Wildcats Visit Tornadoes in Silver Bowl
First-Ever Regular Season Meeting with Mount Carmel
BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP — It took Central Mountain football coach Mike Nines a couple years to resurrect a small rural program in downstate Maryland a few years back. And now it looks like it will also take a little time for the first year coach with the Wildcats.
Central Mountain’s inexperience and growing pains were evident in the Wildcats’ home opener last week, a 36-15 loss to previously winless Central Columbia. Next up for Central Mountain is a first-ever trip to the tradition-bound program at Mount Carmel’s Silver Bowl, the home of the Red Tornadoes.
While Central Mountain fell to 1-2 with its loss, Mount Carmel moved to 2-1 with its 32-14 win at Lewisburg.
Mount Carmel is a storied small school program, among the all-time state leaders in victories, a program going back more than a century.
This year’s Tornado team is ground oriented, averaging close to 250 yards a game rushing. Junior Kyle Karycki (5-11, 205) does most of the damage, 411 yards on 29 carries, an average of 14.2 yards per rush; he is backed by senior Blake Panko (5-8, 170) with 196 yards on a team-high 58 carries.
Junior Dominic Farronato (6-1, 195) is the quarterback; he has passed 29 times, completing 14 for 205 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Farronato could present problems for the Wildcat defense, bedeviled for a second consecutive Friday night last week by a versatile, athletic quarterback.
Two games back Shamokin’s Tucker Yost led the Indians to a 40-12 thrashing of the Wildcats; last Friday night it was Central Columbia’s Steve Shannon who ran and passed the previously winless Blue Jays to a 36-15 win.
The senior Shannon ran 14 times for 104 yards and a touchdown and passed for another 134 yards, including two long touchdown passes.
And not unlike the loss at Shamokin, the home opener saw the Wildcats dig an early hole from which they could not recover. Central Mountain spotted Central Columbia 29 points in the first 15 minutes of play, then stiffened defensively and improved offensively, but not enough to overcome the slow start.
Running back Hunter Weaver was held to a season-low 69 yards on 18 carries, scoring one touchdown and a 2-point conversion. Fellow junior Bryce Bitner completed 4 of 11 passes for 93 yards and added a 1-yard touchdown run. Tyler Zablocki caught two passes for 65 yards and Justin Neff two for 28 yards.
The loss dropped Central Mountain to 1-2 after a season-opening win over Williamsport. Next up is the first-ever trip to Mount Carmel High School. The Red Tornadoes are 2-1 after win at Lewisburg last Friday night. Previously they beat Loyalsock (2-1) by a 25-22 score and lost to Selinsgrove (3-0) 61-6.
