One of the signs of a really good football team is that it sometimes can make a pretty good football team look not so good. Unbeaten Shamokin Area did just that Friday, scoring six first-half touchdowns from six different players, on the way to taking apart Loyalsock, 48-7 to run the Indians’ record to 9-0.

The Lancers entered the game with a 5-3 record, but were never in this contest right from the beginning when the Indians scored two touchdowns in the first six minutes.

Shamokin had 306 yards of offense in the first half on just 18 plays, an average of about 17 yards per snap.

Perhaps just as impressive was the fact that the Indians appeared to just take care of business as usual despite the looming Coal Bucket game with archrival Mount Carmel on the horizon.

“We know this is the time of year when you have to play your best football, and we have a lot of explosive football players and we let them do their jobs,” Shamokin coach Marc Persing said.

Quarterback Logan Steele got the party going with a twisting, turning 46-yard touchdown run on a third-and-10 on the Indians’ first series.

Chase Pensyl appeared to score on a 57-yard run on the next series but the play was called back for a chop block, and the Indians were forced to punt.

Blake Hockenbroch’s 47-yard punt pinned the Lancers back on their 7. On the next play, Shamokin linebacker Dylan Fenix intercepted quarterback Nicholas Avalos’ pass at about the 2-yard line and stepped into the end zone for an easy score.

“We sniffed that out,” Persing said. “They use that screen pass a lot, and Liam Montgomery called it and Dylan read his keys perfectly. That doesn’t happen by accident. That doesn’t come without a ton of preparation.”

Loyalsock lost a fumble on its next possession and, after a 14-yard run by Za’kem Clinton, Steele connected with Ben Delbaugh for a 28-yard touchdown pass.

A 69-yard run by Jayce Ginck (7 carries, 168 yards) to the 20 set up an 11-yard scoring run by Clinton.

Loyalsock attempted to stay in the game with a risky fourth-and-1 from its own 29 which resulted in an incompletion. Steele and Pensyl connected twice, first for a 5-yard loss but then for a 34-yard touchdown.

Ginck scored on a 62-yard run just before halftime, making it 41-0 at the break and ensuring a mercy-rule second half.

Clinton, who added 116 yards on 10 carries, scored on a 23-yard touchdown early in the second half before the substitutes took over.

“Jayce and Zakem have been doing it all year for us,” Persing said.

“Jayce went over the 1,000-yard mark tonight, and he’s had to share a lot of the carries.”

Running back Dolan Harmon (21 carries, 101 yards) scored on a 1-yard plunge for Loyalsock for the Lancers’ score.

Senior captain and lineman Blake Hockenbroch talked about keeping the team on an even keel this week and not thinking about the Mount Carmel game.

“We just want to go 1-0 every week and stay in position to win every week,” Hockenbroch said. “Starting tomorrow morning we’ll start thinking about next week. It’s going to be an exciting week. This season has been the result of a lot of hard work by a lot of people and it’s finally playing off.”

“Mount Carmel will have our full attention now,” Persing said.