Schuylkill-Colonial Week-10 Rivalry Special: * Backyard Brawl * Schuylkill Haven at Blue Mountain Preview

Tagged under: District 11, News

Daniel Reed | October 26, 2022

2022 Backyard Brawl
Schuylkill Haven Hurricanes(2-7) at Blue Mountain Eagles(5-4)
Last Meeting: Eagles won 42 to 0(2021)
Streak: Blue Mountain has won the last 3
Series History: Blue Mountain leads series 38-30-4(dating back to 1933) according to our files.

Key Player(s) to Watch in this Game:
Schuylkill Haven – Brayden Fasnacht(So.)-(QB/CB), Aiden Myers(Jr.)-(RB/OLB), Niko Carestia(Fr.)-(RB), Connor Goehring(Sr.)-(RB/LB), Niko Castillo(Fr.)-(RB/OLB)
Blue Mountain – Tyler Miller(Jr.)-(QB/ATH), Payton Fasnacht(Jr.)-(RB/CB), Gaige Guers(So.)-(WR/DB), Carson Kerstetter(Sr.)-(WR/DB), Ian Donohue(Sr.)-(OL/DL), Austyn Fields(Jr.)-(RB/DL), Vern Kleckner(Jr.)-(TE/LB)

Schuylkill Haven

Blue Mountain

Game Preview: Blue Mountain comes into this game a little banged up but who isn’t at this point, said Coach Gallagher. The Eagles, looking to stay alive in the district playoff race, defeated Bangor last week 21 to 20 late in the game. Schuylkill Haven played shootout with Minersville last week, falling just short 47 to 39. Both squads are quite young, but the Eagles I feel have the more experience in big games such as this. Blue Mountain’s quarterback, who took over a few weeks into the season due to a season ending injury to starting QB Will Jacobson, has stepped up and played the position pretty well, piling up over 1000 yards in total(575 rushing, 433 passing), accounting for 6 of the 25 touchdowns produced by the Eagles offense. Junior RB Payton Fasnacht leads the team with 724 yards rushing, and 8 touchdowns. On defense, the Eagles will rely on Ian Donohue, and Austyn Fields to stop the Hurricanes rushing attack, while applying pressure on Canes QB-Brayden Fasnacht. Donohue leads the team in sacks with 6, while Fields follows closely behind with 5.5 ! Schuylkill Haven comes in this game very young as well, with just 6 seniors and 5 juniors on the team, the rest are sophomores and freshman. The Canes have done fairly decent scoring an average of 20 a game, keeping them in some good tough games like the one last week. Defensively, the Canes have their problems at time, giving up an average of 35 points a game. Schuylkill Haven’s offense is led by junior running-back, Aiden Myers, who has gained over 1300 yards in total(1298 rushing) thus far, scoring 16 times.

Coaches Words:

Schuylkill Haven: We need to play discipline football and execute in the box. We need to eliminate our mental mistakes, and do our jobs offensively, take one play at a time said Coach Mike Farr. Farr went on to mention that the plan going forward is to prepare our defense fundamentally and improve every week, we want to take our next step in that progression.

Blue Mountain: We need to read our keys and play physical, that will put us in position to stop their run, said Blue Mountain Coach, Tom Gallagher. Coach also says, we’ve got to focus on pursuing and tackling well, they’re well coached, so we got to be ready up front. Our program is continuing to improve, the energy and effort these guys show every day, makes it a joy to coach this team Gallagher went on to say. We still have time left this season to improve, and I know the boys are excited for the opportunity.

My Outlook:

Like Coach Gallagher mentioned, the Eagles will need to be strong up front to stop the Hurricanes rush attack if they want to prevail, especially after what the Canes racked up against Minersville in the second half. If the Eagles can slow down the rushing game of Haven, this game could get out of hand quickly as the Eagles have many weapons on offense, and their defense is quick to the ball, not to forget mentioning, more reserves. Word has come that the Eagles could be bringing in some fresh talent to gain more experience heading into the playoffs depending on the outcome. As of right now, the Eagles sit in the 4th and final spot for the Class 4A District XI Playoffs.

MY PREDICTION: Eagles defense holds strong, and the offense rolls…. Eagles win 35 to 21

Schuylkill Haven vs Blue Mountain Highlights from 2014(this is the only footage I have)

Don’t forget to tune in Friday Night as I will have LIVE UPDATES from the game in Hegins ! Follow @PFNDan570FB and @Bptashinski on TWITTER for all your Schuylkill-Colonial League and EPC action.

Follow PA Football News on Twitter @PaFootballNews