MOUNT CARMEL-Penalties continue to play a role for Mount Carmel in what has been a very difficult first half of the season. A false start helped kill a promising of drive on offense, and a roughing the punter infraction proved to be very costly on special teams. Montoursville played the game on its terms, using a punishing ground game to churn out long drives and limit possessions.

The duo of Christian Banks and Hayden Harvey combined to rush for 238 yards and three touchdowns, as the Warriors took care of business with an efficient 27-0 win.

“We want to obviously impose our will up front,” Montoursville coach Joe Hanna said. “The line blocked hard. We have two really good running backs, and when you’re not getting touched until two or three yards down the field, that’s obviously to your advantage. I think we left some points on the board in terms of some of the passes, but it’s just something we need to get back in and work on, but I’m really proud of the effort tonight and the physicality.”

Montoursville (4-1) put together a flawless, time-consuming opening drive that saw the Warriors overcome a couple of long yardage situations. The possession lasted almost eight minutes while featuring a heavy dosage of Banks. The senior carried it eight times for 33 yards to set up a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Elijah Eck with 4:13 left in the first quarter.

“Two 14-play drives that ended up in scores, you’re limiting the other team offensively,” Hanna said. “You’re not allowing them on the field to score points. So, I’m very, very proud of the kids. We did exactly what we wanted to do, and a hell of an effort.”

Mount Carmel (1-4) committed 15 penalties in a loss at Southern Columbia last week, but the Red Tornadoes were putting together an equally impressive downfield march to answer Montoursville. A fourth down was converted when Gavin Marshalek connected with Zeke Noel on a 14-yard pass completion. Then Marshalek ran for two yards setting up a 1st-and-goal at the 9, but a false start and sack resulted in a 4th-and-goal from the 24. Kane Moore intercepted a pass to officially end the threat.

It seemed as if the Red Tornadoes were about to get good field position after holding Montoursville without a first down. However, a roughing the punter penalty extended the drive, and Banks would make Mount Carmel pay. He took a handoff and raced 31 yards off the right side to complete the 14-play, 98-yard drive, pushing the lead to 14-0 with 2:59 left in the second quarter.

“We’ve just got to do a better job in that regard,” Mount Carmel coach John Darrah said. “We struggled on third down and getting off the field. Even in the second half, we had them in a couple of third-and-longs and we gave up some long runs in those situations. I thought the kids played hard for 48 minutes. We’ve just got to eliminate the mistakes and we’ve got to figure out a way to generate some offense.”

Trailing by two scores, Mount Carmel was hoping to generate something after halftime, something the Red Tornadoes have been unable to do in each of their previous three losses. Montoursville made sure that didn’t happen, as the Warriors forced a three-and-out then got a fourth down stop near midfield. Taking advantage of excellent field position, Banks converted a fake punt on 4th-and-3, then darted 35 yards to the end zone for his second long touchdown of the night. Banks finished with 159 yards rushing, while Harvey chipped in with 79 yards on 12 carries.

“He’s Christian,” Hanna said of Banks. “I mean, he’s going to make plays. Then he has Hayden right behind him. Those kids push each other, they’re each other’s biggest fans. They’re rooting each other on, and when you’ve got two guys competing like that, it makes both Christian and Hayden better.”

Montoursville’s defense helped preserve the shutout with another stop on fourth down, and Harvey closed out the scoring with a 17-yard run touchdown at the 7:23 mark of the fourth quarter. Mount Carmel was held to just four yards rushing on 21 carries as a team. Almost half of the Red Tornadoes’ 120 yards of offense came on their opening possession. The Warriors handed Mount Carmel a third consecutive home loss to start the season, something that hasn’t happened since 1971.

“We’re kind of trying everything,” Darrah said of the second-half struggles. “It’s just, we can’t sustain a drive. We’re trying to run it, throw it, try a quick (passing) game, do all different things. I think think we’ve got to continue to work and get better. When we do that, I’ll think we’ll able to put some points on the board.”