MONTOURSVILLE-For almost three hours, Mount Carmel and Montoursville battled in a game that evolved into a triple-overtime Instant Classic. As the defenses looked to be running more and more on fumes with each play, it was clear the margin of error was becoming very slim for both teams. Montoursville blocked an extra point in the third overtime, which was the break the Warriors needed. Christian Banks capped off his courageous performance at far less than full strength with a 10-yard touchdown catch and Adam Shearer kicked the game-winning extra point as Montoursville kept its season alive with a thrilling 43-42 win. The Warriors will advance to face Mifflinburg in the District 4 Class 3A championship game next week.
“I’m just proud of our effort,” Montoursville coach Joe Hanna said. “There’s ebbs and flows in a game like that. I thought at the end of regulation we had an opportunity to win, and didn’t. It didn’t happen, and I thought the kids did a nice job of staying in the game and playing out the overtime. They were taking it as it came. We have a great group of seniors. They’re great leaders, they weren’t ready to lose tonight, and we showed that off on the field.”
Shearer had a chance to win it on the final play of regulation, but his 30-yard field goal attempt got blocked to force overtime. Montoursville (9-2) has a very dangerous one-two punch at running back with Banks and Hayden Harvey, but both were limited due to injuries. Harvey only played defense, while Banks only touched the ball three times in the first half for 12 yards. However, the second half was a much different story, as Banks was an absolute menace to the Mount Carmel defense. He finished with 146 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, which was complemented by his reception on a swing pass to start the Warriors’ possession in the third overtime.
“Both Banks and Harvey are a little dinged up, we knew that coming in,” Hanna said. “Kaden Kleinman (40 yards on nine attempts) got us some carries early, Banks came in late. This team is all guts. We lost a couple other guys during the game and the kids just fought through it, so I’m super proud of them.”
Mount Carmel (5-6) rallied from a 14-0 deficit to lead by seven points on two separate occasions. In the first overtime, Jaylen Delaney, who did his absolute best to match Banks play-for-play, scored on a 3-yard run to give the Red Tornadoes a 28-21 lead in the first overtime. Just like last week in a near-upset of Shamokin, Mount Carmel was one play away from winning. Facing 4th-and-goal, Montoursville quarterback Elijah Eck found a wide-open Kingston Fisher on a 8-yard touchdown pass that extended the game into the second extra session. It was the second crushing loss for the Red Tornadoes in as many weeks, but one that further validated their second-half turnaround following a 1-4 start to the season.
“I’m proud of the way we fought to the end,” Mount Carmel coach John Darrah said. “We left it all on the field. You know, obviously it’s a tough one, but you can’t ask anymore from the kids.”
In the second overtime, Banks not only scored on a 3-yard run, but also scored on the two-point conversion following an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Mount Carmel. Having a very steep hill to climb, Mount Carmel easily conquered it. Gavin Marshalek hit little-used Kenny Miller all alone for a 10-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the series. Needing a two-point conversion of their own to temporarily extend their season, Delaney took a snap out of the wildcat formation and willed his way across the goal line to once again tie the score at 36-36. Delaney totaled 147 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries. He also caught two passes for 47 yards, and became the second player in program history, joining Xavier Diaz, as the only players to go over 1,000 yards in both receiving and rushing for their careers.
“I don’t think there’s anything else he could have done,” Darrah said of Delaney. “He’s just an extremely tough kid. Great player, and like I’ve said, very, very strong.”
Montoursville jumped out to a 14-0 lead, as penalties and a couple of fumbles hurt Mount Carmel early. Eck scored on runs of 41 and 52 yards in the first half, and tallied 114 yards for the game. The Warriors offense was slowed down for much of the second half, but when the Warriors were trailing 21-14, they put together a well-executed 68-yard scoring drive when they needed it. Banks capped it off with a 6-yard run, helping the Warriors earn a chance to avenge a 35-7 loss to Mifflinburg back in Week 4.
“Obviously you enjoy the win,” Hanna said. “They earned the weekend to celebrate. We’ll get back to work on Monday. We played them once before, we kind of know what to expect. So, we’ll be ready come next Friday.”
Max Karycki caught an 8-yard touchdown pass just before halftime, then Delaney took one to the house from 50 yards out that tied the game late in the third quarter. Michael Kimsal made a huge play to give his team the brief fourth-quarter lead when he returned a fumble 33 yards for a touchdown. Mount Carmel was an onsides kick recovery away from beating Shamokin last week, and the Red Tornadoes were very close to closing things out against Montoursville, a team that soundly beat them 27-0 back in Week 5. In the overtimes, both teams had trouble getting stops, as both defenses looked exhausted.
“We had some injuries and things like that,” Darrah said. “We’ve got a lot of guys going both ways, but it’s just tough. Like I said, they battled. (Montoursville) was tired too, but obviously it came down to one point there at the end.”
Mount Carmel 0 7 7 7 7 8 6-42
Montoursville 7 7 0 7 7 8 7-43
Individual Scoring
First Quarter
MO-Elijah Eck 41 run (Adam Shearer kick) 5:46
Second Quarter
MO-Eck 52 run (Shearer kick) 9:27
MC-Max Karycki 8 pass from Gavin Marshalek (Josh Miller kick) :09
Third Quarter
MC-Jaylen Delaney 50 run (Miller kick) :44
Fourth Quarter
MC-Michael Kimsal 33 fumble return (Miller kick) 11:13
MO-Christian Banks 6 run (Shearer kick) 8:30
First Overtime
MC-Delaney 3 run (Miller kick)
MO-Kingston Fisher 8 pass from Eck (Shearer kick)
Second Overtime
MO-Banks 3 run (Banks run)
MC-Kenny Miller 10 pass from Marshalek (Delaney run)
Third Overtime
MC-Delaney 10 run (kick blocked)
MO-Banks 10 pass from Eck (Shearer kick)
Team Statistics
………………………….MC……………………MO
1st downs……………13………………………14
rush-yds…………….51-221……………….41-302
comp-att-int……..7-11-0…………………8-17-1
pass yds……………..65………………………58
fumb-lost……………5-2…………………….2-1
pen-yds…………….7-44……………………8-70
Individual Statistics
Rushing:
Mount Carmel: Jaylen Delaney 24-147, 3 TDs; Michael Kimsal 20-89; Jason Klokis 3-7; Lukas Carpenter 1-(-1); Gavin Marshalek 2-(-10); Team 1-(-11).
Montoursville: Christian Banks 20-146, 2 TDs; Elijah Eck 10-114, 2 TDs; Kaden Klienman 9-40; Chase Jones 1-3; Team 1-(-1).
Passing:
Mount Carmel: Marshalek 8-10-0, 65 yds., 2 TDs; Team 0-1-0.
Montoursville: Eck 8-16-1, 58 yds., 2 TDs; Adam Shearer 0-1-0.
Receiving:
Mount Carmel: Delaney 2-47; Kenny Miller 1-10, TD; Max Karycki 1-8, TD; Klokis 1-5; Zeke Noel 1-3; Kimsal 2-(-8).
Montoursville: Jay Houseknecht 1-19; Kane Moore 2-17; Banks 1-10, TD; Kingston Fisher 1-8, TD; Brayden Burkett 3-4.