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Dante Carr Runs for Five, Throws for Two Scores in Minersville Senior Night Victory over Nativity

Tagged under: District 11, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

| October 12, 2024

There’s a reason so many NCAA Division I schools are looking at Dante Carr: he’s the complete package. They say that for some players, the game slows down and they see it very clearly. Every snap taken tonight counted for Carr as he kept his eyes down the field, was able to read the defense, and made plays happen with both his legs and arm. Whether he was handing off to Easton Schultz or tossing a long ball to Logan Hutsko, the Minersville offense, behind its captain, was a well oiled machine Friday night.

“I love running the ball but it gets tiring after a while. All those touchdowns, I have to give credit to my teammates. My o-line and receivers going down and making blocks gives me a hole to run in for a touchdown, so all the credit goes to them. We just dominated–they’re not the biggest, but they have heart, and that beats talent and size all the time,” commented Dante Carr on his seven touchdown performance, accounting for nearly 400 yards of offense.

Despite the final score, the outcome was in doubt throughout the game. After an opening Miners punt, Ethan Schultz returned the punt 50 yards to the Minersville 30. A 4th & 5 pass went short and the Green Wave turned it over on downs.

Just two plays into the ensuing drive, Dante Carr went on his first run to the end zone, taking off for a 71 yard run. With 8:13 to play in the opening quarter, Minersville took the 7-0 lead. Nativity attempted to counter quickly, when Ben Kreitzer completed a pass near midfield to Sam Walborn. Walborn extended the completion to a 41 yard gain and ran to the Minersville 32. A pass breakup by Garrett Sukeena forced fourth down. On 4th & 10, AJ Halford got Kreitzer in the backfield for a two yard loss and second consecutive turnover on downs in Minersville territory. Nativity also hurth themselves with an illegal motion penalty that called back a 73 yard touchdown run.

After a 25 yard completion to Jake Kavanaugh, Carr found himself scrambling again. Rolling away from pressure coming from his left side, he ran right and took off down the field for a 51 yard touchdown scramble. After a quarter, Minersville led 14-0.

The Green Wave then countered with a 15 play, 65 yard touchdown drive to get on the scoreboard. Along the way, Nativity was nearly stalled once more. On 4th & 7, they showed punt, but Noah Dalbin took the ball and ran ten yards for a critical first down, keeping the drive alive. The methodical march concluded with an eight yard Sam Spolski run, cutting the lead to 14-7 with 5:58 to play in the half.

After being sidelined for nearly ten minutes, the Miners’ offense was eager to get back on the field. Dante Carr, while on the run from pressure, kept his eyes downfield and completed a 34 yard pass to Logan Hutsko, putting Minersville in the red zone. Three plays later, Carr ran left and in from four yards out for his third touchdown of the half.

After forcing a quick three and out, Minersville got the ball back with 2:18 left in the half. Carr connected with Matt Dube for 18 and then threw down the far side for a 34 yard gainer to Hutsko. On a fourth down call from the 17, Carr moved to his right and hit Hutsko for a score with 21 seconds left in the half. Minersville was running away with the game at the half, and Nativity had no answers.

What exactly Nativity BVM head coach Patrick Mason said in the locker room during the break is unknown, but something changed early in the third quarter. An offensive unit that stalled out three times inside Minersville territory would not be denied. Sam Walborn came down with a leaping 35 yard catch on the first play of the third quarter, moving the Green Wave into the red zone. Two plays later, he rumbled nine yards into the end zone and cut the Nativity deficit to 28-14 just over a minute into the second half.

The ensuing kickoff return was coughed up on the Miners 18, putting Nativity immediately back in business. Sam Spolski dragged a tackler past the goal line and in for a nine yard touchdown. The score made it 28-21 after a little more than two minutes into the half.

“We knew when we came out at halftime with it 28-7, it wasn’t going to be easy. They’re a greatly coached team by coach Mason and they have amazing kids on their team, so getting a win against them is huge.” Minersville secured the ensuing kickoff and the tide of momentum began to turn back towards the Miners. The offense chewed 9:50 off the clock on a 14 play drive. On 3rd & 3 at their own 41, Carr scrambled ahead for a pickup of seven. With the third quarter salted away, Carr opened the final stanza with a one yard touchdown plunge, going to his right and executing the fake handoff to perfection once again.

Mike Stank put a shock into the crowd and his team, returning the ensuing kickoff down the near sideline to the house to pull Nativity back within 35-28. But with the Nativity defense back on the field, Minersville put the game effectively out of reach with another time consuming effort. The Miners took 12 plays to go 48 yards On second down and long, Carr threw right to Peiton LaPoint, who dragged tacklers into the end zone for the score. “I got in everyone’s face and told them we are still up by a touchdown. We need to keep the intensity. We went on two eight minute drives that ended in touchdowns and I think that sealed the deal.” said Carr.

Logan Rizzardi helped put the nail in the coffin when he picked off Ben Kreitzer over the middle and ran the ball back to the Green Wave 35. From there, Carr ran 28 yards for the final score of the night, scoring on 4th & 6. Derek Derenzo came up with a late interception in the end zone and Minersville kneeled the game out for their home crowd on Senior Night.

On the night, Dante Carr accounted for just shy of 400 total yards of offense. He went 12/20 through the air for 173 and 2TDs while running 14 times for 203 yards and five scores. Easton Schultz carried 16 times for 47 yards. Logan Hutsko caught four passes for 98 yards and a TD. In the loss, Nativity was held to 115 rushing yards, usually their biggest strength. Through the air, Ben Kreitzer was 8/20 for 168 yards.

The Battlin’ Miners will be on the road in their final two weeks when they travel to Tri-Valley and Panther Valley. Nativity will prepare for a date at Schuylkill Haven against the high-powered Hurricanes before ending their season with a home game against rivals Marian Catholic.

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