Battle for the Coal Bucket

For the first time in nearly 30 years, this annual battle returns to the final spot on the season schedule.  From 1934 to 1973, it was played on Thanksgiving Day as part of many Turkey Day games.  Shamokin's last win in the series came in a 14-0 win at Kemp Memorial Stadium.  Mount Carmel will be looking for 15 in a row come Friday night.  Both schools have gone are on their third head coach since that game including one that has shared time at both schools during the last 15 years.

Trust me. When Shamokin sent Carmen DeFrancesco into exile after the 2006 season, Defrancesco never thought he would be part of a Coal Bucket game as a coach again.  Only a football purgatory called Upper Dauphin came calling in 2007.

"Not getting the job last year when it was open was heartbreaking," said DeFrancesco.  "I was getting prepared to spend the rest of my time coach at Upper Dauphin and we had a nice thing going there."

History for Shamokin Area is not on their side.  Beside Mount Carmel winning from 1972 through 1984, the Red Tornadoes have won the last 14.  Since Shamokin High's merger with Coal Township, Shamokin Area have on in 1988, 1990 and 1992 at the Silver Bowl.

In recent years, Shamokin has been plagued by someone stepping up from the Red Tornadoes.  In 2004, Ryan Kogut's 98-yard quarterback sneak was the difference in a 13-11 game.  In 2005, Dave Pellowski came out of nowhere to rush for close to 100 yards and a touchdown out of the fullback slot.  Trailing, 12-7 at the half in 2006, Jonas Pachuski's 6 receptions for 166 yards and 4 touchdowns came out of nowhere.  His 4 TD receptions in a game are still a Red Tornado record. Justin Pellowski had 5 receptions for 162 yards and two TD's in a 41-14 win in 2007.

The last two years have been 47-7 and 33-6 blowouts in favor of Mount Carmel.

Shamokin has been a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde team in all of 2010.  They have played really well at home, but not on the road.  When they play bad, it's really bad.  Pass coverage has been dismal.  Over the years, no matter the record or one-sided, Shamokin Area has played MCA tough with the exception of the last two seasons. 

The Indians have to stop the running of Myerick Lamb before doing anything at all and to put pressure on Rob Varano who will be making his first start at quarterback for the injured Eddie Stewart. Varano has been a starting quarterback on most of the football teams he has been a player.  Friday, only the stage gets a little bigger.

With the game somewhat returning to it's roots on the schedule, will the outcome be any different?????

MCA Experineces First Major Injury of the Season

The injury bug hit the Mount Carmel Area Red Tornadoes this week.  It wasn't an injury to a key offensive or defensive player, but to the head coach.  Carmen DeFrancesco blew out his ACL and MCL during a punt return drill.  DeFrancesco will have surgery after the season. 

Hall of Famer and former college teammate of Joe "Jazz" Dimminick Art Donovan once said, "ACL's and MCL's, they didn't have those in my day."

DeFrancesco Returns After 17 Year Exile

Carm DeFrancesco has become just the 5th coach for the storied Mount Carmel Red Tornado football team since 1962. He succeeds Bob Chesney after going 7-5 in one season.

For the record, only three men applied for the position including current assistant Rob Varano, and former assistant and Danville head coach Jeremy Winn.

DeFrancesco who will be making his 5th head coaching stop after stints at Cardinal Brennan, Danville, Shamokin and Upper Dauphin, finally comes to his alma mater nearly two decades after being the front man to succeed Joe "Jazz" Diminick.

The previous four stops were reclamation projects while Mount Carmel will be asking their native son to return them to statewide prominence.

If you ask his previous 4 stops if they would like to see Carm back, 3 out of the 4 would probably agree with one now being closed in Cardinal Brennan. When Carm left Cardinal Brennan, they were beginning to show signs of a numbers problem which would eventually close the school. Carm left Danville because of Shamokin working with him professionally for teacher certification and a position.

The most acrimonious end came at Shamokin in 2006. Problems began to brew for DeFrancesco back in 2005. That year the Indian's opened up facing Southern Columbia for the first time since 1900 and came away with a 19-16 win at Southern in overtime ending Southerns longest win streak in school history at 27. The Tigers went on to lose just one more game in capturing the state title that year while Shamokin stumbled to .500.

Hit hard by graduating in 2006, incidents of "hazing" and a new administration that had some run-ins with DeFrancesco in the past, DeFrancesco was sent packing. Whether you agree with his firing at Shamokin or not, Carm gave it his all while there. He had detractors who said he "threw" the MCA game on purpose every year and after going 0-7 against his alma mater that also proved to be an albatross.

In his tenure at Shamokin, DeFrancesco probably spent more time worrying about keeping kids eligible through academics and discipline than being overcome with injuries.

DeFrancesco was sent to high school purgatory in 2007 at Upper Dauphin. In a conversation with Carm back then, he indicated that "the fastest guy on the team was the head coach." He didn't complain about the hand he was dealt in 2007 and said these are kids I could work with to get better.

Success came in 2009 with the outright championship of the Twin Valley Conference and District III runner-up.

It is hard to say what is in store at MCA. He does have to build a coaching staff since his assistants will be staying at UDA. For one, DeFrancesco has one of the firmest foundations to build upon. Being a consistent players in the state playoffs will be hard.

Since 2002 and MCA's last state title, the dynamic has changed. It now takes 3 wins for a district title and two more wins to get into week 16. There was only week 15 back in 2002. Also, you add District 12 which does it's fair share of "recruiting" students (see West Catholic). MCA has only won district title since the 8-team format with that coming in 2008.

You can see he already has big detractors.

What does the future hold? It is hard to say. The Coal Region is dying. Paper Magic and Pace Arrow are gone. Catawissa Lumber is on life support. Does it affect Mount Carmel? Carm is now 57, just a few seasons away from the age when Diminick was ousted. On the other hand, Carm is a better head coach now than when he would have gotten the job back in 1993. He has seen and experienced everything on and off the field you can imagine.

At the end of the day, you ask yourself this about you head football coach. Would you want your son to play for him? I would want my son to play for Carm as with for the previous head coach. I don't know if that will be enough.

Who will be the new MCA coach?

The MCA Board meets this evening with the possiblity to name a successor to Bob Chesney. Will Carmen Defrancesco return after an 17-year exile filled with success?

Constitutional Crisis at Mount Carmel??????

On Friday the Mount Carmel School Board voted 6-2 to open up the head football coaching job at Mount Carmel. Chesney waived his right to an executive session with the board and chose to "air the grievances" in public.

When Chesney was hired after the departure of Mike Brennan, the choice came down to different factions that supported Carmen DeFrancesco and supported Chesney. (Why would anyone want the job?).

If you read the full context of the News-Item coverage by Chuck Souders, it makes you scratch your head. Having attended Supper Club (Boosters) in the past, the coach did give an injury update. If anyone who attends an MCA game and sees a player carted off the field, the coach could probably tell the audience the day before if said player will see action.

From the article:

Belfanti questioned the constitutionality of Chesney making players attend church, specifically Mass for Catholic players.

"Mount Carmel players have been going to Mass since the 1930s," Chesney countered. "I'm trying to bring back some of the traditions we've had here. People in this community demand success with this program. We're trying to do the things that have always made Mount Carmel win. If that includes hard work and dedication, the kids know what to expect."

I have known Bob Chesney for 25 years as a coach and also for one season as my colorman on BILL 95 FM. If I could sum up Bob in three words, they would be "No Short Cuts." If you gave him 100%, Bob would return 150%. Trust me, if your a slacker and want to play for Coach Chesney, I would suggest to anyone to evaluate your decision.

When board members accuse the head coach of HIPPA violations and violating the Constitution, reading between the lines, it means the board has nothing and caved in to whining factions.

What is the board saying to any future applicant when they stage "Friday Follies" and say it is OK for him to stay on as an assistant?

Every year around the coal regions, I hear the same thing. Our program needs discipline. This goes to prove some want to talk the talk, but in the end it is business as usual.

Mount Carmel prepares for the Crusaders

Video and pictures of Mount Carmel's practice at Shamokin

Mount Carmel practiced at Shamokin Area on the turf on Tuesday evening. Despite cold temperatures and snow squalls, the Red Tornado practice looked very crisp.

Hard to believe we are 35 years removed from the annual Mount Carmel-Shamokin game for the Coal Bucket played on Thanksgiving Day. Does anyone have any fun stories from the blizzard in 1971? The snow fell on Wednesday and the game was cancelled until Saturday.

Volunteers are needed!!!!!

Due to 5 inches of snow falling in the Mount Carmel area, AD Greg Sacavage is asking for volunteers to help remove snow from the Silver Bowl. Sacavage is asking for volunteers to report to the stadium around 9 am to Mr. Wojcik.

Due to the field being grass, people are asked to come with shovels and wheelbarrows. Mount Carmel needs a similar type effort of snow removal like in 1997 before the South Williamsport game.

MCA Video Highlights Against Troy.

Can the Big Red get to 781?

Marcus throws the first of 3 TDS.

The only highlight for Troy winning the coin toss.

Regular season comes to a close!!!!

The regular season of high school football come to a close tonight. I will be broadcasting the Southern-Milton game.


Listen Here.


The door opened for some teams in District IV AA with Central's loss to Bloomsburg as time expired last night.

Shamokin to be anywhere near the hunt needs to win against Loyalsock, have Danville lose to Jersey Shore and Troy to lose to Canton. Even with that Danville may outpoint them due to their win over Athens.

Mount Carmel should safely be at home during the Districts with a win against North Schuylkill tonight. Montoursville has a chance to improve their seeding with a win over Selinsgrove.

PRESEASON PREDICTIONS

In discussing chances of area teams this season back in August. I thought here is where some area teams may end up:

Shamokin - on a high note 6-4 and on a low note 4-6. Central Columbia was their big swing game.

Mount Carmel - 10-0 on the high note and 8-2 on the low note. There is no substitute for senior leadership in high school football.

Southern Area - 9-1 on the high note and 7-3 on the low end. Southern had a very a pretty tough schedule and beat a good Montoursville team in Week 2.

As for playoffs, Southern if they win the District will have Riverside, Schuylkill Haven and Steel-High as possibly match ups before they even get to Chocolatetown.

Games of WEEK #10

Checkout

Selinsgrove vs. Montoursville

and

Dunmore vs. Riverside.

History made at the Shamokin-Mifflinburg game.

Broadcasting high school football and basketball for 12 years, I finally made some history. I may have been the first broadcaster ejected from the event before it started. For some reason, the athletic department could not handle placing four electronic media outlets. For whatever reason, I was still not able to stay in the press box after another media outlet made room. What was the problem? Beats me. We did broadcast from the same place last season with as many electronic media outlets in the box.

What got me ejected?

After being told I couldn't remain in the press box, I was on my way to the visiting sideline when I told someone I will never come (insert expletive) here again. Seeing that I was such a threat, I was removed from the stadium. So much for freedom of speech. Is it ok for a Mifflinburg fan to say, "lock up the farm animals, here come the Shamokin fans?"

How did we make history? We became the first to broadcast a game from a vehicle. We did it in style from a 1983 Mercedes 300SD powered by grease.

To the good taxpayers of Mifflinburg:

If your athletic department cannot plan and make accommodations for four media outlets, could they be shortchanging your students. They seemed challenged in answering basic questions. If this is difficult in the future, please contact Mount Carmel, Shamokin, Southern, Selinsgrove, or the Montoursville school districts. They have plenty of experience handling multiple media.

Apologies? I have one and not to the Mifflinburg High School athletic department. Shamokin senior Dan Ruskuskie scored his first varsity touchdown and from our vantage point we got the player incorrect on the air.

Mount Carmel at Southern

They went at it hard for four quarters and the Red Tornadoes won in a close one. I still like both school prospects for the post season.

PHILLIES

Are the stars finally in alignment for a Philadelphia sports team? I was 14 when the Phillies were world champs in 1980. With the Eagles in the Super Bowl a few months later and the Sixers and Flyers always a power, I thought championships would come easy.

If it happens tonight, savor it!!!!!

Shamokin vs. MCA Some Sights and Sounds

Student Tailgaters

Pregame conference

Nobody is taking my Coal Bucket!!!

Stretching

Sign of the times

Shamokin vs. MCA Preview

They say most football teams make their biggest improvement from Week#1 to Week#2. For both teams some questions remain to be answered.

QUESTIONS

From Shamokin's standpoint, their running game and offense needs to get into gear. The Indians could not move the ball consistently against a good Southern defense last Saturday night. This wore out their defense when the fourth quarter came. After seeing Southern and MCA in Week#1, I would say their defense is better than Southern based on performance of the secondary.

From Mount Carmel's view, they offense struggled in the redzone getting turned away inside the 20 and the 10. Over the years, the Red Tornadoes have struggled with the heat. Mount Carmel loast 2001 to Pius on a opening Saturday after thunderstorms postponed the game on Friday. Last season the Red Tornadoes wilted in Boothwyne at Chichester. To Mount Carmel's defense, they did beat Wyomissing at Wyomissing in the 2000 opener in 90+ degrees and oppressive humidity.

This 2008 version of Mount Carmel is hungry and waiting to put 5 sub par years (by MCA standards) behind them.

OUTLOOK

Shamokin needs to score first and they need a score from their defense. In the fourth quarter, they need MCA to wilt under the heat. Test that MCA secondary.

Mount Carmel needs to just settle in and play football and not be distracted by early game electricity. Stay away from dumb mistakes.

Mount Carmel is a veteran team on the rise. Shamokin's gun does not have enough bullets for the Red Tornadoes in 2008.

Mount Carmel 42, Shamokin 13.

Shamokin Pep Rally

With Shamokin being a decided underdog against Mount Carmel on Friday, I found some old video of a Coal Township pep rally.

Weekend High School Wrap

Discussing Lock Haven Homecoming?

Well, if you look at my Friday analysis of the Southern-Shamokin game, I predicted a two score win for Southern but not as high. I didn't count on the humidity. Both team sputtered around for three quarters and Southern came through with a big fourth quarter for the win.

Southern - The Good

Like a good old Southern team when you looked after the final whistle, the offensive put up 400 yards on the ground and 35 points on the board. Defensive front seven looked as tough as in previous years and the freshman Schetroma did a nice job on the defensive front. Kicking game was outstanding.

The Bad

Passing game needs to improve to move past week 11. Campbell made some nice throws, but pass protection was subpar. Receivers need some experience, but may have held up here with a game next week at Montoursville.

Shamokin - The Good

Defensively, the Indians were one score down with a full quarter to go. Last season, Shamokin went there first five games without forcing a turnover. On Saturday night they forced 4 and were +3 in TO ratio.

The Bad

Running game was non-existant. It is always the quarterback's best friend. The defense could have used a friend also. The scheme in general had the quarterback and fullback in a spread formation and Southern playing man. Passes were designed to go deep and the running were too slow developing usually with 7 defenders in the box.

The Ugly

Shamokin had a defensive back ejected. Counting the one that was removed in the preseason, Coach Z's son, and possibly Dirienzo could have helped if healthy. Your down 4 players headed into week number with Mount Carmel and Polish Attack (Wasilewski, Pellowski, and Kovaleski) coming to town.

Mount Carmel's first score of 2008

Mount Carmel's first score in the Heartland Conference.

Former Seal head coach Bill Scott looks on in the opener

Mount Carmel pulled out a 14-0 in a drizzle on Friday. I will have more on this game and Southern vs. Shamokin in my weekend wrap.

NCAA Final: Cinderella Sitting This One Out

"The Voice" and 1985 Tournament MVP Villanova's Ed "E-Z Ed" Pinckney

Kansas and Memphis, two number one seeds by the way, will battle it out for NCAA college basketball supremacy. The ingrediants that made this tournament great in years past are missing once again.

Heartland Conference

Three teams in the News-Item coverage area; Shamokin, Mount Caremel and Southern have their schedules posted for the 2008 season. Click here.

Poll Results and Colby Snyder

Well the poll results are in for Selinsgrove-Mount Carmel game. By a 61-57 count, Selinsgrove will be the winner. On other polls I conducted, if there was a 60/40 split. The game was won handily by the one picked in the poll. This poll is nearly down the middle, but you can't tell what demographic voted. If it holds true to earlier polls, this game should be close.

Colby Snyder

Almost silently last week, Colby Snyder became the all time reception leader at Southern with 70 catches passing the mark of 68 set by Matt Murdock (2000-02). Snyder's 1209 career receiving yards ranks him just behind Sean Connaghan(1998-2000) who had 1363 for a career. With 14 career receiving touchdowns, Snyder is tied with Andy Helwig (1993-95). Snyder who currently has 36 receptions this season needs 12 more to tie the single season mark of 48 held by Murdock.

RADIO

Listen to tonight's Southern-Danville game on BILL 95.3. It will be streaming at billcountry.com.

Mount Carmel Running It Up?

In today's News-Item's editorial page, a writer from Northumberland calls for the end of the Mount Carmel-Shikellamy series. He also goes on to say that ties should be severed in all sports. Here is the editorial.


It sounds like he is taking his case to the Shikellamy School Board. This would be the same school board (although the members have changed) that ruined the program in the early 80's. I just wonder if the writer opined about Selinsgrove winning 62-0.

Selinsgrove vs. MCA

Two weeks ago, this game was a "must win" if you were a Mount Carmel Red Tornado. With a big win over Pottsville on Saturday, Mount Carmel punched a spot in the District IV playoffs. This week's game will only count toward seedings for the Red Tornadoes and a possible home game in the first round. While every new edition of Mount Carmel is compared to champions of yesteryear, this team continues to make strides every week. At 6-3 after nine weeks, throw the Chichester game away. The other losses to Lancaster Catholic and Southern Columbia now have a combined record of 16-2.

From what I have seen this season, Mount Carmel in some shape or form will give up 14 points to Seals. The Red Tornadoes have had problems at Selinsgrove not winning there since 1997 and have only beat Selinsgrove once since 1999. For some reason, the "35" defense of Selinsgrove has given Mount Carmel fits especially trying to establish a consistent ground game. Defensively, the Seals rely on Nate Gingrich, Matt Ritter, and Bryce Auker. In the game against Shamokin the Seals were bringing 4 or 5 on the rush with little success. Marc Persing nearly set a Shamokin school record for passing. Selinsgrove though have proved they could win in a shootout or when they were statistically dominated like against Montoursville.

On the defensive side, the Red Tornadoes have been vulnerable to the deep pass all season long. The Seals have a good fullback in Seth Lauver, but injuries have hurt the tailback spot. Quarterback Eric Deckard is emerging from a slump and Matt Ritter could catch anything up for grabs in Snyder County. Still, I believe the Seals will manage two scores.

So here is the outlook. Mount Carmel has enough on the defensive side of the ball to win. It will depend on how the Red Tornadoes handle the "35" defense of Selinsgrove once again. Mount Carmel can't get down early. The Seals defense usually play at their best when they are ahead best. The five linebackers cause the most havoc in this situation. Selinsgrove have four really good seniors in Auker, Deckard, Gingrich and Ritter. Will it be enough? I think the X and O's are the same along with the Jimmy's and Joe's. Look for the Seals to come out on top in a close one at home with the four seniors leading the way.

BUCKNELL FOOTBALL

With one home game left on November 10th with Lehigh, Southern Columbia's Ryan Slater didn't have a bad game against the pass happy Holy Cross Crusaders. The senior had nine tackles, a sack and interception.

COLORADO ROCKIES

Who said the couch isn't good for anything. While flipping through some channels the other night on television, I tuned into the ninth inning of the Colorado-Expos game on April 9th, 1993 at Mile High Stadium on ESPN Classic. I remember a friend and contemporary in my youth baseball days played for the Expos in 1993. Frank Bolick of Mount Carmel came up with the Expos in 1993 with a wealth of other talented players like Mike Lansing, Sean Berry and Greg Colbrunn. Although I only watched the ninth inning, I pulled the box score from the Rockies first win as a franchise. I was interested in seeing if Bolick had played earlier in the game. Bolick was 1 for 4 at the plate, but had three errors in the field. A box score won't say if the errors led to any runs, but with an 11-4 win by the Rockies you can say Bolick may have a hand in the Colorado win that day.

All joking aside, Bolick went on to have 15 seasons in professional baseball and had his best professional years in Japan from 1999 to 2002. In 1998, Bolick resurrected his career by making the roster of the Anaheim Angels as a non-roster invitee to spring training that season.

A little side note to this game was that Pottsville's Chris Nabholtz was also in the stadium that day.

Take the Poll

Who will win this week's game between Selinsgrove and Mount Carmel?