MOUNT CARMEL-Perhaps a full moon hanging over the Silver Bowl was an appropriate symbol of some odd and interesting events that took place between Mifflinburg and Mount Carmel on Friday night. Despite being massively beaten in every statistical category, Mount Carmel nearly took the lead in the third quarter thanks to some big plays on defense and special teams. When things eventually settled down as the second half wore on, Mifflinburg finished off a statement-making victory. The Wildcats racked up a school record 619 yards of offense, and showed they will be a force to be reckoned with in the District 4 Class 3A playoffs by capturing the 48-20 win.
“I mean, 100 percent we made a statement,” Mifflinburg quarterback Chad Martin said. “This team is totally different from last year. We put in the work this offseason. We only lost a couple guys from last year, and the senior class wants a lot more than we got last year. We know that (Mount Carmel has) a good team, and we just wanted to prove how good we were tonight.”
It was Martin that came out firing right from the opening snap. The senior completed 15-of-25 passes for 301 yards to go with two touchdowns and one interception. In fact, Martin completed his first five pass attempts for 191 yards before the game was five minutes old. Scoring strikes of 52 and 78 yards to Landen Murray gave Mifflinburg a 14-7 lead with 7:34 left in the first quarter. The Wildcats added to the lead when Seth Hartman scored on a 15-yard to complete a third consecutive scoring drive.
Mount Carmel (1-2) came within 16 yards of breaking a record of its own for most yards allowed in a game. Southern Columbia tallied 634 yards in a 2016 matchup with Red Tornadoes.
“It was just a rough night,” Mount Carmel coach John Darrah said. “We’ve got to get better, we’ve got to get better in a hurry, all around. This is a really tough one to swallow. I still believe in our guys, but we’ve got to get better, and get better quickly.’
Mifflinburg (3-0) built a 26-7 after Landon Moser crossed the goal line on an 8-yard run, and it honestly looked like the Wildcats were going to cruise until things started to get a little weird. Michael Higgins intercepted a pass and took it 66 yards to the house for a pick six that was a shot in the arm for Mount Carmel. Exactly one minute later, Jaylen Delaney made it a one-score game by taking a punt back 53 yards for a touchdown. Earlier in the first half, Michael Kimsal returned a kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown. Despite being outgained 403-41 in the first half, the Red Tornadoes were within 26-20 at halftime.
“In the first half, we made a lot of mistakes,” Darrah said. “We really didn’t play well, but to our guys credit, we found a way to put some points on the board, and we were still in the game. Just unfortunately in the second half, things unraveled a little bit. Again, we’ve got to keep moving forward, we’ve got to pull ourselves up and get better. There’s still a lot of season left, and I think our team can see a lot of growth in the next few weeks.”
On the opening possession of the second half, Mount Carmel was knocking on the door. A 20-yard reception by Aidan Brokenshire off a deflection help get the Red Tornadoes into the red zone. However, a fourth down pass fell incomplete, and Mifflinburg would seize the momentum from there. With the running game making its presence felt, the Wildcats would put together a 13-play, 86-yard drive that was capped off by Murray crossing the goal line from 14 yards out with 1:23 left in the third quarter.
“Last week we got down 14-0 early against Danville and we proved we had poise, ” Martin said. “Our line worked their butts off tonight. They had a great second half. We pounded the ball, our running backs did great finding the holes, and we just got it done.”
Landon Tucker would recover a fumble on the next Mount Carmel possession. The Wildcats would quickly cash in the turnover for points when on the very next play, Murray took off on a 63-yard run to paydirt. Murray had two touchdowns both rushing and receiving, while totaling 251 yards from scrimmage. Mifflinburg has 19 returning starters from last year’s team that went 4-7, and it’s obvious the Wildcats have plenty of weapons at the skill positions who can make life miserable for opposing defenses.
“He’s a freak,” Martin said of Murray. “We get the ball in his hands, and we know he’s going to do something dangerous. We try and get the ball to him as much as we can, but we’ve still got other guys on the field who are going to do damage.”
Mifflinburg 20 6 15 7-48
Mount Carmel 7 13 0 0-20
Individual Scoring
First Quarter
M-Landen Murray 52 pass from Chad Martin (Jaden Boyer kick) 8:11
MC-Michael Kimsal 86 kickoff return (Josh Miller kick) 7;58
M-Murray 78 pass from Martin (Boyer kick) 7:34
M-Seth Hartman 15 run (kick blocked) 3:40
Second Quarter
M-Landon Moser 8 run (run failed) 3:40
MC-Michael Higgins 66 interception return (Miller kick) 2:40
MC-Jaylen Delaney 53 punt return (kick blocked) :45
Third Quarter
M-Murray 14 run (Martin run) 1:23
M-Murray 63 run (Boyer kick) :23
Fourth Quarter
M-J.P. Marr 1 run (Boyer kick) 5:53
Team Statistics
…………………………….M………………….MC
1st downs……………28…………………..7
rush-yds…………..41-318…………….26-67
comp-att-int…….15-25-1……………..7-11-1
pass yds……………301…………………..62
total yds……………619………………….129
fumb-lost………….0-0……………………4-3
pen-yds………………5-40………………5-30
Individual Statistics
Rushing-Mifflinburg: Landon Moser 13-84, TD; Landen Murray 4-80, 2 TDs; Seth Hartman 9-64, TD; J.P. Marr 6-44, TD; Chad Martin 6-43; Hunter Bolick 3-3. Mount Carmel: Michael Kimsal 7-23; Logan Shuder 2-14; Michael Higgins 4-12; Jaylen Delaney 3-10; Austin Ventilli 3-7; Gavin Marshalek 5-2; Cooper Karycki 2-(-1).
Passing-Mifflinburg: Martin 15-25-1, 301 yds.,; 2 TDs. Mount Carmel: Marshalek 7-11-1, 62 yds.
Receiving-Mifflinburg: Murray 5-167, 2 TDs; Jackson Griffith 6-78; Jackson Marr 3-54; J.P. Marr 1-2. Mount Carmel: Aidan Brokenshire 1-20; Delaney 4-19; Zeke Noel 1-13; Kimsal 1-10.