Trending
MOUNT CARMEL – North Penn Mansfield coach Chris Olson knew his team was overmatched coming into Friday's District 4 Class AA first round game at unbeaten Mount Carmel.
And things went largely as one may have expected for the Panthers, who after stopping Mount Carmel on downs on its opening drive, then saw the Red Tornados score on nine of their next 10 possessions, including its next four drives in the first quarter, as Mount Carmel used several quick scoring drives to quickly pull away from the Panthers and advance to next week's district semifinal with a 60-20 win. The Red Tornados will take on Hughesville, which knocked off Bloomsburg to advance, at home next week.
"It's a special place down here, they've got a great thing, and we've been here before so we knew what to expect but nothing prepares you," said Olson. "We knew we were going to have to come in here and play hard and we did for a little bit but then things started to fall apart a bit and we couldn't right the ship tonight. They're going to do some special things this year."
Oddly enough, the Panthers ended up with more first downs (19) in the game than the victorious Red Tornados (17). But just six of North Penn Mansfield's first downs came in the first half, as a majority were in the second half after the mercy rule was invoked.
The main reason why Mount Carmel had so few despite scoring 60 points was due to its quick scoring drives, which were the order of the night. The Red Tornados scored seven touchdowns, including six in the first half, on drives that lasted under a minute. Only two scoring drives took more than a minute, and the Red Tornados' longest scoring drive of the night took just 1:35.
Three touchdowns were single-play drives, including their first score, when Xaviar Diaz got loose for a 36-yard touchdown run to put Mount Carmel up 6-0 at 6:45 to go in the first, after the Red Tornado defense forced North Penn Mansfield into a three-and-out on its ensuing possession after Mount Carmel had turned it over on downs.
After another three-and-out, Cole Spears capped a four-play drive with a 17-yard screen pass to Matt Schicchitano to put Mount Carmel up 12-0. That drive took 1:14, and it was Mount Carmel's second-longest drive by time of the game.
One more three-and-out later by North Penn Mansfield gave the Red Tornados the ball near midfield, and this time, Luke Blessing burst loose up the middle for a 49-yard touchdown run. Later on in the first quarter, Michael Farronato found the end zone as he took a handoff on a counter play and went into the end zone from 13 yards out, making it 26-0 before the end of the opening quarter.
"I thought we executed well on offense and our defense played really well," said Mount Carmel coach John Darrah. "They're kind of a hurry-up team and like to throw the ball a lot but we were able to put up a lot of points, and I thought our younger guys got a lot of valuable experience in the game, too."
Mount Carmel's lone major miscue of the night gave North Penn Mansfield its only points of the first half, as a mishandled handoff was picked out of midair by Ethan Dick, who was in the right place at the right time, and he returned it 40 yards for a touchdown in the first minute of the second quarter.
But the Red Tornados answered right back less than a minute later, as Garrett Varano capped a two-play drive with a 34-yard touchdown run, the first of two rushing touchdowns on as many carries on the night for him. Later in the second quarter, Varano would run it in from 21-yards out to cap a three-play drive, the second-longest of the night for Mount Carmel in terms of plays. In between Varano touchdowns, Blessing took a screen pass from Spears and turned it into a 39-yard touchdown reception.
"That's the biggest difference we run into, is we don't have the strength to keep up with some of these bigger teams like Mount Carmel," said Olson. "They're bigger, faster, stronger. We can scheme all day but the bottom line is if you don't have the guys to execute, then it's going to be a long night like it was tonight."
The Panthers did manage a pair of scores in the second half. Kohen Lehman took a short pass from Karson Dominick and turned it into a 36-yard touchdown reception with 9:14 left in the third quarter. Lehman, playing in his final high school game, wrapped up a stellar career with 144 all-purpose yards and the touchdown.
Later in the second half, Dominick found Cooper Shaw for a four-yard touchdown pass, putting a cap on his night, which featured 150 yards on 18-of-33 passing.