third quarter that helped grow the lead to two possessions following another Hockenbroch run on a two-point conversion. Garcia only had 42 rushing yards at halftime, but that number would rapidly increase.

“Yeah, it’s definitely a great feeling,” Garcia said. “I can’t take any credit for it. It was the line. They gave me the hole I needed to run down the sideline. It was great. The line was blocking all day long. All of the other backs, making them stay honest. We can throw the ball now, it’s just not the run. It’s everything together that’s making the run happen.”

When Southern got the ball back after a quick defensive stop aided by a couple of Williams Valley penalties, it didn’t take long for Garcia to strike again. He helped set up excellent field position after a 29-yard punt return and two plays later, he would find the end zone again. Hockenbroch delivered a perfect pass down the middle into waiting arms of Garcia who was behind the secondary. The 33-yard touchdown pass pushed the lead to 22-6 early in the fourth quarter, as the defense started to show signs of fatigue. Hockenbroch does enough to keep opponents honest with his arm. He completed 4-of-7 passes for 70 yards and a pair of scores.

“Coach was saying all week that we are almost all one-way players,” Garcia said. “They’re team is almost all two-way players. So yeah, they’re going to wear down. When we’re only going one way, we can go out and give it our all. Them, they’re going the whole game giving their all every play. You can’t keep that up for four quarters, it’s tough.”

Fletcher made one more big play to bring Williams Valley within 10 points on the scoreboard, but once again Garcia would answer. This time, he sprinted 46 yards to paydirt and put the game away with 7:50 left. In the span of eight days, Southern has defeated a Wyomissing team who will certainly be a factor in the District 3 Class 3A playoffs and a Williams Valley team who will be a tough out at the Class A level.

“Both games, even with so much hype, we came out a little flat,” Garcia said. “In the locker room before the game, it just didn’t seem like everybody was ready to go. But I think this week was kind of a wake-up call. We’ve seen how we can’t just walk out on the field and win. We’ve got to come out and just play our best, and we can’t take any team for granted. We’ve just got to play whistle to whistle and go. If we have to go four quarters, then we have to go four quarters.”

Southern Columbia 0 8 8 14-30
Williams Valley 6 0 0 6-12
Individual Scoring
First Quarter
WV-Fletcher Thompson 62 run (pass failed) 2:55
Second Quarter
SC-Jace Malakoski 8 pass from Ayden Hockenbroch (Hockenbroch run) 8:17
Third Quarter
SC-Grady Garcia 60 run (Hockenbroch run) 2:15
Fourth Quarter
SC-Garcia 33 pass from Hockenbroch (run failed) 11:17
WV-Thompson 21 run (pass failed) 8:59
SC-Garcia 46 run (Joey Williams run) 7:50
Team Statistics
………………………SC…………….WV
1st downs…………….15……………….11
rush-yds…………..36-264…………..26-130
comp-att-int…….4-7-0……………..8-17-1
pass yds………………70……………….74
total yds………………334……………..204
fumb-lost…………..2-1………………..0-0
pen-yds…………….4-55……………….5-50
Individual Statistics
Rushing-Southern Columbia: Grady Garcia 14-175, 2 TDs; Joey Williams 10-33; Ayden Hockenbroch 6-29; Gavin Brown 6-11; Gavin Trometter 2-8; Kane Cecco 3-5; Cael Williams 1-4; Ryan Davis 1-(-1). Williams Valley: Fletcher Thompson 17-117, 2 TDs; Trevon Bair 2-21; Cole Hubler 3-5; Cayden Witmer 4-(-13).
Passing-Southern Columbia: Hockenbroch 4-7-0, 70 yds., 2 TDs. Williams Valley: Witmer 8-17-1, 74 yds.
Receiving-Southern Columbia: Jace Malakoski 3-37, TD; Garcia 1-33, TD. Williams Valley: Hubler 2-32; Mason Bowser 3-29; Thompson 3-13.