Week 1 Football Preview: Milestones on the line for Tornadoes, Spartans
Victory milestones are always joyous occasions for the coaches, players and teams involved. Those magical moments are extra special when they come in big games, especially against backyard rivals.
That’s the case Friday night when Mount Carmel visits North Schuylkill in the T-102 Game of the Week (pre-game 6:30 p.m. on 101.9 FM) at Ghosh Orthodontics Field at Spartan Stadium.
Pennsylvania’s all-time winningest program, Mount Carmel needs one more win to reach 900 in program history. On the home side of the field, North Schuylkill head coach Wally Hall enters Friday’s showdown needing one more win to reach 100 victories as the Spartans’ head coach.
The potential milestone achievements add extra storylines to the annual battle between two of the area’s best teams.
“It’s going to be great,” North Schuylkill junior quarterback Caden Mengel said this week. “Everything is going to be packed. Full house. It’s going to be an awesome night. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Other games on Friday’s schedule include Pottsville at Shamokin, Blue Mountain at Schuylkill Haven, Halifax at Minersville, Hanover Area at Marian, Holy Redeemer at Nativity, Williams Valley at Upper Dauphin, Lehighton at Northern Lehigh, Mahanoy Area at Catasauqua, Palmerton at Jim Thorpe, Panther Valley at Salisbury, Pine Grove at Northern Lebanon and Tri-Valley at York Catholic.
Saturday, Shenandoah Valley visits Col-Mon Vo-Tech at 1 p.m. and Tamaqua treks to Pen Argyl for a 1:30 p.m. start.
Hall is 99-30 in 11 seasons at North Schuylkill, a .768 winning percentage. He’s 136-60 overall (.694) in 17 seasons, going 19-14 in three seasons at his alma mater Shenandoah Valley (2000-02) and 18-16 in three seasons at Mahanoy Area (2009-11). He also was an assistant coach for three seasons at Marian (2004-06).
In 17 seasons, he’s had jus two losing campaigns, with 15 playoff appearances. Hall also served as a Pennsylvania assistant coach in the 2024 Big 33 Game, was the East head coach in the PSFCA East/West Small-School Game in 2020 and was an East assistant in 2019.
At North Schuylkill, he’s guided the Spartans to the postseason in all 11 seasons, winning District 11 Class 3A titles in 2018, 2020 and 2021 and falling in the district finals in 2014 and 2019.
Included in that run is an 8-2 mark against Mount Carmel. North Schuylkill has beaten Mount Carmel eight of the last nine meetings (the teams didn’t play in 2020), including 34-27 last season.
“I really don’t think about it much,” Hall said of the milestone. “I guess it just shows I’m getting a little older, been in the game a little bit longer. I’ve been fortunate to have the players that I’ve had … I’ve had a lot of great players.”
Hall also gave a lot of credit to his assistant coaches over the years. John Minalda, Joe Tomtishen, Anthony Russo and Carl Stine were on his first staff at North Schuylkill and have been with Hall nearly the entire way. Current Mount Carmel head coach John Darrah was Hall’s defensive coordinator for the 2013 and 2014 seasons before taking the job with the Red Tornadoes, where he’s compiled a 63-30 mark in nine seasons.
Tomtishen, Russo and Stine are members of this year’s staff, along with Pete Stanakis, Brett Budwash, Dylan Farronato, Mick Jacavage, Joe Kane, Gene Lapointe, Jake Mogish, Doug Weist, Kevin Keating and Mike Stokes. Other long-time members of Hall’s coaching staff included Marc Wislosky, Glenn Weist and Jay Gawrylik.
“I’ve had a lot of great coaches,” Hall said. “That’s an important thing. I was able to hire coaches and develop relationships with them. They do an incredible job.”
On the field, both the Spartans and Red Tornadoes are coming off 9-3 campaigns that ended with losses in their respective district semifinals.
Mengel returns after a breakout sophomore campaign to lead North Schuylkill, which brings back four starting offensive linemen but must replace most of its skilled players. All-State running back Luke Blessing rushed for 1,369 yards and 19 TDs last season for Mount Carmel, which also returns four starting offensive linemen and nine starters on defense.
When it comes to Week 1 matchups, this one is about as good as it gets.
“The most important thing moving forward is the Week 1 matchup,” Hall said. “It’s not the wins, it’s Week 1, it’s the matchup, it’s the 2024 season. It’s about the group of players now.
“Football is a team sport. You want the ultimate thing for your team, and that is that it’s player-led. You have the leaders on your team, everybody is taking control and doing all the right things. The game is never going to change … it’s about blocking and tackling. We feel confident as a staff and as a team.”
Here’s a capsule look at this weekend’s games.
For a preview of Pottsville’s game with Shamokin, visit https://www.t102sportsnow.com/2024/08/23/crimson-tide-face-test-at-shamokin-area-in-week-1/
Game Breakdowns
Mount Carmel at North Schuylkill
2023 records: Mount Carmel 9-3, North Schuylkill 9-3
Live updates: Follow Eli Doyle on Twitter @iamelidoyle
Radio/TV: WAVT 101.9 FM
Key Players: Mount Carmel – RB Luke Blessing, OL/DL Noah Shimko. North Schuylkill – QB Caden Mengel, OL/DL Sander Stokes
Last season: North Schuylkill 34-27
Breakdown: The milestones aside, this is a great matchup with All-State-caliber players on both sides. Can North Schuylkill run the ball? Will Mount Carmel be able to pass it? The team that wins the battle of the trenches and the team that capitalizes on the other team’s mistakes will ultimately win it.
Blue Mountain at Schuylkill Haven
2023 records: Blue Mountain 8-3, Schuylkill Haven 9-3
Live updates: Follow Leroy Boyer on Twitter @pubsportsboss
Key Players: Blue Mountain – WR/DB Gaige Guers, RB/LB Lukas Kauffman. Schuylkill Haven – RB/LB Niko Carestia, OL/DL Chase Williams
Last season: Blue Mountain 37-14
All-time Series: Blue Mountain 39-21-2. Eagles have won five straight and are 19-5 since 1998.
Breakdown: The two Route 61 rivals see their annual Week 10 clash moved to Week 1 following the Schuylkill/Colonial cooperative’s scheduling shakeup. The teams also opened the season against each other in 2020, with Blue Mountain winning 35-0. … Both teams return big, veteran offensive lines, so winning the trench war is critical. Both teams also will start new QBs, so being efficient on offense and limiting mistakes will be key. Expect an electric atmosphere at Rotary Field.
Halifax at Minersville
2023 records: Halifax 4-7, Minersville 10-3
Live updates: Follow Bob Lipsky on Twitter @BobLipskyRH
Key Players: Halifax – QB Teegan Carroll, OL/DL Blake Hoover. Minersville – QB Dante Carr, RB/LB Easton Schultz
Last season: Did not play
Breakdown: The Miners look to build off last year’s District 11 Class A championship with a squad full of returnees, led by Carr, who threw for 1,139 yards and 14 TDs a year ago. With record-setting RB Luke Stevenosky graduated, how well the Miners run the ball and who carries it will be a storyline all season. Week 1 might provide some insight. The Wildcats, coached by long-time Millersburg coach Roy Wall, field a young team with just six seniors that struggled in its scrimmage with Nativity.
Hanover Area at Marian
2023 records: Hanover Area 3-8, Marian 7-5
Radio/TV: WLSH 1410 AM
Key Players: Hanover Area – RB/LB Jayden Skipalis, QB Logan Richardson. Marian – RB/LB Rory Dixon, TE/DE Michael Gelatko
Last season: Did not play
Breakdown: The Billy O’Gurek Era begins at Marian as the Colts host the Hawkeyes from the Wilkes-Barre area. O’Gurek inherits a veteran squad that is hungry after reaching the District 11 Class A title game last season. Senior Dylan Rodino takes over at QB, while Dixon and Gelatko give him two solid weapons. … Hanover Area returns eight starters on offense and nine on defense from a team that really struggled last season. One of its wins was a forfeit and the other two were over Holy Cross and winless Holy Redeemer. Skipalis rushed for 651 yards and 10 TDs last season. The Hawkeyes scored one touchdown or less in their eight losses, surrendering 50 or more points three times.
Holy Redeemer at Nativity
Location: Saint Clair Veterans Memorial Stadium
2023 records: Holy Redeemer 0-10, Nativity 5-6
Key Players: Holy Redeemer – QB/LB Tommy Dugan, RB/LB Josh Kreidler. Nativity – WR/DB Noah Dolbin, RB/LB Sam Spolski
Last season: Did not play
Breakdown: The Green Wave return to a remodeled Saint Clair Veterans Memorial Stadium after playing last season at North Schuylkill. Saint Clair’s 1970 PIAA boys’ basketball state championship team will be honored at halftime in a special ceremony. A veteran squad with 16 seniors, Nativity will look to ring the bell against a Royals team that went winless a year ago but does return eight starters on offense and nine on defense. Dolbin needs two receiving TDs to become school’s all-time leader in that category.
Williams Valley at Upper Dauphin
2023 records: Williams Valley 10-3, Upper Dauphin 5-5
Key Players: Williams Valley – FB/LB Skylor Green, TE/DE Brayden Crisswell. Upper Dauphin – RB/DE Caleb Snyder, TE/DE Eoghan Savage
Last season: Williams Valley 28-0
Breakdown: The defending District 11 Class AA champion Vikings are poised for another big campaign despite losing do-everything star Alex Achenbach to graduation. QB Brady Shomper and wide receivers Kian Krzyzanowski and Evan Achenbach return, along with Green, Crisswell and four offensive linemen. The Vikes return nine players on defense who had 50 or more tackles last season. … The Trojans lost just five starters to graduation, returning nearly their entire offensive backfield. QB Aidan Bingaman threw for 650 yards and 10 TDs despite missing the final four games. Savage had 24 tackles for loss and seven sacks.
Lehighton at Northern Lehigh
2023 records: Lehighton 2-9, Northern Lehigh 3-7
Key Players: Lehighton – WR/DL Blake Roberts, WR/LB Joe Roth. Northern Lehigh – WR/DB Chris Frame, RB/LB Grady Newhard
Last season: Did not play
Breakdown: The Indians will look to rebound from a rough finish to the 2023 season when they trek down Route 248 to Slatington to face Joe Tout’s Bulldogs. Roberts and Roth are two of nine key returnees from a squad that lost its final seven games. QB Jayse Lawrence and RB Lucas Croizier are two key offensive newcomers. … Northern Lehigh struggled last season after back-to-back title-winning campaigns. Frame and Newhard were all-conference selections, while QB Ayden Oswald returns after missing all of 2023 with a torn ACL. Bulldogs are young and inexperienced in the trenches.
Mahanoy Area at Catasauqua
2023 records: Mahanoy Area 4-7, Catasauqua 6-6
Key Players: Mahanoy Area – QB Levi Terry, RB Kyler Quick. Catasauqua – WR/DB Jordan Bradshaw, OL/DL Matt Fotta
Last season: Catasauqua 35-14
Breakdown: Dave Holman returns to the Mahanoy Area sideline as the head coach as the Golden Bears visit Catasauqua. Holman was the Bears’ boss from 2012-19. Mahanoy Area returns six starters on offense and five on defense but must replace do-everything star Colm McGroarty, who rushed for 1,469 yards and 19 TDs a year ago. … The Rough Riders must replace their leading rusher, receiver and tackler from a year ago, plus QB Aiden Hess, who transferred to Northampton. New coach Joe Henrich was 67-41 in 10 years at Bethlehem Catholic.
Palmerton at Jim Thorpe
2023 records: Palmerton 12-1, Jim Thorpe 4-7
Radio/TV: WMGH 105.5 FM
Key Players: Palmerton – QB/WR Jameson Trainer, OL/DL Logan Anthony. Jim Thorpe – QB Cole Lazorick, RB/DB Justin Yescavage
Last season: Palmerton won 41-31 in regular season and 37-7 in District 11 Class 3A quarterfinals
Breakdown: The Blue Bombers and Olympians meet again in Week 1 after playing twice last season. Palmerton’s All-State QB Matt Machalik graduated, but Chris Walkowiak’s squad returns several key pieces, including five guys up front. … Lazorick passed for 1,744 yards and 16 TDs last season while rushing for 699 yards and nine more scores. Yescavage led the area in receiving yards after catching 50 passes for 964 yards. How well the Olympians fare in the trenches will decide this one.
Panther Valley at Salisbury
2023 records: Panther Valley 2-8, Salisbury 1-10
Key Players: Panther Valley – QB Brody Breiner, RB Brennan Kunkel. Salisbury – WR Jamanni Cruz, RB/LB Jason St. Leger
Last season: Panther Valley 20-12
Breakdown: A matchup of two teams looking to begin the season on a positive note after subpar campaigns in 2023. The Panthers return 10 players on the offensive side of the ball, led by Breiner and Kunkel. Being able to run the ball will be key for Panther Valley, which lost its last six games of last season. Salisbury has a new coach in Kevin DiZenzo, who returns several of his top players from last season. St. Leger rushed for 722 yards and three TDs on offense and 71 tackles on defense.
Pine Grove at Northern Lebanon
2023 records: Pine Grove 2-8, Northern Lebanon 4-6
Key Players: Pine Grove – WR/DB Robbie Schaeffer, QB Wyatt Dixon. Northern Lebanon – OT/DT Hayden Adams, RB/CB Myles Watson
Last season: Pine Grove 20-17, OT
Breakdown: An annual Week 1 matchup that had a thrilling finish last season, with Pine Grove winning in overtime. The Cardinals were hit hard by graduation and will have several new faces in key places. Dixon takes over at QB, with Wyatt Snyder, Alex Pillsbury and Logan Troup among those expected to carry the ball. Dave Shiffer’s club must replace four starters on the offensive line. … The Vikings return several key pieces from last year’s squad but must replace All-State linebacker Luke Shaffer and two other all-conference defenders. Northern Lebanon bumps up to Class 4A for this season and will compete in Section 4 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League.
Tri-Valley at York Catholic
GPS address: 601 E. Springettsbury Ave., York, PA 17403 (field is behind school)
2023 records: Tri-Valley 5-6, York Catholic 2-8
