COAL TOWNSHIP — Upon surrendering two touchdowns in the final minute of the first half, Shamokin entered the locker rooms down 14 to PHAC Division I and District 4 Class AAAA rival Jersey Shore having been outplayed in all areas over the first 24 minutes.

What re-entered the field at Kemp Memorial Stadium from the home locker room was a different team.

Indians’ speedster Ryan Bickert returned the initial second-half kickoff 93 yards to the house, and the defending district champions were right back in it.

“I kind of just tried to stay away from the sideline. I knew my speed. I knew nobody was going to catch me. As long as I got it to the outside, I knew I was gone,” the junior recalled. “In my opinion, it gave us a little kickstart. Our team really needed it to show we’re the better team.”

And from that moment on, Shamokin was just that — the better team.

The resilient Indians rallied to tie the contest at 28-all by the end of regulation, and would go on to win in double overtime, on the fun side of a 43-42 thriller.

All-state dual-threat quarterback Logan Steele scored the responding touchdown on a 4-yard keeper in the second bonus period, and Shamokin (4-0, 2-0 PHAC-I) faced a difficult decision — Play for the tie by kicking the extra point, or go for two and try to win it right there.

Marc Persing’s Indians initially sent out their kicking team, but when Jersey Shore called a timeout, the second-guessing had begun.

Bruising Shamokin running back Zakem Clinton had amassed a game-high 152 rushing yards on 15 carries, including an early 96-yard score, and as a senior captain, he wasn’t about to let his team play for the tie. Even though he voiced that opinion in an unselfish manner.

“He was adamant that Logan was carrying the ball and he was going to lead the way for him,” Persing said of Clinton. “We called a play where we typically have linemen pulling, but we have a rule in place where if a certain front shows, the guard stays, and everybody blocks down and we get one to kick out, and we get Zakem leading.

“I’ve said this probably five times tonight, but if there’s one person in the state of Pennsylvania that I want to have the ball in his hands in a big moment, it’s No. 4. It’s Logan Steele.”

That decision paid off, as Shamokin’s physical offensive line and its selfless 6-foot-1, 225-pound running back paved the way for Steele, who sprung high off the ground and over the goal line for the game-winning two-point conversion, prompting an energetic party on the field with his teammates and the student section.

“We were going to go for one there. We talked about it during the timeout, and Zakem and Izak really wanted to go for two,” Steele shared. “They were like, ‘Listen, we’re going to move everyone out of the way, go for it, and run it.’ And I just jumped, and we made it.”

Steele scored both Shamokin overtime TDs on the ground, finishing his night with three, accumulating 107 yards on a team-high 19 attempts.

The Indians fumbled the ball an unprecedented seven times throughout the night, losing it three times, but didn’t let any one of the miscues do them in. They simply moved onto the next play, and persevered.

“We knew we were going to win at Kemp Memorial,” Shamokin linebacker Liam Montgomery said. “You see some people leaving when it’s (21-7) at halftime, but in the locker room, we knew we had to come together, work as a team and pull out a victory, and that’s exactly what we did.

“I’m grateful for all my teammates. I couldn’t be more happy with the result, even with how that first half went. We really dug through and finished it out.”

Persing added: “What a resilient group of kids, huh? We’re resilient and we’re gritty, but we don’t need to be. I still have yet to see them execute for four quarters. It seemed like we executed the game plan in the second half and in overtime. But at the end of the day, we got a win, so we’re happy.”

Despite the final score, Jersey Shore (3-1, 1-1) outgained its opponent by a significant margin of 413 yards to 283. The Bulldogs also had more than twice as many first downs (24-10).

Jersey Shore coach Tom Gravish was proud of the way his youthful group battled against the team that has now beaten them in three straight meetings by a combined four points, including twice in overtime, after the Bulldogs had won each of the prior 14 in the head-to-head series.

“We’re proud of our players,” Gravish said. “Hats off to Shamokin having the courage to go for two there. We thought we had a chance to block the kick a couple times on extra points, so they might have thought that as well. I’m not sure what prompted them to do that, maybe they liked their percentages. Anytime you have No. 4 back there, your percentages are pretty good. So hats off to those guys.

“We have a young team. I think we’re really growing. I’m pleased with how we’re growing. We wanted to be 4-0, but I’m confident the guys will answer the bell. Shikellamy will be a tough opponent next week, but we play a lot of tough opponents, so we’re looking forward to next week. We’re trying to be 1-0 at the end of next week.”

First-year starting quarterback Nolan Paulng extended the tremendous start to his sophomore campaign, completing each of his first seven passes against an experienced Shamokin secondary en route to finishing the night 21-of-33 for 214 yards and three TDs, in addition to his 64 yards and overtime score on the ground, on 18 attempts.

Even wearing the same No. 1 jersey recently-graduated all-state QB Elijah Jordan donned, the younger of the two almost looks like a carbon copy with his mobile and elusive playing style.

“There’s a lot of similar traits and qualities between them as players,” Gravish said. “(Pauling) runs and throws well, and we feel that he’ll get better as well.”

Elsewhere on the Bulldogs’ offense, Bo Sechrist registered 103 yards and a TD on 21 carries, in addition to his pivotal 29-yard scoop-and-score on defense late in the first half.

Carter Rhinehart was the game’s leading receiver, catching nine balls for 100 yards, including a pair of lengthy first-half scores.