HS FOOTBALL: Blue Mountain edges North Schuylkill 18-17

Sep. 1—FOUNTAIN SPRINGS — Young coaches constantly talk about getting signature wins as they build their programs.

For Tom Gallagher and his Blue Mountain Eagles, that win came Friday night.

The Eagles used a dominating start and a pair of fourth-quarter defensive stands to upend North Schuylkill 18-17 at Ghosh Orthodontics Field at Spartan Stadium.

Payton Fasnacht rushed for a pair of touchdowns, including a go-ahead 7-yard run late in the third quarter as Blue Mountain improved to 2-0 on the season.

"This is huge for our program. Our kids really wanted this one," said Gallagher, in his third year as the Eagles' head coach. "They just came to play tonight. I'm super proud of them."

The Eagles were able to pull out the victory by making key plays in clutch situations.

Blue Mountain controlled things early, putting together a 15-play, 83-yard drive in the first quarter to go up 6-0 on Fasnacht's 4-yard run, then marching 76 yards in 12 plays in the second quarter to build a 12-0 cushion on Tyler Miller's 3-yard keeper.

North Schuylkill (1-1) answered Miller's TD by changing quarterbacks, and sophomore Caden Mengel provided a spark. Mengel, who finished the game with 18 carries for 97 yards rushing, engineered an 11-play, 65-yard march to get the Spartans on the board.

Mengel's 2-yard TD run and Gavin Mentzer's conversion kick made it 12-7 at halftime.

North Schuylkill carried that momentum into the second half, going 81 yards on 10 plays on its first possession. Jaxson Chowansky (15-92) rushed five times for 53 yards on the drive, which was capped by Ricky Halford's 7-yard run. Mentzer's kick put North Schuylkill ahead 14-12 with 5:40 left in the third.

The Eagles, however, capitalized on North Schuylkill miscues down the stretch to pull out the victory.

A fumbled punt after a North Schuylkill defensive stop was recovered by Jayden Blankenhorn at the Spartans' 21. After a 14-yard pass from Tyler Miller to Gaige Guers, Fasnacht ran in from 7 yards out to put the Eagles up 18-14 with 1:56 left in the third.

"This is awesome. We haven't beaten these guys in a while," said Fasnacht, who finished with 73 yards on 21 carries. "We played solid all-around. Every aspect of the game we played really well.

"We definitely needed that spark right there. We were getting down but that picked us up. It felt great to score. It was awesome to come out here and put on a great game."

North Schuylkill answered with a 41-yard pass from Mengel to Flail two plays later and a 13-yard run by Mengel to the Eagles' 13, but the Spartans' drive stalled after three penalties and a key pass breakup by Wyatt Barnes.

The Eagles limited All-State wide receiver Joey Flail to just that one catch all game, with Barnes, Tyler Miller and Guers blanketing him the entire game.

"I'm confident in our defense. I can't be more proud of this defense. We stepped up today," said Guers, who was moved from linebacker to safety for Friday's game.

"We fought. It was hard and they ran the ball hard. They're a good team. But our defense stepped up. Our linebackers, our D-line ... I'm proud of the secondary."

After the penalties moved North Schuylkill back, Mentzer booted a 40-yard field goal with 10:25 left to make it 18-17. The Spartans forced a quick three-and-out, but fumbled on their next play, with Blue Mountain's Dylan Foose recovering.

After another defensive stop, the Spartans got one more chance with 6:03 remaining. After moving to the Eagles' 30-yard line on big runs by Mengel and Chowansky, a holding penalty and a sack by Austyn Fields stopped North Schuylkill's momentum.

The Eagles' defense held, then ran out the clock.

A joyous celebration on the field followed the final whistle.

"We were able to hang on when the game got hairy," Gallagher said. "There were times when both teams could have pulled this one out. We were fortunate enough to stick together and make plays when it counted.

"Our kids found a way to make it happen. I'm super proud of the way they finished."

Contact the writer: Lboyer@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6026; @pubsportsboss on Twitter