HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Schuylkill falls to Colonial in All-Star Game

FOUNTAIN SPRINGS — Soaked in sweat after Sunday’s Schuylkill-Colonial All-Star Football Game, Pottsville’s Parrish McFarland admitted he enjoyed being around his Schuylkill teammates.

“There are a lot of characters from different areas,” the Schuylkill Most Valuable Player award winner said after Schuylkill’s 36-20 loss to Colonial at Ghosh Orthodontics Field at Spartan Stadium. “A lot of wacky kids, but it’s nothing you haven’t seen before in Schuylkill County.”

But only some of his Schuylkill teammates ever saw a quarterback like Palmerton’s Matt Machalik. The Lehigh University recruit tossed a pair of touchdown passes and ran for a touchdown and a two-point conversion to lead Colonial.

“He’s unbelievable,” Schuylkill head coach Dave Shiffer of Pine Grove said. “Some of the stuff he does, you think you have him wrapped up and have him for a sack. Then he’s running downfield or finding somebody open.”

Swapping playing time with Notre Dame-Green Pond’s Danny Darno, Machalik made the most of his chances. He threw for 201 yards, ran for 13 and made life miserable for the Schuylkill defense.

“A lot of it was backyard football because, like I said, we only had two practices,” Machalik said. “It’s hard to develop that chemistry in two practices. We just trusted our instincts and I trusted my guys, our wide receivers, and the other quarterback also trusted them. They just go make plays.”

Those plays included catches-and-dashes for touchdowns of 75 and 81 yards by Notre Dame-Green Pond’s Josh Ludlow.

Marian’s Jesse Rodino, named Schuylkill’s Outstanding Lineman award winner after the game after he sacked Machalik once, said his game plan was simple.

“I came in with the mindset that I’m going to do what I can do to stop him, put pressure on him, get him off his game a little bit,” Rodino said. “I responded. He responded. He’s one heck of a player.”

Schuylkill tried to keep the Colonial pass attack off the field with a squad of running backs led by McFarland and his 123 all-purpose yards.

“The first half, we were able to do that,” Shiffer said. “The second half, they made an adjustment and they shut that down and we had to throw the ball. We did the best we could with that.”

The plan worked for much of the game, but after McFarland scored from one yard out midway through the final quarter, a botched snap on the extra-point try kept Colonial ahead, 21-20.

The Colonial all-stars took advantage. Following a 56-yard kickoff return by Palmerton’s Ty Sander, Machalik directed a 43-yard scoring march that he finished with his one-yard run and two-point conversion with 4:58 left. That gave the Colonial a 29-20 edge.

After Schuylkill lost the ball on downs, the Colonial added a late touchdown on Darno’s 21-yard pass to Notre Dame-Green Pond’s A.J. Lozano for the final score.

The teams battled to a 14-14 halftime tie. Schuylkill produced short touchdown runs by North Schuylkill’s Neekoli Caraballo and Tri-Valley’s Kash Tobin, whose score put Schuylkill up 14-7. But Machalik responded with a toss to Ian Juica in the back of the end zone with 1:14 left to tie the game.

By the finish, Machalik was not the only Palmerton player to leave with a trophy. Emilio Gonzalez was named the Colonial Lineman of the Game.

Despite the loss, Schuylkill produced more than just a ground game. Schuylkill Haven’s Travis Richie caught three passes for 108 yards, including a 44-yarder that set up McFarland’s touchdown and enabled Marian quarterback Bruce Hopeck to finish with 117 yards passing.

“We always said the kid had a good arm, and he showed that off today,” Shiffer said.

The game drew a sizable crowd despite a persistent mist throughout the game.

They saw a preview of what many of the players will now see in their future college careers.

Rodino, who will play for Shippensburg University, said, “It’s going to set me on a good path going on to college.”