Raiders snap winless streak with 36-14 win over Scotties
Carmichaels鈥� Bailey Jones (26) grabs the facemask of Mapletown鈥檚 Dylan Rush Friday night during first-half action.
Mapletown鈥檚 Zachary Greene (49) tries to bring down Carmichaels running back Jacob Lowry on fourth down Friday night. Lowry broke the tackle, and scored a touchdown.
The streak is over!
Last Friday, Waynesburg Central effectively ended their 17-game football losing skid with a 36-14 victory over Southmoreland.
Waynesburg鈥檚 last win was a 47-0 rout of Charleroi in 2015.
鈥淚 am tickled to death,鈥� Waynesburg Central coach Russ Moore said. 鈥淎t the start of the week, some of the coaches pointed out that the kids were just going through the mid-season lull. On Monday when the kids were in the weight room, I went up to Wal-Mart and bought some popsicles. I got back and the kids were goofing off and I threw a fit. I think it鈥檚 the maddest I鈥檝e been in 30 years.
鈥淲e went outside and we were going to run, but then I remembered the popsicles. I told them the only right thing they could do was to eat popsicles. The kids laughed and I even laughed in the moment. That relaxed us during the week and sometimes you just take things too seriously. They are young kids and they deserve this win.鈥�
Sophomore running back Caleb Shriver carried the load with 156 yards on 18 carries and two touchdowns, but only saw two snaps in the second half after sustaining an injury.
After having Shriver and senior lineman Eli Kiger go down to injury, the Raiders never wavered and relied on some youth in the backfield. Freshmen Wyatt Henson and Nick Higginbotham garnered 68 rushing yards and a touchdown apiece in the Interstate Conference triumph.
鈥淲hat an effort by those two young kids,鈥� Moore said. 鈥淗igginbotham is actually our back-up quarterback and hasn鈥檛 taken any snaps at running back since middle school. We just told him to follow the guard and use his moves.
鈥淲e call Henson 鈥楳r. Wiggles鈥� because he is only 5-foot-4 and his feet are always moving. I鈥檓 pretty sure he doesn鈥檛 even know what direction he is going half the time. Our line did a tremendous job, too.鈥�
The Raiders (1-4, 1-4) were also aided by the reliable play of senior quarterback Dylan Scritchfield, who opened the scoring with an eight-yard touchdown run.
鈥淭his win means so much and it took two years to get it as the starting quarterback,鈥� Scritchfield said. 鈥淚 had a shoulder injury in Week Six of last season and we had our struggles at the start of this year. We are young and we have improved so much.鈥�
Jefferson-Morgan picked up its first Tri-County South Conference win of the year with a 40-14 triumph at Avella last week.
The Rockets (2-4, 1-2) grabbed a 7-0 lead after senior wideout DL Garrett hauled in a 35-yard scoring completion from senior quarterback Jake Broadwater.
Touchdowns by senior tailback Colten Davidson (five yards) and sophomore fullback Kolin Walker (one yard) gave J-M a 20-0 advantage at halftime.
Davidson had a pair of second-half touchdowns sandwiched around a 55-yard rushing touchdown by Garrett against the Eagles.
Carmichaels and Mapletown locked horns in one of the county鈥檚 most heated rivalries, but the Mikes got the better of the play in the second half and pulled out a 31-8 win in Week Five.
The victory extended Carmichaels鈥� TCS winning streak to 13 games. The Mikes last lost a conference game on Oct. 16, 2015, 49-21 to Frazier.
The Maples (2-4, 1-3) held an 8-0 advantage at the end of one when senior running back Dylan Rush scored on a 31-yard touchdown run and a two-point conversion run.
Near the end of the second quarter, the Mikes (4-1, 4-0) responded with a 19-yard scoring run by senior Jacob Lowry on a fourth-and-one play and a two-point conversion run by sophomore quarterback Kevin Kelly, who ran for 85 yards and threw for 72.
Carmichaels then tallied 16 points in the third quarter, courtesy of a 12-yard scoring run by Lowry plus a two-point run by Joey Minor, and a 3-yard touchdown plunge by senior tailback Nick Mundell plus a two-point run by senior fullback Brennen Pelzer.
Minor finished up the scoring with a 23-yard scoring dash to the end zone in the fourth.
Mundell racked up 115 yards on the ground for the Mikes, while Rush was the workhorse for the Maples with 113 yards on 26 carries.
鈥淚鈥檓 really proud of our kids,鈥� Mapletown coach George Messich said. 鈥淲e had the game tied in the first half. Our goal is still to make the playoffs. We鈥檙e not out of the playoffs.
鈥淚 think we just wore down. We鈥檙e only dressing 19 or 20 kids and the same 11, 12 or 13 kids are basically playing a lot of the snaps.鈥�
West Greene was upended in Tri-County South action last week, as the Pioneers suffered a 32-6 setback to Fort Cherry on the road.
The Rangers held a 25-0 scoring edge in the final three quarters and were led by senior Ryhan Culberson, who accounted for all five touchdowns and rushed for 264 yards with 100 passing yards.
Trailing 7-0 in the opening quarter, the Pioneers (4-2, 3-2) got on the scoreboard after a 56-yard touchdown sprint by senior quarterback Zach Pettit, who returned to action after missing last week with an injury. Sophomore running back Ben Jackson led West Greene in rushing with 103 yards.
The marquee match-up tonight is a Tri-South County clash between the top two teams in the conference, as Carmichaels travels to California. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on greenesports.net.
鈥淲e understand who our opponent is,鈥� Carmichaels coach Ryan Krull said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e seen the video鈥here鈥檚 no hiding on the field. We know exactly what they (California) are. But our focus isn鈥檛 going to be on them. Our focus is going to be on us.鈥�
The other greenesports.net broadcast tonight will be Mapletown at Jefferson-Morgan. Kickoff at Parker Field is set for 7 p.m.
Other games for Week Six will be West Greene hosting non-conference foe Leechburg and Waynesburg Central welcoming in South Park. Both games are set to kickoff at 7 p.m.
Grove City College ruined Waynesburg University鈥檚 Homecoming last Saturday with at 21-14 setback for the Yellow Jackets at John F. Wiley Stadium.
Sophomore quarterback Tyler Perone threw for 173 yards and had two touchdowns around three interceptions for the Yellow Jackets (0-5, 0-3). His scoring tosses were to wide receivers Austin Wilson (seven yards) and Chad Walker (three yards).
Waynesburg visits Geneva College on Saturday to continue PAC play with a 3 p.m. kickoff.