The 2008 Mount Carmel football team blasted through its team banner in this photo, while the 2011 edition blasted through the 800-win mark. Mount Carmel becomes the fifth school in the nation to net 800 wins.
File photo by Richard Rector
Few football schools nationally have the rich history of
Mount Carmel (Pa.), so it was entirely fitting that one of its own helped the program reach yet another milestone.
With a 35-14 road victory against Shikellamy on Oct. 21, Mount Carmel became only the fifth school nationally to reach the 800-win mark in football. The Red Tornadoes are coached by Carmen DeFrancesco, who graduated from Mount Carmel in 1971.
"We are glad it is over with," DeFrancesco said. "It's been a tough couple of weeks. As we got closer (to 800), the hype built up. As much as we preach to the kids about staying focused on each game, whether we wanted to admit it or not, the pressure built up, and I think affected us a little bit over the past month."
Mount Carmel, which began playing football in 1893 and went 1-2 in its first season, joins a select group in the 800-win club. Valdosta (Ga.) is the leader nationally with 868 wins, followed by Highlands (Fort Thomas, Ky.) with 822, Male (Louisville, Ky.) with 814 and Washington (Massillon, Ohio) with 810. The Red Tornadoes are 800-289-57 overall.
DeFrancesco played for legendary Red Tornadoes coach Joe "Jazz" Diminick, who accounted for 267 wins from 1962-92, according to the school's football website. DeFrancesco was the head coach at four other area schools before taking over last year at his alma mater and posting an 8-4 mark.
During his playing days for the Red Tornadoes from 1967-70, DeFrancesco's teams went 44-1.
"I'm very excited because I'm a Mount Carmel kid; I grew up here," he said. "But, really, it's a great honor for our community and for all who were a part of this through the years."
The Red Tornadoes (7-1 this season) reached the plateau by rushing for 299 yards, 112 coming from Meyrick Lamb, who rushed for two touchdowns. Mount Carmel also overcame the loss of its leader, fullback/linebacker Cody Shustack, who left early in the game due to a sprained ankle.
"We were pretty confident going into the game," DeFrancesco said. "The loss of Cody – who is just an outstanding kid on and off the field - set us back for a little bit, but our team rallied around all that."
Shustack should be ready to play this week when the Red Tornadoes meet Southern Columbia Area in the regular-season finale. And as excited as DeFrancesco was about the milestone win, he was equally thrilled because it put Mount Carmel in position to challenge for the Heartland II Conference championship. SCA enters the game 8-0.
"This game has ramifications galore," DeFrancesco said. "The winner of the game will be the Heartland II champion and earn valuable district points for the playoffs.
"Our goals at the beginning of the season were to win a league championship and earn a No. 1 seed for the district playoffs. We are right where we want to be."
Yes, at win No. 800 and counting.
