Minersville's Dominico Yourey makes an interception during Friday's win over Tri-Valley. (Photo by Kelly Wiley)

HEGINS — Paiten LaPoint was directly on point when asked about Minersville’s performance Friday night.
“We were locked in,” LaPoint said, following his team’s 42-14 Schuylkill/Colonial Blue Division victory on the road over Tri-Valley. “That’s the best way to put it.”

The Battlin’ Miners played well on both sides of the ball.
On the offensive side, standout junior quarterback Dante Carr ran for 146 yards and three touchdowns, while passing for 176 yards and two more scores. LaPoint, a junior wideout, had his second 100-yard receiving performance of the season, hauling in a team-high five passes for 121 yards, including a 48-yard touchdown reception. Logan Hutsko, a senior wideout, caught three passes, including a 15-yard score.
On the other side of the ball, Minersville (6-3, 5-3 Blue) limited Tri-Valley to 246 yards and only a pair of second-quarter touchdowns that kept the Dawgs in the game heading into the second half.
“You know, you go through the year with what our offense does and they’re all special, “Minersville head coach Justin Frantz said. “But this defense is really picking up.
“I think they got a little chip on their shoulder and they want to get the press, and they deserve it.”
Through the first quarter and the first minute of the second quarter, it was all Minersville.
After holding Tri-Valley (6-3, 5-3 Blue) to a three-and-out on the game’s first possession, a possession that ended with a bad snap on a punt attempt and gave the Miners the ball at the Dawgs’ 10, it took only one play for Carr to race into the end zone and make it a quick 7-0 advantage.
After stopping Tri-Valley on its next possession by forcing a fourth-down incomplete pass, it was a seven-play, 67-yard drive with Carr hitting Hutsko for the touchdown and Jake Kavanaugh running for a two-point conversion to make it 15-0.
Another fourth-down stop on the final play of the first quarter had the Miners in business again at their own 34. Three plays later, Carr scored on a 60-yard run and just like that they were up 22-0.
Tri-Valley battled back. Two consecutive drives were capped with Cole Gemberling touchdown runs, the first from 15 yards out, the second from the 3.
Frantz expected nothing less from a Tri-Valley team he has much respect for.
“You know, Tri-Valley is a great team,” Frantz said. “They run the ball well and their quarterback has a heck of an arm.
“They were coming back, but our defense buckled down and made plays. They were awesome, they were flying around out there.”
Minersville pushed its advantage to 28-14 when Carr ran for his second score, this one from 18 yards out with less than a minute remaining in the first half.
The Miners added one touchdown each in the third and fourth quarters to put the game far out of reach. The first one, late in the third quarter, was a 30-yard Carr run, while the final score, early in the fourth, was the 48-yard Carr-to-LaPoint hookup.
“I think the offense tonight, everything we did worked,” LaPoint said. “Dante was throwing the ball good, we were running ball good and me and Hut (Logan Hutsko) made the plays when we had to make the plays and the score shows.”
The victory was the third straight for Minersville after suffering an overtime loss to Marian at the end of September. The Miners will close out their regular season next week on the road against Panther Valley before beginning preparations for the District 11 postseason.
“You know, you always want to be playing your best football going into the end of the season,” Frantz said. “Right now, I think we’re hitting our stride, and I think we’re playing our best football.
“We’re a dangerous team when we get the ball to our playmakers and let Dante (Carr) do his thing. When we spread it around like we did tonight and when they cover us and Dante takes off, we’re hard to handle. It’s a great time to be playing good football.”

Minersville quarterback Dante Carr (6) looks over his shoulder on the way to a 60-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter of Friday night’s road victory over Tri-Valley. (Photo by Charlie Roth)

Game Summary
Minersville 42, Tri-Valley 14

Minersville (6-3, 5-3) 15   13   7   7 — 42
Tri-Valley (6-3, 5-3)     0   14   0   0 — 14

Min — Carr 10 run (Bowers kick)
Min — Hutsko 15 pass from Carr (Kavanaugh run)
Min — Carr 60 run (Bowers kick)
TV — Co. Gemberling 15 run (Hillard kick)
TV — Co. Gemberling 3 run (Hillard kick)
Min — Carr 18 run (pass failed)
Min — Carr 30 run (Bowers kick)
Min — LaPoint 48 pass from Carr (Bowers kick)

Team Statistics
Min-TV
First downs – 13   12
Rushers-Yards – 27-207   27-137
Passes – 9-15-0   11-23-1
Passing Yards – 176   109
Total Yards – 383   246
Fumbles/Lost – 1-0   2-0
Penalties – 6-50   1-15

Individual Statistics
RUSHING: Minersville — Carr 9-146, Schultz 13-50, Rizzardi 3-5, Derenzo 2-6. Tri-Valley — Co. Gemberling 13-68, Hatter 4-39,Singh 3-26, B. Schwartz 6-21, Team 1-(-17).
PASSING: Minersville — Carr 9-15-0, 176. Tri-Valley — B. Schwartz 11-23-1, 109.
RECEIVING: Minersville — LaPoint 5-121, Hutsko 3-23, Duybe 1-32. Tri-Valley — Co. Gemberling 4-30, L. Schwartz 3-49, Flory 1-13, Masser 1-9, Porter 1-4, Hatter 1-4.
INTERCEPTIONS: Minersville — Yourey. Tri-Valley — None.