SHAMOKIN – Mount Carmel and Shamokin have played 118 times in a series dating back to 1893. It’s hard to imagine many of those meetings had the type wild and chaotic finish that went down on Friday night.
There were so many twists and turns in the last five minutes, but it was Shamokin who pulled off the eleventh-hour dramatics. Logan Steele recovered an onsides kick amid some controversy with 58 seconds left and the Indians trailing by a point. Steele continued his heroics by completing a 38-yard pass to Ryan Bickert, and Zakem Clinton sent the home side into a frenzy at Kemp Memorial Stadium when he crossed the goal line from two yards out with 16 seconds left to complete the improbable comeback, as Shamokin retained the Coal Bucket thanks to an incredible 26-21 win.
“I think the only thing that comes close to this was the Jersey Shore game last year (in the District 4 championship game) in overtime,” Steele said. “I think that’s the closest thing I can recall to this, but this is amazing.”
Mount Carmel (5-5) put forth its most spirited effort of the year to date, and the Red Tornadoes looked to be in position to wrap things up after stopping Steele on a two-point conversion attempt. However, Shamokin kicker Colin Steinhart came through with an absolutely perfect onsides kick. Steinhart got the bounce he needed, and Steele recovered at the Red Tornadoes’ 47-yard line. The Mount Carmel sideline was irate, feeling that a member of the kicking team illegally blocked before the ball traveled 10 yards. Mount Carmel coach John Darrah voiced his disagreement with the call, then asked for an explanation after the game. Whether the officials were right or wrong, they didn’t stick around, as they made a hasty departure just as Shamokin fans rushed the field.
“We practice it all the time,” Darrah said. “Obviously they got a good bounce, they executed it well. Some things are in question there, but the ball fell their way. Again, I think our kids played really hard.”
Behind a ball-control offense that chewed up clock, Mount Carmel built a 21-7 lead when Gavin Marshalek hit Max Karycki on a 14-yard touchdown pass with 5:50 left in the third quarter. After Steele cashed in an early turnover for points on a 22-yard run, the Red Tornadoes responded with three unanswered touchdowns, including two by fullback Jason Klokis on direct snaps. Jaylen Delaney led Mount Carmel with 91 yards on 21 carries, while Klokis chipped in with 63 yards on his seven attempts.
“We were very confident coming in here,” Darrah said. “We thought we could run the ball on them. I think our guys did a nice job doing that, and hit a couple of big explosive plays there in the passing game. We’ve just got to move on to next week.”
Steele rushed for a game-high 145 yards and three touchdowns. His second score came when his team desperately needed it. The junior turned on the jets down the left sideline for a 74-yard touchdown run just two plays after Karycki’s catch in the back of the end zone. With 4:16 left in the game, Steele got the roller coaster of an ending started when he intercepted an underthrown ball as Mount Carmel tried a trick play out of the wildcat formation.
“My offensive line was amazing,” Steele said. “They had a killer D-lineman in Max Karycki, but it didn’t matter. We handled him great after we figured out what he was going to do, and from there on out, you saw how we ran the ball. It was at will and we did great.”
Shamokin (10-0) put together a nine-play, 65-yard drive that was aided by couple of nice runs from Jayce Ginck that totaled 34 yards. Steele completed his hat trick by going in from a yard out. The Indians called timeout to go for two, but Steele was stuffed in the middle of the line. Although Steele made so many valuable contributions in all three phases, his biggest one may have been the recovery of the onsides kick.
“We told Colin to kick it to the edge, and myself and Ryan Bickert were out there going for it,” Steele said. “He did just that. It popped up in the air and we got it, we got the good bounce. I went up and got it. I thought I was going to take off, but apparently you can’t do that, so you just recover it, and we went from there. Then Ryan Bickert again on a big post, he caught it, and it was game from there.”
Mount Carmel fumbled the ensuing kickoff following Clinton’s game-winner, ending any hope of yet another crazy turn of events. Even though the Red Tornadoes lost in heartbreaking fashion, there should be some confidence gained by going toe-to-toe with a quality opponent on a big stage. A rematch with Montoursville, a team that beat Mount Carmel 27-0 back in Week 5 is on the horizon next week in the District 4 Class 3A playoffs. Shamokin will the top seed in the Class 4A playoffs and host Shikellamy.
“I’m proud of the way our guys played,” Darrah said. “I think they left it all hanging on the field. Couldn’t be more proud of their effort. Now we’ll move on. We’re looking forward to the district playoffs.”SHAMOKIN-Mount Carmel and Shamokin have played 118 times in a series dating back to 1893. It’s hard to imagine many of those meetings had the type wild and chaotic finish that went down on Friday night.
There were so many twists and turns in the last five minutes, but it was Shamokin who pulled off the eleventh-hour dramatics. Logan Steele recovered an onsides kick amid some controversy with 56 seconds left and the Indians trailing by a point. Steele continued his heroics by completing a 38-yard pass to Ryan Bickert, and Zakem Clinton sent the home side into a frenzy at Kemp Memorial Stadium when he crossed the goal line from two yards out with 16 seconds left to complete the improbable comeback, as Shamokin retained the Coal Bucket thanks to an incredible 26-21 win.
“I think the only thing that comes close to this was the Jersey Shore game last year (in the District 4 championship game) in overtime,” Steele said. “I think that’s the closest thing I can recall to this, but this is amazing.”
Mount Carmel (5-5) put forth its most spirited effort of the year to date, and the Red Tornadoes looked to be in position to wrap things up after stopping Steele on a two-point conversion attempt. However, Shamokin kicker Colin Steinhart came through with an absolutely perfect onsides kick. Steinhart got the bounce he needed, and Steele recovered at the Red Tornadoes’ 47-yard line. The Mount Carmel sideline was irate, feeling that a member of the kicking team illegally blocked before the ball traveled 10 yards. Mount Carmel coach John Darrah voiced his disagreement with the call, then asked for an explanation after the game. Whether the officials were right or wrong, they didn’t stick around, as they made a hasty departure just as Shamokin fans rushed the field.
“We practice it all the time,” Darrah said. “Obviously they got a good bounce, they executed it well. Some things are in question there, but the ball fell their way. Again, I think our kids played really hard.”
Behind a ball-control offense that chewed up clock, Mount Carmel built a 21-7 lead when Gavin Marshalek hit Max Karycki on a 14-yard touchdown pass with 5:50 left in the third quarter. After Steele cashed in an early turnover for points on a 22-yard run, the Red Tornadoes responded with three unanswered touchdowns, including two by fullback Jason Klokis on direct snaps. Jaylen Delaney led Mount Carmel with 91 yards on 21 carries, while Klokis chipped in with 63 yards on his seven attempts.
“We were very confident coming in here,” Darrah said. “We thought we could run the ball on them. I think our guys did a nice job doing that, and hit a couple of big explosive plays there in the passing game. We’ve just got to move on to next week.”
Steele rushed for a game-high 145 yards and three touchdowns. His second score came when his team desperately needed it. The junior turned on the jets down the left sideline for a 74-yard touchdown run just two plays after Karycki’s catch in the back of the end zone. With 4:16 left in the game, Steele got the roller coaster of an ending started when he intercepted an underthrown ball as Mount Carmel tried a trick play out of the wildcat formation.
“My offensive line was amazing,” Steele said. “They had a killer D-lineman in Max Karycki, but it didn’t matter. We handled him great after we figured out what he was going to do, and from there on out, you saw how we ran the ball. It was at will and we did great.”
Shamokin (10-0) put together a nine-play, 65-yard drive that was aided by couple of nice runs from Jayce Ginck that totaled 34 yards. Steele completed his hat trick by going in from a yard out. The Indians called timeout to go for two, but Steele was stuffed in the middle of the line. Although Steele made so many valuable contributions in all three phases, his biggest one may have been the recovery of the onsides kick.
“We told Colin to kick it to the edge, and myself and Ryan Bickert were out there going for it,” Steele said. “He did just that. It popped up in the air and we got it, we got the good bounce. I went up and got it. I thought I was going to take off, but apparently you can’t do that, so you just recover it, and we went from there. Then Ryan Bickert again on a big post, he caught it, and it was game from there.”
Mount Carmel fumbled the ensuing kickoff following Clinton’s game-winner, ending any hope of yet another crazy turn of events. Even though the Red Tornadoes lost in heartbreaking fashion, there should be some confidence gained by going toe-to-toe with a quality opponent on a big stage. A rematch with Montoursville, a team that beat Mount Carmel 27-0 back in Week 5 is on the horizon next week in the District 4 Class 3A playoffs. Shamokin will the top seed in the Class 4A playoffs and host Shikellamy.
“I’m proud of the way our guys played,” Darrah said. “I think they left it all hanging on the field. Couldn’t be more proud of their effort. Now we’ll move on. We’re looking forward to the district playoffs.”
Mount Carmel 7 7 7 0-21
Shamokin 7 0 7 12-26
Individual Scoring
First Quarter
S-Logan Steele 22 run (Colin Steinhart kick) 4:58
MC-Jason Klokis 30 run (Josh Miller kick) 1:25
Second Quarter
MC-Klokis 14 run (Miller kick) 10:26
Third Quarter
M-Max Karycki 14 pass from Gavin Marshalek (Miller kick) 5:50
S-Steele 74 run (Steinhart kick) 5:04
Fourth Quarter
S-Steele 1 run (run failed) :58
S-Zakem Clinton 2 run (kick failed) :16
Team Statistics
………………………….MC…………………….S
1st downs……………14……………………..11
rush-yds…………..46-185………………36-274
comp-att-int………3-7-2…………………2-8-0
pass yds…………….54………………………44
total yds…………..239……………………..318
fumb-lost………..4-3………………………2-0
pen-yds…………..5-31……………………15-126
Individual Statistics
Rushing-Mount Carmel: Jaylen Delaney 21-91; Jason Klokis 7-63, 2 TDs; Michael Kimsal 16-46; Team 1-(-7); Gavin Marshalek 1-(-8). Shamokin: Logan Steele 15-145, 3 TDs; Zakem Clinton 14-85, TD; Jayce Ginck 6-46; Team 1-(-2).
Passing-Mount Carmel: Marshalek 3-6-1, 54 yds., TD; Delaney 0-1-1. Shamokin: Steele 2-8-0, 44 yds.
Receiving-Mount Carmel: Aidan Brokenshire 2-40; Max Karycki 1-14, TD. Shamokin: Ryan Bickert 1-38; Clinton 1-6.