Football Game Preview: Pine Grove Cardinals vs. Minersville Battlin' Miners

The Pine Grove Cardinals will head out on the road to take on the Minersville Battlin' Miners at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.

Pine Grove made up a huge gap compared to their last game against Mahanoy Area, but they still couldn't quite topple them. The Cardinals fell just short of the Golden Bears by a score of 22-20 on Friday. The defeat continues a trend for the Cardinals in their meetings with the Golden Bears: they've now lost three in a row.

Although Pine Grove took the loss, they still got scores from Teagan Schneck-Haines, Wyatt Snyder, and Omir Ballard.

Meanwhile, Minersville really took it to Marian Catholic for the full four quarters, racking up a 38-7 win. Considering the Battlin' Miners have won four matchups by more than 21 points this season, Saturday's blowout was nothing new.

Pine Grove better keep an eye on Dante Carr. He was instrumental in Minersville's win, rushing for 146 yards and one TD on only 12 carries, while also throwing for 168 yards and a pair of touchdowns on only 12 passes. Carr's rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his fourth straight game with at least 143 rushing yards. Derek Derenzo was another key player, rushing for 72 yards and one score on only seven carries.

Minersville was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 251 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in October of 2024.

Pine Grove's loss dropped their record down to 1-5. As for Minersville, their record now sits at 4-2.

Things could have been worse for Pine Grove, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 31-14 loss to Minersville when the teams last played back in October of 2024. Can the Cardinals avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.