Cougars put it all together in 57-7 win over Mikes
Carmichaels鈥� Kevin Kelly is pursued by Charleroi鈥檚 Alex Conrad during Friday鈥檚 Interstate Conference game at Myron Pottios Stadium. (Photo by Darnell Graham)
Carmichaels鈥� Michael Stewart closes in on Charleroi鈥檚 Brayden Mihalcin during their game at Myron Pottios Stadium on Sept. 20, 2019. Stewart returns for his senior season with the Mikes. (Photo by Darnell Graham)
Darnell Graham
Carmichaels鈥� Bailey Jones puts his head down to take on Charleroi鈥檚 Alex Conrad (16) during Friday鈥檚 Interstate Conference game at Myron Pottios Stadium. The Cougars鈥� Ethan Codeluppi also defends on the play.
FALLOWFIELD TWP. 鈥� Charleroi coach Lance Getsy has been talking about the team and family concept all season when discussing the Cougars.
Getsy鈥檚 plan all came to fruition last Friday night at Myron Pottios Stadium, as five different Cougars scored in a 57-7 Interstate Conference victory over Carmichaels.
Despite the lopsided win, Carmichaels controlled the game early.
鈥淲e came out sluggish,鈥� said Getsy. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have great energy in pregame and it showed early.鈥�
Charleroi鈥檚 Brayden Mihalcin rushed for 129 yards and two scores on 15 carries, Alex Conrad completed 10 of 14 passes for 132 yards and a pair of scores to Legend Davis.
Davis, one of Charleroi鈥檚 leaders who caught one touchdown and rushed for another, spoke after the game.
鈥淐oach always tries to spread the ball around and we execute better that way,鈥� said Davis, who played the game despite being sick. 鈥淲hen we do our jobs, we do well and Coach stresses the family mentality.鈥�
Carmichaels coach Ryan Krull spoke about his team starting fast and how it could have had a bigger lead.
鈥淲e have been getting the first drive and scoring every game so far this year,鈥� he said. 鈥淎 couple of things went our way, but we were not able to convert. We had some missed opportunities.鈥�
Getsy spoke about overcoming early issues.
鈥淭he kids never buckled,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd I like how our kids battled.鈥�
The Mikes (1-3, 1-3) took the opening kick and went 69 yards on 13 plays to take a 7-0 lead on a one-yard keeper by quarterback Kevin Kelly.
The drive was keyed by a 26-yard completion from Kelly to Bailey Jones on fouth-and-16.
The drive consisted of 13 plays for 69 and it took up 4:44.
Carmichaels followed by recovering the ensuing kickoff on a squib kick at the Charleroi 33 but could not convert.
The Mikes recovered a Charleroi fumble on the next drive, but they once again came up scoreless.
Charleroi (3-1, 2-1) finally got on the board with four seconds to go in the first quarter when Davis scored on a 47-yard reverse.
The Cougars took their first lead with 8:54 to go in the second quarter on a 39-yard touchdown pass from Alex Conrad to Malik Nails.
Charleroi extended its lead to 28-7 at the half on a pair of Mihalcin touchdown runs.
The first was from 14 yards out with 3:31 to go and the second from 52 yards out with 1:42 to go before the intermission.
Charleroi had 254 yards on 29 plays, while Carmichaels had 84 yards on 30 plays at halftime.
Conrad scored on a 51-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second half, and then he hit Davis with a 19-yard pass with 6:30 to go in the third to enact the running clock.
Nikko Pellegrini closed out Charleroi鈥檚 scoring with a pair of touchdown runs and finished with a career-high 113 yards on 11 carries.
Charleroi finished with 490 yards on 48 plays, while Carmichaels gained 172 yards on 47 plays.
Jones looked best for Carmichaels with 86 yards rushing on 14 carries.
Darius Cooper (13) and Ethan Codeluppi (11) combined for 24 tackles for Charleroi, while Jones led Carmichaels with 11.
鈥淐armichaels has been putting some points on the board,鈥� Getsy said about the effort of his defense. 鈥淥ur defense has played well the last two weeks.鈥�
Krull said his team will keep fighting.
鈥淲e were in the same position last year and our guys know how to respond and know what to do,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e have to just keep taking shots.鈥�
Both teams return to action, Friday as Charleroi has had its upcoming conference game against Beth-Center circled on the calendar for a year while Carmichaels hosts East Allegheny in a non-conference game.
鈥淚t is a little something to build off of, that one loss that gave us a hiccup last year,鈥� said Getsy. 鈥淚t didn鈥檛 give us that perfect season we wanted, so a little revenge will be nice.鈥�