Shom
10-19-2009, 09:49 AM
By Scott Dudinskie
For The Daily Item
COAL TOWNSHIP -- Dan Foor realizes his post-game assessments are becoming repetitive, which would be fine if he was coach of one of the unbeaten teams his Shamokin Indians have tussled with recently.
Instead, the Indians first-year mentor typically laments the mistakes -- a turnover here, a costly penalty there -- that leaves him with the empty feeling that Shamokin beat itself as much (or more) than the opponent did.
Friday night Montoursville, the third undefeated team Shamokin faced in the last four weeks, scored two touchdowns off Indians fumbles in the second quarter to build a 20-point lead. Despite playing without star halfback Cody Haupt and fullback Eli Rusczyk in the second half, the Warriors improved to 7-0 with a 27-6 win in cold, steady rain at Kemp Memorial Stadium.
"It's the same thing every week," said Foor, whose team lost its fourth in a row. "Turnovers led to two touchdowns, and some penalties early in the game hurt us. Physically we play with teams, but then we just do those little things that are killing us.
"If we're going to be a good football program -- this year, next year, two years from now -- we have to eliminate these little things we do each and every week."
The Indians (1-6) battled to the wire with then-unbeaten Shikellamy a few weeks ago, and they scored the most points the Selinsgrove juggernaut had allowed in a game prior to last night.
Montoursville posed one problem in particular: Haupt, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound terrifying blend of power and speed. The senior carried five times for 49 yards on the Warriors' seven-play, 66-yard opening possession that ended with his 1-yard touchdown.
Haupt helped set up Montoursville's second TD with a 27-yard gain, and then he carried six consecutive times for all but 13 yards on a 55-yard scoring drive that made it 20-0 late in the second period. During that series, on a carry that moved the ball inside the red zone, Haupt tweaked an ankle near the sideline and limped to the bench.
He attempted to walk off the injury in the last 3 minutes of the half, then jogged gingerly to the locker room at halftime. He sat out the second half as a precaution while sophomore Christian Clark put the finishing touches on a 98-yard, two-touchdown performance in relief.
"(Haupt's) tough," said Foor. "I knew he was fast, and on this wet turf we thought maybe that might hinder him a little bit. But he's a good running back. I hope he's good to go next week."
Shamokin moved the ball into Montoursville territory on both of their first-quarter series but didn't threaten to score. Early in the second, after a missed field goal by Montoursville, Indians quarterback Jared Haddock broke a 22-yard gain, the team's longest of the game to that point, but lost the handle near midfield and Haupt recovered.
Montoursville's Travis Singer split two defensive backs with a 13-yard post pattern to Ben Carey on a third-and-11 play that made it 14-0.
Rusczyk was carried off the field with a knee injury sustained on the ensuing kickoff.
Shortly after Shamokin moved into Warriors territory for the third time, backup QB Lee Supsic was sacked and fumbled the ball away. Clark capped a 10-play drive with a 1-yard TD run.
The Indians committed five turnovers in all, including an interception thrown deep into Warriors territory on their last snap of the half.
Shamokin senior fullback Brent Forbes had a 5-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter. He set up the score with a 61-yard gain on a fourth-and-1 play, and finished with 99 yards on 10 carries.
The Indians forced a fumble inside their 5-yard line in the fourth quarter, but they gave the ball right back with an interception and Clark eventually scored for the second time to ice it.
"These kids don't quit. They came back in the second half, and we gave ourselves an opportunity to get back in the game," said Foor.
"We're just going to keep plugging."
For The Daily Item
COAL TOWNSHIP -- Dan Foor realizes his post-game assessments are becoming repetitive, which would be fine if he was coach of one of the unbeaten teams his Shamokin Indians have tussled with recently.
Instead, the Indians first-year mentor typically laments the mistakes -- a turnover here, a costly penalty there -- that leaves him with the empty feeling that Shamokin beat itself as much (or more) than the opponent did.
Friday night Montoursville, the third undefeated team Shamokin faced in the last four weeks, scored two touchdowns off Indians fumbles in the second quarter to build a 20-point lead. Despite playing without star halfback Cody Haupt and fullback Eli Rusczyk in the second half, the Warriors improved to 7-0 with a 27-6 win in cold, steady rain at Kemp Memorial Stadium.
"It's the same thing every week," said Foor, whose team lost its fourth in a row. "Turnovers led to two touchdowns, and some penalties early in the game hurt us. Physically we play with teams, but then we just do those little things that are killing us.
"If we're going to be a good football program -- this year, next year, two years from now -- we have to eliminate these little things we do each and every week."
The Indians (1-6) battled to the wire with then-unbeaten Shikellamy a few weeks ago, and they scored the most points the Selinsgrove juggernaut had allowed in a game prior to last night.
Montoursville posed one problem in particular: Haupt, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound terrifying blend of power and speed. The senior carried five times for 49 yards on the Warriors' seven-play, 66-yard opening possession that ended with his 1-yard touchdown.
Haupt helped set up Montoursville's second TD with a 27-yard gain, and then he carried six consecutive times for all but 13 yards on a 55-yard scoring drive that made it 20-0 late in the second period. During that series, on a carry that moved the ball inside the red zone, Haupt tweaked an ankle near the sideline and limped to the bench.
He attempted to walk off the injury in the last 3 minutes of the half, then jogged gingerly to the locker room at halftime. He sat out the second half as a precaution while sophomore Christian Clark put the finishing touches on a 98-yard, two-touchdown performance in relief.
"(Haupt's) tough," said Foor. "I knew he was fast, and on this wet turf we thought maybe that might hinder him a little bit. But he's a good running back. I hope he's good to go next week."
Shamokin moved the ball into Montoursville territory on both of their first-quarter series but didn't threaten to score. Early in the second, after a missed field goal by Montoursville, Indians quarterback Jared Haddock broke a 22-yard gain, the team's longest of the game to that point, but lost the handle near midfield and Haupt recovered.
Montoursville's Travis Singer split two defensive backs with a 13-yard post pattern to Ben Carey on a third-and-11 play that made it 14-0.
Rusczyk was carried off the field with a knee injury sustained on the ensuing kickoff.
Shortly after Shamokin moved into Warriors territory for the third time, backup QB Lee Supsic was sacked and fumbled the ball away. Clark capped a 10-play drive with a 1-yard TD run.
The Indians committed five turnovers in all, including an interception thrown deep into Warriors territory on their last snap of the half.
Shamokin senior fullback Brent Forbes had a 5-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter. He set up the score with a 61-yard gain on a fourth-and-1 play, and finished with 99 yards on 10 carries.
The Indians forced a fumble inside their 5-yard line in the fourth quarter, but they gave the ball right back with an interception and Clark eventually scored for the second time to ice it.
"These kids don't quit. They came back in the second half, and we gave ourselves an opportunity to get back in the game," said Foor.
"We're just going to keep plugging."