Strong Second Half Lifts Red Tornados to 27th-straight Coal Bucket

Written by: Cody Smith on Saturday, October 28th, 2023. Follow Cody Smith on Twitter.

SHAMOKIN – For a brief moment Friday night at Kemp Memorial Stadium it seemed like the streak might end. The Mount Carmel Red Tornados entered the matchup having won not one, not two… but 26 consecutive Coal Buckets.

In the end, the visiting Red Tornados extended the streak to 27 as Mount Carmel earned a convincing 46-13 victory.

Despite a lopsided-looking score, the Shamokin Indians held their own and actually took a 13-12 lead into the halftime break, but a determined Mount Carmel team came out of the locker room looking like a completely different team, as the Red Tornados posted 34 second-half points without allowing the Indians to score again in the game.

“We’ve got some good backs and we’ve got some good kids that can do multiple things,” said Mount Carmel coach John Darrah. “Some of the looks we were getting we just felt it was best to keep the ball on the ground and those guys just ran hard, finished their runs, and credit to our o-line for getting the job done too.”

The night seemed to start well for the visitors, as Mount Carmel forced a Shamokin punt on their first offensive drive of the game. The Red Tornados followed that up by piecing together an impressive 13-play drive that took nearly five minutes off the first-quarter clock to open a 6-0 lead on a 19-yard screen pass from senior quarterback Cole Spears to junior running back – and 1,000-yard rusher on the season – Luke Blessing.

Shamokin answered right back with a methodical drive of its own. The Indians took a touchback on the kickoff and then drove 80 yards on an outstanding 15-play drive. The Indians used a few chunk plays through the air to wideout Ben Delbaugh, but mostly ran the ball right down the field on a tough Mount Carmel defense.

Delbaugh caught three passes on the drive for 44 yards before freshman quarterback Logan Steele plunged into the endzone from just one yard away.

Delbaugh had an impressive night, leading all pass catchers in the game with 103 receiving yards on six catches.

A good extra point try by Chase Pensyl put Shamokin up 7-6, and just three plays later it was Steele on the defensive side of the ball making an impact. On a deep shot by Mount Carmel QB Spears, Steele ran the ball down and made an incredible over-the-shoulder interception to get Shamokin the ball back.

The Indians failed to take advantage of the ensuing possession and then let Blessing score his second touchdown – his first on the ground – on a 60-yard scamper on Mount Carmel’s next possession.

Once again Shamokin struck back and took the lead. With 1:23 remaining in the opening half, Pensyl took an end-around and found the endzone on a 21-yard run to put Shamokin up again.

Pensyl’s first-half contributions wouldn’t end there, as he also picked off Spears on a ball deflected by Delbaugh and into Pensyl’s hands.

Trailing 13-12 at half with the Coal Bucket on the line, Coach Darrah knew his team needed to settle in for the second half. “I was happy with the way our kids stayed composed,” said Darrah. “They remained confident, which was good. The main message was just settle in. We were making small mistakes. A guy here a guy there, a step here a step there. It was just little things.”

“We just got locked in and said, ‘we aren’t losing this game’,” added Blessing. “We had a terrible half, but we knew we could come out and play our football and we did that.”

Mount Carmel certainly found its groove in the second half, outscoring the Indians 34-0 to run away with a 27^th-consecutive Coal Bucket.

Blessing’s huge night ended with 155 rushing yards on 18 carries and three rushing touchdowns to go with his first half receiving score.

Xavier Diaz also had an impressive night on the ground, carrying the ball 15 times for 150 yards and a pair of scores, including a touchdown as time expired in the game.

Spears also added a 51-yard rushing score in the second half, as he ran for 91 yards himself. In all, Mount Carmel ran for an incredible 470 yards in the game, 342 of which came in the second half alone.

“We came into this game prepared. We knew they were a great team, and they were going to give us a fight. We started slow, but we were moving the ball. Our O-line was playing well.” said Blessing of his team’s ability to run the football. “When we came out in the second half we just ran it down their throat. They had no answers for us.”

The big second half and challenging win sets Mount Carmel up to head into the District 4 playoffs starting this coming Friday.

“I wouldn’t have wished to have had to fight through adversity tonight,” said Darrah. “It’s kind of a blessing in disguise now that we’ve had to fight through some adversity, it just makes us stronger as a team. Hopefully our guys that are dinged up get healthy and we make a run in the playoffs.”

The win closed out an 8-2 overall regular season for the Red Tornados.

“Coming off this big win gives us a good start toward the playoffs,” said Blessing. “We know now if we lose a game we’re done, so we have to play every game like we played the second half tonight.”

Meanwhile, Shamokin’s loss dropped them to an even 5-5 on the season. They’ll look to bounce back from this loss in the playoffs.

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