Pottsville quarterback Andrew Allen tries to escape a sack by North Schuylkill defensive back Cooper Carl Friday at Spartan Stadium. The Spartans shutout the Crimson Tide 36-0 (Photo by Justin Reed / Skook News).

FOUNTAIN SPRINGS — The tone was set during the coin toss.

North Schuylkill won the toss, elected to receive and shut out Pottsville as the Spartans trounced the Crimson Tide 36-0 in a Schuylkill/Colonial Red Division game Friday night at Ghosh Orthodontics Field at Spartan Stadium.

“Importantly, we have a great squad,” North Schuylkill coach Wally Hall said. “They preserved, they fought through a lot, emotionally and mentally. Physically, they stayed the course. That was it. We just kept fighting.”

The defense was in place all night for North Schuylkill (7-3, 6-3 Red), while the offense took some troubleshooting early.

A punt and missed field goal from the Spartans’ Gavin Mentzer were the result of North Schuylkill’s first two possessions. Cooper Carl sparked the Spartans defense with an early interception, but North Schuylkill couldn’t capitalize.

Mentzer broke through for the first points of the game when he booted a 27-yard field goal with 5.6 seconds remaining in the first quarter. The senior specialist totaled 12 of the Spartans’ 36 points on three field goals and three extra points.

Carl did it all defensively for North Schuylkill as he sacked Pottsville quarterback Andrew Allen on the Crimson Tide’s first drive of the second quarter. And the Spartans were quick to capitalize.

Mentzer capped a stalled offensive drive with his second successful field goal of the game, this time from 34 yards away, with 4:14 left to play before halftime.

It was tough sledding for Pottsville’s offense going up against the North Schuylkill defensive line. The upfront combination of Brayden Lauta, David Martinez, Aiden Zilker and Sander Stokes bottled up the Tide offense throughout the first half.

Spartan tailback Luke Miller muscled his way into the end zone on a 1-yard TD before the half ended as North Schuylkill led Pottsville 12-0 after a failed conversion pass before each team headed toward the locker room.

Coming out of the halftime break, the Spartans defense was dialed in and their offense was reinvigorated. After dropping a wide-open pass for a potential touchdown in the first half, Landen Smith was ready for redemption.

He caught a 73-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Caden Mengel to open the second-half scoring. Later, he added his second TD catch, this time on a 32-yard tunnel screen.

The Spartans held a firm grip on the lead throughout the second half as Miller added his second TD run of 1 yard with 1:45 remaining in the third quarter to extend North Schuylkill’s lead to 26-0.

Carl added two more sacks for the Spartans, Jaden Meyer added a sack and Mentzer collected his third field goal to cap North Schuylkill’s victory over the Crimson Tide. Mentzer’s final field goal was from 29 yards.

For Pottsville (5-5, 4-5 Red), Allen found some success through the air in the second half with big gains from Letrel Montone, but it was too little, too late.

“It was an awful night on so many levels,” Pottsville coach Mike Brennan said. “The whole feel wasn’t right from the get-go. As the game went on, I was extremely disappointed. The game seemed to be out of control on so many levels. We play a game in six days, so we need to get ourselves as healthy as we can and get ready to play a playoff game. That’s exactly what we will do.”

The Spartans and Tide will both head to the District 11 playoffs. Matchups, sites and times are to be determined this weekend. North Schuylkill will compete in the 3A tournament, while Pottsville will take part in the 4A field.

“Once we see where we’re going for sure, it’s definitely all on paper,” Hall said. “This was one of our goals, to finish strong. Another one of goals was to make the district playoffs.”

Game Summary
North Schuylkill 36, Pottsville 0

Potts (5-5, 4-5)       0       0       0       0    —    0
NS (7-3, 6-3)           3       9       14     10   —   36

NS — FG Mentzer 27
NS — FG Mentzer 34
NS — Miller 1 run (pass failed)
NS — Smith 73 pass from Mengel (Mentzer kick)
NS — Miller 1 run (Mentzer kick)
NS — Smith 32 pass from Mengel (Mentzer kick)
NS — FG Mentzer 29

Team Statistics
Potts                  NS
First Down                 4                       14
Rushes-Yards         15-(-6)                42-74
Passes                    10-19-2              12-16-0
Passing Yards           131                    204
Total Yards               125                     278
Fumbles-Lost           0-0                      1-1
Penalties                   11-131                 6-65

Individual Statistics
RUSHING: Pottsville — Bainbridge 10-17, Holley 1-(-2), Allen 4-(-20). North Schuylkill — Miller 26-113, Mengel 8-30, Ortiz 4-13, Joyce 3-5.
PASSING: Pottsville — Allen 10-19-2, 131. North Schuylkill — Mengel 12-15-0, 204; Mogish 0-1-0, 0.
RECEIVING: Pottsville — Montone 3-61, Alvarez 3-23, Clews 2-20, Bainbridge 1-13, Durham 1-7, Curry 1-7. North Schuylkill — Smith 4-140, Mogish 6-48, Miller 1-10, Jones 1-6.
INTERCEPTIONS: North Schuylkill — Carl, Miller.