Wildcats at Shamokin Friday
Wildcat Snapshot:
Next: Central Mountain (1-0) @ Shamokin (1-0) 7 p.m. Friday
Last Year: Teams did not meet
Last Week: Wildcats edged Williamsport 34-33; Shamokin blanked Line Mountain, 7-0.
BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP – Two teams that struggled mightily in 2013 will carry 1-and-0 marks into their second game matchup for the 2014 season this Friday night in Shamokin.
The host Indians, under first-year head coach Pat DiRienzo, held off rival Line Mountain 7-0 last Friday, the victory ending a 14-game Shamokin losing streak. Meanwhile Central Mountain played its first game under first-year coach Mike Nines and the Wildcats, 2-and-8 a year ago, held on for a 34-33 win at Williamsport.
It wasn’t easy and at times it wasn’t pretty, but by the time the final second clicked off the clock at the Williamsport High School football field last Friday, the visiting Wildcats were able to travel home with a rousing 34-33 win over their down river rivals.
It was a game of firsts for the Wildcats: the first win for new head coach Nines and the school’s first touchdown scored by a 370-pound running back.
But the game finally turned on the Central Mountain defense. Riddled for much of the second half by a quicker Millionaire team, the Wildcat defense stopped the two final Williamsport drives after the Millionaires had scored twice to cut the lead to 34-33 CM with more than nine minutes remaining.
The Wildcats used two big defensive stops by linebacker Hunter Baker to end one Bill-town drive and the clock ended the other when Williamsport ran out of time on the Wildcat 26 yard line.
Baker finished with 8 tackles, the Wildcats led by Clayton Butler with 11 stops, including one sack.
Central Mountain used a big-play offense to race to a 34-19 lead well into the third period, then held off the home team.
Using a no-huddle offense, junior quarterback Bryce Bitner was 4-for-5 passing for 132 yards in the first half, tossing one touchdown pass of 35 yards to sophomore Justin Neff; the passing was supported by a solid ground game led by junior Hunter Weaver who ended the night with 169 yards on 35 carries and one touchdown.
Neff was all over the field, adding a 2-yard touchdown run and a 79-yard kickoff return for a score; he finished the night with 209 all-purpose yards. Sophomore Bryce Mansfield spelled Weaver in the final period and carried 9 times for 42 yards. Bitner finished 4-6 passing with one touchdown and one interception.
Nines said this week that Weaver, limping at times last Friday, is fine and will be good to go this Friday and the rest of the Wildcats came out of the first game sore but healthy.
The win reversed a last minute loss to Williamsport a year ago when the Millionaires scored late to pull out a 24-21 victory.
Game highlights for the Wildcats also included a 4-for-5 extra point effort from sophomore Kathryn Myers who made her final four tries to help secure the victory. And coach Nines called on the 6-7 370 pound senior Wyatt Sanders to punch in a score from two yards out in the second period.
Nines said his team showed “tremendous heart and character” in the team effort. “It was a total team effort from the kids who helped the starters practice all week long, to the kids who came into the game for only a few plays, to the entire sideline who kept the crowd in the game and fed the players on the field. I couldn’t be happier with my entire team. They all did a fantastic job and deserved that win.”
Coach Nines had promised his team it was time for some fun and they certainly had some at Williamsport. They’ll try to continue the fun at Shamokin Friday night.
Noting both teams won their opener, Nines said Shamokin played a good game last week. “We are both 1-0 and I’m sure they will be confident going into this week. They are not very big but they do have some skill players and their option running attack will be tough with their quarterback who is very good.
“Our goal is to build on this quality win, continue to get better, and keep playing with enthusiasm. We do that and we will have success this week.”
The Indians used the legs of senior quarterback Tucker Yost to put up the only touchdown in their 7-0 win over Line Mountain.
That contest was a defensive struggle, Shamokin putting up 260 yards of total offense, 227 of them from Yost, a 6-3, 217 pound option quarterback.
Yost rushed 14 times for 155 yards and added another 72 yards through the air on a 9-of-19 night passing, including one interception. The game’s only score came in the second period when the Indian quarterback traveled 57 yards on an option keeper.
After the trip to Shamokin the Wildcats return to Malinak Stadium for their home-opener Friday, Sept. 12, against Central Columbia (0-1).
