T.J. Heromin, Mt. Carmel
File photo by Richard Rector
Also, staying in District 4, two of the state’s powers in Double-A Montoursville and Single-A Southern Columbia Area squared off on the gridiron.
Starting in Mount Carmel, the Red Tornadoes kept a stranglehold on the old "Coal Bucket" in a 33-6 rout over the rival Indians on Saturday night.
MCA jumped out to a 12-0 lead after one quarter and never looked back from there. Defensively, first-year head coach Bob Chesney couldn’t have asked for more. The team had numerous sacks, recovered two fumbles and blocked a punt for a touchdown.
Shamokin also hurt itself with more than 100 yards in penalities.
"That blocked punt in the third quarter was the play of the game," Chesney told the Shamokin News-Item. "We were debating whether to set up a block or a return, and finally we went with the block. T.J. Heromin had another big game kicking and punting. I think every one of his kicks had them inside their 20, and both (Jared) Pellowski and Meyrick Lamb ran well. We tell them all the time to break the first tackle, and tonight they broke first and second tackles."
Pellowski had a big night with two touchdowns, and Mike Sinopoli was the man on the defensive side of the football. In addition to multiple tackles, he recovered a fumble and was also responsible for blocking the punt.
"That's what we were going for, to get more lateral movement on defense," Sinopoli told the newspaper. "It was Shamokin, and we came out fired up and ready to go."
Dan Foor, also in his first year at SAHS, couldn’t quite figure out an answer to bring the Coal Bucket to the school.
"I'm the head coach of this football team, and those illegal participation penalties were my fault," he said. "There's no excuse for that. We got down, just like last week, came back and played pretty well, until we had the punt blocked. We can't catch a break, but that's no excuse. We had inopportune penalties at the wrong time. I feel bad for the kids, because they prepared hard. We wanted to win at least one out of two of these county rivalry games.
At Montoursville, the Warriors earned a big win Saturday night — breaking a 14-14 tie with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter as Montoursville beat the Tigers 28-20.
The victory put coach Jim Bergen two wins shy of 200 victories, while Southern head coach Jim Roth is two wins shy of 300. A 53-yard touchdown pass from Travis Singer to Cody Haupt sealed the Warriors victory.
"It was a short motion run with (Haupt), so we knew even getting it in late that we shouldn't have a problem getting (the play off)," Bergen told the Williamsport Sun-Gazette. "And Travis is a smart kid. He could see the clock and how much time he had."
With the exception of big plays, Southern had kept the Warriors’ offense to a minimum.
"I think the bottom line is too many big plays," Roth said. "It was inconsistency. Consistency comes with experience, and behind our front four, we have all new starters, and I think it showed both this week and last week (in a win over Shamokin) with the big plays we've given up."
The Triple-A football landscape also became a little clearer over the week. Selinsgrove, state-ranked in most polls, manhandled Mifflinburg 44-6 — while Shikellamy may end up playing the Seals in the postseason after a convincing win over Jersey Shore. Last year, Shore and Selinsgrove played for the district title.
District 6: State-ranked Little Lions get home victory
It wasn’t easy. Then again, when State College and Cumberland Valley hook up, it never is.
The Little Lions jumped out a 21-2 lead in the first quarter and held on for a 21-17 win in Centre County. Only 10 yards stood between CV and one of the biggest upsets in the state during Week 2.
State linebacker Brad Holzwarth made the saving tackle as quarterback Eric Sawyer was going down the sideline toward the end zone.
"I didn’t know what was happening because it was happening so fast," Holzwarth told the Centre Daily Times. "I then realized we were in pass coverage; he was running and 11 jerseys started running toward him. Luckily, we got out of there with a win."
Two touchdowns by Penn State recruit Alex Kenney, and a 61-yard score Matt Mazzara gave State a big lead with three minutes left in the first quarter. But a feverous comeback for District 3’s CV fell just 10 yards short.
Sticking with Quad-A football, Williamsport ruined the debut of Central Mountain’s new high school stadium with a 28-14 victory.
A 15-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Nick Turchetta and an ensuing two-point conversion by senior star tailback Scott Zuback knotted the game at 14. But Drae Lewis scored on a 1-yard plunge set up by his 17-yard quarterback option, and the senior also played the role of spoiler when he intercepted a pass on his own 12-yard line and took it back 88 yards for the TD with two minutes remaining.
Williamsport, which beat CM for the first time in four years, led 14-6 at halftime.
"I remember the Stroudsburg game last year when we were up at halftime, and there was so much excitement in the locker room," Lewis said. "It was like we forget that we had another 24 minutes left to play. After that, we said that we were going to work hard for four quarters in each game."
Altoona also broke into the win column, knocking off Chambersburg 18-13. The Mountain Lions scored six points in the first three quarters. In Week 1, Altoona lost by 53 points.
"We really practiced hard this week, and got together," two-way senior lineman Julian Howsare told the Altoona Mirror. "I'm just trying to keep the younger guys going, and keep their spirits up."
State-ranked Double-A power Central Martinsburg jumped up a classification and scored in every quarter en route to a 28-7 victory over Indian Valley. Standout Lucas Runk was effective at quarterback, completing 11-of-13 passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 33 yards.
"The confidence the kids have gained is the biggest reason for our success so far," Central coach A.J. Hoenstine said to the Mirror. "They believe in themselves and what the coaches are trying to do. The community support has been outstanding. If you put all three together you have something special."
District 2: Western Wayne is 2-0; Mid-Valley stuns Lakeland
Western Wayne and a potential district title contender isn’t something that’s usually put together. That has changed in 2009.
The Wildcats are now 2-0 for the first time since 1987 as Joe Siciari hooked up with teammate Joe Vonderhey for two first-quarter touchdowns as the team rolled to a 34-0 victory over Susquehanna.
"The kids worked their butts off, and they don’t want to be stopped," WW head coach Butch Keller told the Scranton Times-Tribune. "We came here with that on our minds, that we were going to win. Ray Caucci and Mike Hemak and all the coaches came here with that on our minds. They said, ‘We’re here to turn this around.’ These kids deserve it. And those coaches are phenomenal, and the kids are working hard."
The Wildcats racked up an impressive 425 yards of offense while holding Susquehanna to 112 yards.
"It’s a totally different story," Siciari said. "We have a lot of confidence out there. Our line’s pushing people around. They worked real hard in the offseason."
For Mid-Valley, the battle cry was about respect. The Spartans earned that with a 13-0 victory over Double-A power Lakeland in Chapman Lake.
The Spartans held the Chiefs to 47 yards on the ground on 28 carries, and only 85 total yards.
"We had opportunities and we didn’t execute," Lakeland head coach Jeff Wasilchak told the newspaper. "Mid Valley’s kids did what they needed to do to win the game. They are well-coached. Those coaches are great guys; look at their record. They coached to win, and their kids believe in them."
"We just played straight defenses and played power football," Mid-Valley linebacker Tyler McDonald told the Times-Tribune. "I just told the defensive tackles to keep the linemen off me, and they did."
State-ranked Abington Heights also made a statement Friday as Paul Gallagher rushed for three touchdowns and the Comets had 272 yards on the ground in a 26-7 win at Wyoming Valley West.
"We knew going into the season that (the running game) would be our strength," AH head coach Joe Repshis told the Citizen’s Voice. "This is a veteran group that has played the last two or three years together. We have depth at fullback and tailback position, and we like to keep them fresh. They are all downhill, physical runners."
Wallenpaupack’s Joe DeFebo also rolled in Week 2, running for 236 yards and five touchdowns en route to a 39-19 victory over East Stroudsburg North. DeFebo has 3,537 yards and 49 touchdowns in his career.
West Scranton also bounced back after a one-point OT loss in Week 1, rolling over local rival Riverside, 34-8. The Invaders had a 21-0 lead at halftime as quarterback Tyler Hughes had a combined three touchdowns, while Riverside’s Corey Talerico had 119 yards on the ground.
Tom Fox is sports editor at The Lock Haven (Pa.) Express and covers Central and Northeastern Pennsylvania. He can be reached at tfox@lockhaven.com.
