Gettysburg Times: "Canner comeback falls short"

BY SCOT ANDREW PITZER
Times Staff Writer

Mount Carmel: 47
Biglerville: 20

Dreams of an upset bid were alive and well Friday night at Musselman Stadium, where the Biglerville Canner football team found itself within 14 points of the visiting Mount Carmel Red Tornadoes — the winningest program in Pennsylvania high school football history — midway through the fourth quarter.
But the Canners, determined to gain respect following five straight losing seasons, were unable to contain Mount Carmel senior tailback James Haynes, whose 252 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns led the Red Tornadoes to a 47-20 victory.
“We knew they had potential because they have some good athletes,” Mount Carmel head coach Mike Brennan said during his post-game press chat.
The final score was somewhat deceiving — with Mount Carmel’s third-string defense on the field during the game’s waning moments, freshman Nik Gratti scooped a bad snap by Biglerville, and returned the pigskin 69 yards for a Tornado touchdown as time expired.
Brennan touted the non-stop effort of the Biglerville offense, fueled by the strong arm of quarterback Kyle Whitmoyer. The senior was 13-35 for 221 yards and two touchdowns, also running 13 yards for a score in the second half.
“They threw some things at us that no other team we play is going to do, and that’s fine because it makes us work and keep playing hard,” Brennan said following his program’s 760th career victory . “That’s what you want in an opener, and overall, I thought we played well.”
Mount Carmel opened the evening’s scoring with just under six minutes to play in the first quarter, when Haynes ran for his first touchdown of the game, a seven-yard carry.
Haynes gave his Coal Region squad a 14-0 lead with 4:44 remaining in the first half, taking a hand-off from Tornado quarterback Marcus Wasilewski and sprinting 14 yards to the endzone.
The Red Tornadoes opened the scoring in the second half via a swift 59-yard touchdown run by Haynes, who tallied 167 yards rushing.
“Our guys really came off the ball and blocked, and I was able to read those blocks,” Haynes said.
Facing a seemingly insurmountable 21-0 lead, the Canners mounted a comeback. With 11:08 left to play in the third quarter, Whitmoyer capped a long Biglerville drive by finding pay-dirt on a 13-yard run. The extra point attempt was muffed, but Whitmoyer’s score woke the home crowd.
The black and gold faithful were hushed quickly, as Haynes returned the ensuring kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown, padding Mount Carmel’s lead which, after the extra point, stood at 28-6.
“That was huge,” Brennan said. “It’s been a while since we’ve had a player who can go 75 yards for a score, but this year we have that player in James.”
Biglerville refused to quit though.
Later in the third quarter, Whitmoyer combined with Mike Wagner on a 33-yard scoring pass, cutting the lead to 28-12. With the Canners needing a defensive stop, the Red Tornadoes turned to a different offensive weapon — ball carrier Julius Demetrius.
The result was much of the same.
Demetrius led the visitors to a fourth quarter score on a 17-yard run, padding Mount Carmel’s lead to 34-12.
Later that quarter, Canner receiver Parker Showers kept hopes of a Biglerville comeback alive when he caught a 4-yard pass from Whitmoyer. A two-point conversion brought the Canners to within 14 points, 34-20, but that was as close as the home team could cut the gap.
Mount Carmel put the game out of reach with under four minutes to play on a 14-yard run by senior running back Justin Pellowski.
Gratti’s long fumble return as time expired punctuated the scoring.
When the clock struck 00:00 in Canner County, the Red Tornadoes had tallied 246 total rushing yards, too much for the Canners to handle.
“I thought we took control and did a good job of keeping control, even though it got a little sloppy in the second half,” Brennan said.
Biglerville (0-1) seeks its first win Friday night in a home game against York Catholic. Republican & Herald sports writer Doyle Dietz contributed to this report.
Mount Carmel 7 7 14 19 — 47
Biglerville 0 0 12 8 — 20
First quarter
MC-James Haynes 7-run, 5:52 (Marcus Wasilewski kick good)
Second quarter
MC-Haynes, 14-run, 4:44 (Wasilewski kick good)
Third quarter
MC-Haynes, 59-run, 11:43 (Wasilewski kick good)
Big-Kyle Whitmoyer, 13-run, 11:08 (kick failed)
MC-Haynes, 85-kick-off return, 10:59 (Wasilewski kick good)
Big-Mike Wagner, 33-pass from Whitmoyer, 2:18 (pass failed)
Fourth Quarter
MC-Julius Demetrius, 17-run (kick failed)
Big-Parker Showers, 3-pass from Whitmoyer, 8:44 (Whitmoyer run)
MC-Justin Pellowski 13-run, 3:40 (Demko kick)
MC-Nik Gratti, 69 fumble return (no attempt)
TEAM STATISTICS
MC Big
First downs 16 14
Rushes-yards 45-246 23-127
Passes 9-17-1 13-35-0
Passing yards 123 222
Fumbles-lost 2-0 3-2
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing:
Mount Carmel – Haynes 14-167, DeMarco 11-35, DeMetrius 9-28, Pellowski 3-17, Hepler 3-10, Kisela 1-4, Stewart 1-0, Wasilewski 3-(-15).
Biglerville – Taughinbaugh 6-44, McMaster 6-33, Whitmoyer 7-24, Foster 3-23, Lieberum 1-3.
Passing:
Mount Carmel – Wasilewski 9-17-1—123
Biglerville – Whitmoyer 13-35-0—222
Receiving:
Mount Carmel – Moroz 4-53, DeMarco 2-22, Kovaleski 1-31, Menapace 1-10, McCracken 1-7.
Biglerville – Taughinbaugh 7-126, Wagner 3-63, Liberum 2-29, Showers 1-4.
INTERCEPTIONS:
Biglerville – Liebrum.