Blue Mountain wins 11th Annual Clash of 61 17 to 0 over Pottsville Area !

Tagged under: District 11, Gameday Hub, News

Daniel Reed | September 17, 2022

BLUE MOUNTAIN EAGLES WIN 11TH ANNUAL *CLASH OF 61* TROPHY GAME 17 TO 0

With starting quarterback Will Jacobson out with a season ending injury, Blue Mountain head coach, Tom Gallagher would call on junior WR/RB/DB-Tyler Miller to step in at the QB position, or as Coach would say, ” Next Man Up “. Tyler would step up to the challenge and lead the way to victory over rival Pottsville 17 to 0. Blue Mountain would start the game winning the coin toss, deferring to the second half, giving the Crimson Tide the ball to begin the game. The Eagles however, seemed to want to go with some early trickery with trying an onside kick. Pottsville would recover the kick and we were off and running.

Pottsville started strong on their first possession, beginning at their 47, a penalty would back them up five yards to start. A couple runs by Parrish McFarland and a couple passes from Tejay Allen to Amaree Bainbridge for 30 yards and a few first downs, the Crimson Tide were down to the Blue Mountain 5 yard line before McFarland would fumble the ball and the Eagles would recover with 7:20 remaining in the first quarter.

Blue Mountain would put together a long drive of their own going 92 yards to the Tide 16 before turning the ball over on downs to begin the second quarter. Leading the way on the ground in that first quarter for the Eagles were Payton Fasnacht with 42 yards, Tyler Miller with 32 yards, and Gaige Guers with 18 yards.

Head Coach Tom Gallagher with Game MVP-Tyler Miller

In the second quarter, with the score 0 to 0, Pottsville had the ball deep in their own territory at the 16. A couple runs by McFarland for 12 yards and pass from Allen to Bainbridge for 30 yards had the Crimson Tide back in Eagle territory. That didn’t last long however when 2 plays later, Pottsville would fumble again, this time, Eagles DB-Carson Kerstetter would scoop up the ball and take off down field 48 yards for the touchdown and an Eagles lead 7 to 0 with about 9:20 to go in the first half. Pottsville would punt on their next drive, pinning Blue Mountain down at their 25 with 5:24 left in the half. Three plays later, the score was 14 to 0 after Payton Fasnacht took the handoff and raced 67 yards to the endzone. Pottsville would get one last chance in the half but the Eagles had other plans. Two plays later, Kerstetter would intercept Allen’s pass and the Eagles took possession at the 45 with 3 minutes still to go in the first half. Blue Mountain would drive to the Tide 15 when a holding call would back them up the 27 yard line. On the next play, Miller would connect with Kerstetter in the endzone for what looked like another Eagles touchdown but, the pass was overruled incomplete and the Eagles would settle for a roughly 27 yard field goal after an 11 yard reception on the previous play by Kerstetter would have the Eagles down to the Tide 10 with :02 seconds to go until halftime. The kick was good and the Eagles went into the half leading 17 to 0. Blue Mountain would gain roughly 190 yards on the ground in that first half with Payton Fasnacht leading the charge with 109 yards and a touchdown.

Blue Mountain would receive the second half kickoff but an apparent fair catch by Tyler Miller had the Eagles starting deep at their own 10 yard line. The Eagles would drive 85 yards on about 15 plays, taking about 10 minutes off the clock before turning the ball over to the Tide when the Blue Mountain kicker would miss the field goal from about 35 yards out.

Pottsville would take over at their 20 for their first drive of the second half but was once again shortly lived as Tyler Miller would intercept the Tejay Allen pass and return it to the Crimson Tide 35 with just :56 to go in the third quarter.

In the final quarter of play, Blue Mountain would run, run and run some more, taking time off the clock. Pottsville would have one last shot to put some points on the board, avoiding a shutout but sacks by Lucas Kauffman and Vern Kleckner would set the Tide back to 4th and 19. Blue Mountain would secure victory when MVP of the game, Tyler Miller would break up the Allen pass, giving the ball back to the Eagles at the Blue Mountain 29 with 3:26 to go in the game. A few run plays to Fasnacht and an 18 yard gain for Miller would have the Eagles in Tide territory. One kneel down to go and that would be the game, Blue Mountain ending a 4 game losing streak to the Crimson Tide and winning the 11th Annual Clash of 61 Trophy game 17 to 0 !

Up Next:
Blue Mountain(2-2) will travel to Southern Lehigh to take on the Spartans(3-1), winners last night over Palisades 39 to 0 !
Pottsville(1-3) will host Saucon Valley(2-2), who lost to Bangor last night 26 to 21 !

TEAM STATS:
Pottsville – Blue Mountain
Rushing: 21-88 – 47-344
Passing: 7-15-2=99 – 1-3-0=11
Total Yards: 187 – 355
Fumbles/Lost: 2/2 – 0/0
Penalties: 5-30 – 10-85

STAT STARS:
Pottsville – Parrish McFarland 10 carries for 58 yards, Amaree Bainbridge 7 receptions for 71 yards.
Blue Mountain – Payton Fasnacht 14 carries for 154 yards(1 TD), Tyler Miller 24 carries for 153 yards.
Blue Mountain – Carson Kerstetter, Tyler Miller with 1 INT each on defense, and Kerstetter with a fumble recovery for touchdown(45 yards).

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