Jake09
09-21-2009, 10:39 AM
Shamokin hopes time is right to end frustration
If not this year, then when?
That's the question most fans around the Shamokin Area have to be asking themselves.
If not this year, then when will the Indians triumph over the dang Red Tornadoes?
History has shown the Indians have the uncanny ability to blow games to Mount Carmel, even when everything on paper seems to say Shamokin should have had an easy advantage.
For the past 13 years, Mount Carmel has won in every variety of fashion - close, blow out, by odd and even numbers - but with a win tonight Mount Carmel will do something it's never done in the long history of it's rivalry with Shamokin - win it's 14th straight.
The current 13 wins in a row matches a streak of the same length from 1972 to 1984. The 1984 game was a 34-0 blowout win for Mount Carmel, very reminiscent of last season's 47-7 drubbing. But do this year's Indians have the streak-stopping power the '85 team did?
The numbers during the last 13 years are staggering. Mount Carmel has scored a total of 361 points in the games, while Shamokin has managed only 108. The Indians have only been shutout once since they won 15-0 in 1995, but there have been nine times that Shamokin has been held to a touchdown or less.
On the surface, it seems this year plays right into the Indians' hands. They have more collective experience on the field than this year's Tornadoes. They have the momentum of playing Southern tough last week, while Mount Carmel is reeling from a loss at Selinsgrove. And they also have the fire that a brand new coach with no ties to the area or to the rivalry brings to the table. This certainly seems like the year.
So if, given all these things, the Indians can't stop the streak this year, when will they be able to? We're firing up the sports department's crystal ball to answer, if not now, then when?
2013: This is the next time the streak will hit a prime number (17), call us crazy but not once since the mergers has a Mount Carmel streak ended in an even number.
2015: The Indians will be fired up when, after another seven year absence, Dave Zielinskie returns for his third coaching stint with the purple and white. Too soon for jokes? Nah.
2023: With the return of the Thanksgiving game, Mount Carmel players eat too much turkey, fall asleep and miss the game. The Indians can't possibly lose, can they?
2028: The 30th anniversary of 2003's 10-2 game. Not since before World War II had a team scored exactly two points in the game. But can Shamokin repeat 1940's 2-0 win?
If not this year, then when?
That's the question most fans around the Shamokin Area have to be asking themselves.
If not this year, then when will the Indians triumph over the dang Red Tornadoes?
History has shown the Indians have the uncanny ability to blow games to Mount Carmel, even when everything on paper seems to say Shamokin should have had an easy advantage.
For the past 13 years, Mount Carmel has won in every variety of fashion - close, blow out, by odd and even numbers - but with a win tonight Mount Carmel will do something it's never done in the long history of it's rivalry with Shamokin - win it's 14th straight.
The current 13 wins in a row matches a streak of the same length from 1972 to 1984. The 1984 game was a 34-0 blowout win for Mount Carmel, very reminiscent of last season's 47-7 drubbing. But do this year's Indians have the streak-stopping power the '85 team did?
The numbers during the last 13 years are staggering. Mount Carmel has scored a total of 361 points in the games, while Shamokin has managed only 108. The Indians have only been shutout once since they won 15-0 in 1995, but there have been nine times that Shamokin has been held to a touchdown or less.
On the surface, it seems this year plays right into the Indians' hands. They have more collective experience on the field than this year's Tornadoes. They have the momentum of playing Southern tough last week, while Mount Carmel is reeling from a loss at Selinsgrove. And they also have the fire that a brand new coach with no ties to the area or to the rivalry brings to the table. This certainly seems like the year.
So if, given all these things, the Indians can't stop the streak this year, when will they be able to? We're firing up the sports department's crystal ball to answer, if not now, then when?
2013: This is the next time the streak will hit a prime number (17), call us crazy but not once since the mergers has a Mount Carmel streak ended in an even number.
2015: The Indians will be fired up when, after another seven year absence, Dave Zielinskie returns for his third coaching stint with the purple and white. Too soon for jokes? Nah.
2023: With the return of the Thanksgiving game, Mount Carmel players eat too much turkey, fall asleep and miss the game. The Indians can't possibly lose, can they?
2028: The 30th anniversary of 2003's 10-2 game. Not since before World War II had a team scored exactly two points in the game. But can Shamokin repeat 1940's 2-0 win?