The Swartz Spectacular: Swartz Brothers Command @WestShamokin SH to Monster 50-8 Win in Opener
Tagged under: District 6, Gameday Hub, News
Luke Rainey | August 27, 2021
Before the season, West Shamokin Wolves’ Head Coach Jon McCullough said he was “sick and tired” of mediocrity.
However, a dominant 50-8 victory against the Penns Manor Comets at Pat Corrigan Field to start their 2021 season may partially lessen those trepidations.
The benefits of having a superstar senior quarterback such as Bo Swartz were displayed in full force, as his start to his final high school season began with 216 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns in the first half alone–both thrown to Lou Swartz, his sophomore brother.
Wolves’ head coach Jon McCullough recognized the benefits of such a powerful duo.
“It’s nice to have kids like that,” he said. “We had Bo and Lou, and you saw what Dylan Wolfe and Owen Stover were able to do tonight, but I hope that people begin to realize how talented Bo and Lou really are.”
As for the Comets, the challenge of their 2021 season will involve overcoming a smaller roster size, with a thin senior group of just two starters. Making matters worse, as the night wore on, injury concerns became a troubling development. Between the second and third quarters, starters Justin Marshall, Max Hill, and Alec Johnson were forced out of the game due to injuries.
The injuries are in addition to one sustained in the offseason by junior running back Ashton Courvina.
“We knew going in that we were down to about 20 kids dressing tonight,” Comets’ Head Coach Bill Packer said. “It was going to be tough if we had injuries, and we did had cramp issues going on, but it’s just tough when you have to put freshmen in and trying to get them in the right spots.
“It was hard to do, especially during game time.”
West Shamokin’s night started in perfect fashion on offense. A 16-yard pass to Lou Swartz on the first play moved the Wolves to midfield. Two plays later, a 43-yard run by Dylan Wolfe positioned West Shamokin at the goal-line, setting up a 1-yard touchdown run for Bo Swartz.
After a Comets’ turnover on downs and a punt by the Wolves, Penns Manor fought back with a breakthrough play of their own. From the 45-yard line, Hill scrambled his way through the Wolves’ defense on his way to score the Comets’ first points of the season. He would complete a pass to Marshall for a game-tying 2-point conversion.
It would be the last time the Comets would find the end zone, while the Wolves’ scoring had barely started.
West Shamokin immediately countered Penns Manor’s touchdown with a score on a 75-yard kickoff return by Dylan Wolfe, and another successful 2-point conversion moved them ahead 16-8 before the first quarter was halfway finished.
The Comets would escape a pair of third-and-long situations on their next possession, both through passes to tight end Carter Smith for 15 and 17 yards. However, the Wolves forced them into punting after a 5-yard loss on third-and-7 by running back Mark Bagley.
At the turn of the quarter, the Wolves were quick to expand their advantage. A third-and-10 was not enough to stop Bo Swartz from connecting with Lou for a 55-yard score. Penns Manor was poised to assemble a quick response, but a fumble by Marshall in Wolves’ territory thwarted their possession.
One play later, Lou Swartz found the end zone again, this time for a 56-yard receiving touchdown. A successful run on the 2-point conversion by Wolfe moved West Shamokin to a 22-point lead.
A brief exchange of possessions preceded the Comets’ second turnover, where Hill fumbled in Penns Manor’s territory. This precipitated another 1-play scoring drive, as Wolfe scored his second touchdown on a 31-yard run.
The game temporarily stalemated as the Wolves were ahead 37-8. As the Comets’ offense worked downfield within the final minutes of the half, Hill threw an interception to defensive back Stover at the Wolves’ 18-yard line. West Shamokin squeezed in an additional touchdown with 32.7 seconds before halftime on a 2-yard run by Lou Swartz. Their lead moved to a 35 points, therefore implementing a mercy rule clock through the game’s conclusion.
Throughout the second half, the Wolves had the opportunity to bench some of their starters and rearrange their players. Lou Swartz replaced his brother at quarterback, but not before Bo finished his night with a 67-yard passing touchdown to Stover.
Meanwhile, rearranging players almost became a necessity for the Comets because of their battle against injuries. In his first varsity game, freshman quarterback Amin Lieb moved under center in the aftermath of Hill and Marshall’s injuries. Between his passing and rushing efforts, he accumulated 37 all-purpose yards.
In addition to injuries, the Comets were marred by turnovers, suffering five of them by the end of the night. The last pair of turnovers were fumbles by Hill and Lieb, respectively.
To make amends for their loss to West Shamokin, the Comets will have to battle the 1-0 Stingers next week. Marion Center began their season with a 27-6 victory against the Blacklick Valley Vikings.
“(The team knows) right now that they just didn’t come out and give the effort,” Coach Packer said. “We had no fire, weren’t in it mentally, and we’re just going to go back to Day 1. We’re going to get back, go with the basics, work on our tackling and blocking. I know we’re young, but there are no excuses.
“We are just going to get better and better every week; that’s our goal,” he added.
Meanwhile, the West Shamokin Wolves will face the River Valley Panthers, who opened their first season after the Blairsville-Saltsburg merger with a 49-6 victory over the United Lions.
“All summer long, we were talking about how physical we would be, and the kind of culture we wanted to create.” Coach McCullough said. “Another big thing for us was conditioning. We conditioned a lot this summer, and really tested our guys. Tonight, we saw that we were in pretty good shape.”
Meanwhile, McCullough understands the Wolves have far more to prove in the weeks ahead.
“At the same time, we can’t be satisfied. I told them that this was just one game. It was a great start, but don’t be satisfied. Enjoy this weekend, but when we come back on Monday, we’re going to be focused on River Valley.”
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