Mount Carmel Pulls Away From Pottsville
Tagged under: District 11, District 4, Gameday Hub, News
Dave Fegley | September 5, 2026
Red Tornadoes use strong ground game in 47-20 win
After 20 years without a meeting, Mount Carmel Area and Pottsville renewed one of the oldest rivalries in each program’s history on Friday night. The game was competitive for a half. Then, Mount Carmel took control.
The Red Tornadoes used a dominant rushing attack to pull away from the Crimson Tide, turning a one-score game at halftime into a 47-20 road victory in the 61st meeting between the programs that had each won the same number of games against each other entering.
The win gave Mount Carmel the all-time advantage in the series. It also gave MCA coach John Darrah a memorable opportunity to face his former coach, Mike Brennan.
The two were on opposite sidelines Friday, but their connection dates back to Mount Carmel’s 2002 state championship season. Darrah was a starting defensive back on that team while Brennan served as his coach. Brennan, who has also enjoyed successful coaching stops at several other schools and won district championships at Danville, is now leading Pottsville.
“Coach Brennan is a great guy and a great coach. He taught me a lot as a player and we still have a very close relationship,” Darrah said. “I coached against him once when he was at Danville, and now it was nice to be able to go against my former coach again.”
The last time the two programs met was in 2007, when Brennan was still coaching Mount Carmel.
“There’s no reason that we haven’t played this rivalry in the last 20 years, so I am happy to renew it and glad we came out on top,” Darrah said.
The Crimson Tide made sure the rivalry’s return would be competitive, however.
“The first quarter went quick with both teams picking up first downs, but neither of us found the end zone. Mount Carmel finished their opening drive though with a big play in the second quarter,” Brennan said.
After a scoreless first quarter, Mount Carmel quarterback Jaylen Delaney broke the deadlock by finding Aidan Brokenshire for an 18-yard touchdown on fourth-and-11 with 11:01 remaining in the second.
It was Delaney’s first completion of the season.
“We don’t pass a lot because our run game is our main focus, but we got Brokenshire back after he missed last week,” Delaney said. “He’s a big and physical dude, so I knew I just had to throw it up to him and he’d make the play.”
Pottsville answered on its next scoring opportunity. Maxwell Clews finished a drive with a 3-yard touchdown run with 9:19 left in the half, tying the game at 7-7 after a drive that began near midfield following a kickoff return.
Mount Carmel needed only 61 seconds to regain the lead.
Senior running back Cooper Karycki broke loose along the visitors’ sideline for a 67-yard touchdown, putting the Tornadoes ahead 14-7 with 8:18 remaining in the second quarter. That was the lead Mount Carmel carried into halftime as Mount Carmel’s rushing attack took full control following the break inside Veterans Memorial Stadium.
“This was our first road game of the season, and I think it took us a bit to get adjusted to the atmosphere and everything. We came out with more energy and momentum in the second half,” said three-time all-state defensive lineman Max Karycki who is Cooper’s cousin and also the tight end for MCA.
Delaney opened the third quarter with a 78-yard touchdown run, breaking a pair of tackle attempts, stretching the advantage to 21-7.
Pottsville responded with a touchdown from Andrew Allen to a wide-open Shay Strencosky that covered 81 yards, but Mount Carmel answered once again.
Cooper Karycki, who finished with 176 rushing yards, added another touchdown to restore the two-score cushion.
“I was pleased with the responses we had,” Darrah said. “There are still a lot of things to clean up as we move forward, but I was happy with the overall effort. These were two tough teams to start the year, and our guys showed that they are willing to do what it takes to win.”
Cooper Karycki briefly left the game while dealing with a calf cramp, but he returned to help finish another Mount Carmel scoring drive.
“Our trainer Tom (Swaldi) does a fantastic job of keeping us on the field. I had to sit out a few plays until he worked on the knots, but I got back out there quickly,” Karycki said.
He eventually scored from 15 yards out to put the Tornadoes ahead 28-14.
Mount Carmel then added another score just 17 seconds later.
Chance Swatski recovered a fumble on a botched Pottsville handoff, and Delaney finished the ensuing possession with a 1-yard touchdown run to make it 35-14.
Delaney added another touchdown on the opening play of the fourth quarter, breaking free for a 35-yard scoring run and pushing the margin to 41-14.
“The line gave me a lane, and it was up to me to make it count,” said MCA’s quarterback and leading rusher.
Pottsville found the end zone once more through the air, but Mount Carmel answered with Logan Shuder’s touchdown to account for the final points.
Delaney finished with 202 rushing yards and three touchdowns, continuing an impressive start to his first season as the Tornadoes’ starting quarterback. He rushed for nearly 300 yards in last week’s season-opening victory over Schuylkill Haven.
“I am looking forward to a great season and willing to do whatever the coaches ask of me,” Delaney said. “The first three years of my career we got bounced in either the semi or first round of the district playoffs, so we were motivated in the offseason and it’s great to start the year off with two wins.”
The success on the ground has been a major factor in Mount Carmel’s 2-0 start.
“We are playing physical and aggressively and the linemen are doing a great job of blocking,” Cooper Karycki said.
Junior fullback and linebacker Jason Klokis credited the improvement after halftime to the Tornadoes’ play in the trenches.
“We did a better job on both sides of the ball in the second half, and that all starts up front with our line,” Klokis said. “We made some stops on defense and got guys running downhill on offense.”
Delaney has shown that his versatility has been valuable throughout his career. The two-time all-stater has done just about everything up to this point as a former leading receiver and rusher on offense and a top cover guy on defense.
He showed his pass coverage skills with a fourth down pass breakup to start the game in Schuylkill County.
“He’s a natural athlete that will do whatever he is asked to do,” said Darrah. “If I told him I wanted to start a dart team, he would be good at throwing darts if you gave him a couple of weeks to practice.”
Pottsville’s grueling schedule continues next week when they travel to Pleasant Valley.
“It is all about responding and making the improvements you need to make in order to get better,” said Brennan. “We definitely made improvements from last week but have to continue to work on stopping the big plays. That’s my job to continue to get the kids better.”
Mount Carmel will return home next Friday when Milton visits for the Tornadoes’ third game of the season.
Despite entering the matchup as a heavy favorite, Darrah said his team will remain focused on improving rather than looking ahead to the opponent’s record or reputation.
“They are always a scrappy team with tough kids,” Darrah said. “The focus is on us getting better each week, and we need to focus on that and not on the quality of the opponent.”
Mount Carmel 47, Pottsville 20
MCA — PTV
First Downs: 19 — 12
Rushes-yds: 51-472 — 27-129
Passing yds: 18 — 138
Total yds: 490 — 267
Passing (C-A-I): 1-3-0 — 10-16-1
Penalties: 4-40 — 2-10
Fumbles-lost: 0-0 — 2-1
SCORE BY QUARTER
Mt Carmel (2-0): 0-14-21-12 — 47
Pottsville (0-2): 0-7-7-6 — 20
SCORING PLAYS
1st Quarter
None.
2nd Quarter
M– Aidan Brokenshire 18 pass from Jaylen Delaney (Josh Miller kick), 11:01.
P– Maxwell Clews 3 run (Andrew Allen kick), 9:19.
M– Cooper Karycki 67 run (Miller kick), 8:18.
3rd Quarter
M– Delaney 78 run (Miller kick), 10:32.
P– Shay Strencosky 81 pass from Andrew Allen (Allen kick), 9:17.
M– Karycki 15 run (Miller kick), 4:17.
M– Delaney 1 run (Miller kick), 4:00.
4th Quarter
M– Delaney 35 run (missed kick), 11:50.
P– Strencosky 14 pass from Allen (missed kick), 8:33.
M– Logan Shuder 5 run (no attempt), 2:41.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Mount Carmel: Jaylen Delaney 16-202, 3 TDs; Cooper Karycki 17-186, 2 TDs; Jason Klokis 12-49; Lance Glenney 2-27; Logan Shuder 1-5, TD; Michael Higgins 3-3. Pottsville: Shay Strencosky 8-66; Maxwell Clews 10-50, TD; Hudson Clews 2-12; Donovan Durham 1-8; Andrew Allen 4-4; Team 2-(-11).
PASSING — Mount Carmel: Jaylen Delaney 1-3-0, 18 yds, TD. Pottsville: Andrew Allen 8-13-1, 135 yds, 2 TDs; Tommy Welsh 2-3-0, 3 yds.
RECEIVING — Mount Carmel: Aidan Brokenshire 1-18, TD. Pottsville: Shay Strencosky 4-107, 2 TDs; Nicholas Huda 4-19; Donovan Durham 1-7; Colin McGinley 1-5.
