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MCA Keeps Coal Bucket

Tagged under: District 4, Gameday Hub, News

| October 30, 2021


Red Tornadoes beat Indians for 25th consecutive time

As the rain poured down, Mount Carmel Area (8-2) celebrated on the turf at Kemp Memorial Stadium as they hoisted the Coal Bucket for a 25th consecutive time over rival Shamokin Area (5-5).

With no game played last season, the streak has now gone for 26 years in a row. Thinking of it in school terms, the dominance has gone the length of two full classes starting in kindergarten through their senior graduation, as the rivalry continues to become less of one because of how lopsided the results have been.

“It is an unbelievable feeling to win this game. There is a lot of pressure coming in throughout the community in this game each year because you want to keep winning,” Red Tornado senior Thomas Davitt said. “To keep it going for 25 straight now, it is a great milestone for the program because you have that mindset going in that you can’t be the team to lose the streak.”

On just the second play from scrimmage, Mother Nature showed her effects as Shamokin quarterback Brett Nye lost a snap exchange from center Robert Harvey and Mount Carmel’s Matt Scicchitano recovered the football.

The Red Tornadoes didn’t take long to gain the lead as Davitt scored on a 20-yard run on the first offensive play of the game for the visitors. After a missed extra point, MCA led 6-0 just 15 seconds in.

The Indians answered the call and took a 7-6 lead with 4:12 left in the first quarter. On the scoring drive, the home team drove 69 yards on 17 plays. Senior running back Max Madden, on his 13th carry of the drive, scored on a run from a yard out.

“I think we just needed to warm up and get our heads on straight. It was cold, but once you warm up you don’t feel it. Honestly, I like playing in the rain and slipping around hitting people, it makes it that much more fun,” Davitt said.

Just over a minute into the second quarter, Mount Carmel regained the lead for good. Cole Spears carried it in behind his offensive line from five yards out, and Michael Farronato added the conversion to make the score 14-7.

“There is a lot that goes into this game each year. With the rain, we kept it on the ground all night and our line has continued doing a phenomenal job with blocking,” said Mount Carmel head coach John Darrah.

Over the final three minutes of the first half, the Red Tornadoes were able to tack on two more touchdowns to take a 30-7 lead into halftime.

After forcing a turnover on downs, MCA marched down the field as Shamokin was called for three separate penalties. Senior quarterback Pedro Feliciano punched it in from two yards out and added the two-point conversion with 2:45 remaining in the second quarter.

After Matt Kelley recovered a Madden fumble on the Indians first play of the ensuing drive, the Tornadoes offensive unit took over 32 yards from the goal line.

On the third play of the drive, the Indians were called for a personal foul penalty and then it was mayhem. Before the next snap, they were hit with three more dead-ball personal foul penalties that resulted in two assistant coaches and a player getting ejected.

With 1:01 left in the half, Davitt scored for a second time on a carry from four yards out. Feliciano added another two-point conversion.

“We have a mature bunch with some good leadership and our guys did a great job of staying composed,” Darrah said. “After their first touchdown, we seemed to settle in and were able to play the way we wanted on both sides of the ball.”

In the third quarter, Julien Stellar extended the lead to 36-7 just 55 seconds in on a 65-yard trot. The senior, who had his left arm heavily casted, only played defense in the first half.

“The coaches wanted my legs fresh on defense. We had one of our linebackers out, so that was the focus to make sure I was able to go full force on the defensive side of the ball,” said Stellar. “When I came out in the second half on offense, I saw a hole and broke through on the touchdown run. All the credit goes to the linemen on both sides of the ball for the way they played.”

After Feliciano (31 yards) scored his second touchdown of the evening, the Red Tornadoes put the game into the Mercy Rule at 43-7 with 7:05 left in the third quarter.

Lost in the hype of the penalties, and the continuous downpour of rain, was the fact that there wasn’t a completed pass by either team in the game. Well, there was one ball caught, but that came on an interception.

As a result of the dominant effort from the MCA offensive line, the Red Tornadoes didn’t even have to attempt a pass the entire night.

“Our offense is built behind the ability to run the ball. The entire line and tight ends have led the success for the running backs who continue to get better each game,” said Darrah. “I just love Mount Carmel. It was great to be part of the program as a player, and now I just do what I can as a coach to help continue to build the program back up and keep ‘The Bucket’ in Mount Carmel.”

Mount Carmel will be the 2-seed heading into next Saturday’s District 4 Class 2A playoffs. The Red Tornadoes will host Bloomsburg at the Silver Bowl, and they handled the Panthers 40-12 earlier this month.

Shamokin, as the 3-seed in the District 4 Class 4A standings, will travel to Selinsgrove in their postseason contest. The Seals beat the Indians 33-0 in week three.

”We aren’t a bad football team. It just seems when things don’t go our way, there’s a momentum swing against us. We need to get that fixed and I have confidence in our players to give it their best effort no matter the circumstances,” Shamokin head coach Henry Hynoski said.

 

Mount Carmel: 6 – 24 – 19 – 0 — 49

Shamokin Area: 7 – 0 – 0 – 14 — 21

First quarter

M — Thomas Davitt 20 run (kick missed), 11:45.

S — Max Madden 1 run (Carson Ososkie kick), 4:12.

Second quarter

M — Cole Spears 5 run (Michael Farronato run), 10:45.

M — Pedro Feliciano 2 run (Feliciano run), 2:45.

M — Davitt 4 run (Feliciano run), 1:01.

Third quarter

M — Julien Stellar 65 run (run failed), 11:05.

M — Feliciano 31 run (Stellar kick), 7:05.

M — Xaviar Diaz 34 run (kick missed), :55.

Fourth quarter

S — Malaki Peffer 22 run (Ososkie kick), 5:42.

S — Corey Adams 10 run (Ososkie kick), 1:30.

Mount Carmel  –  Shamokin

First downs: 22  –  11

Rushing-yds: 50-386  –  40-174

Passing: 0-0-0  –  0-6-1

Passing yds: 0  –  0

Total yds: 386  –  174

Fumbles-lost: 5-0   –  7-2

Penalties: 4-51  –  8-62

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Mount Carmel: Xaviar Diaz 8-92, TD; Pedro Feliciano 10-91, 2 TDs; Julien Stellar 5-91, TD; Thomas Davitt 7-54, 2 TDs; Jacob Zarski 4-30; Michael Farronato 4-14; Maddox Reed 3-11; Ryan Weidner 1-6; Cole Spears 3-2, TD; Andrew Luskoskie 1-(-2); Matt Balichik 4-(-3). Shamokin: Max Madden 23-100, TD; Malaki Peffer 3-34, TD; Aaron Frasch 4-17; Corey Adams 3-14, TD; Brett Nye 5-5; Knowledge Artis-Jones 1-5; Tyler Whary 1-(-1).

PASSING — Mount Carmel: None. Shamokin: Brett Nye 0-6-1.

RECEIVING — Mount Carmel: None. Shamokin: None.

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