Shikellamy falls to Central Mountain in OT

Sep. 9—COAL TOWNSHIP — Luke Snyder played far too well Friday night to shoulder any blame for Shikellamy's 39-32 overtime loss to Central Mountain.

Yet the Braves senior was difficult to console at game's end following his fumble on the potential game-winning touchdown run.

Shikellamy erased a 10-point, third-quarter deficit with three touchdowns in a span of nine minutes on the game clock, surging to a 26-17 lead early in the fourth.

"It was wanting to win. Just the will to win," said Snyder. "Everyone came together and we're like, 'Let's win this ballgame.'

"We just shot ourselves in the foot."

The teams then traded scores in the final 2-plus minutes of regulation, the Wildcats hitting a long touchdown pass on either side of a Snyder TD run to forge a 32-all tie.

With the ball near midfield and fewer than 40 seconds to play, Snyder took a toss to the right side on third-and-10. He broke into a gallop down the Shikellamy sideline, accelerating past a tackle attempt and breaking another as he bolted toward paydirt. When the defense finally took hold, a brief tussle resulted in the ball popping free around the Wildcats' 4 and bounding into the end zone for a touchback.

"We shouldn't have been in that spot. That was my fault," said Shik coach Jim Keiser, who regretted trying for two points after going up 26-17.

Nothing came of the final 24.5 seconds, although both teams had possession thanks to an interception by Shik freshman Corbin Stahl with 8.5 left.

In overtime, Central Mountain senior Rocco Serafini burst for 9 yards on first down to the goal line, and then — after a fumble on a quarterback sneak was recovered — plunged over the stripe on third down for the Wildcats' first lead since 17-13. Serafini finished with 168 yards of offense and three TDs.

The Braves' overtime possession wilted with four straight incomplete passes, the last an interception at the goal line that set off a Central Mountain celebration on turf at Shamokin's Kemp Memorial Stadium.

After taking a 26-17 lead at the 10:09 mark of the fourth, the Braves lost two fumbles, threw two interceptions, and missed two point-after conversions.

Shikellamy (1-2 overall, 0-1 Heartland-I) couldn't get out of its own way after a solid opening drive stalled in Central Mountain territory. The Braves committed 40 yards worth of penalties in a scoreless first quarter, then saw the Wildcats catch a deflected deep pass for a 47-yard gain on a second-and-19 play. The fortuitous play extended an eight-play, 44-yard drive for a 7-0 lead.

The Wildcats went up 10-0 with a 25-yard field goal following a fumble deep in Shik territory. The Braves got on the board before halftime when Snyder ripped off a 69-yard TD run, with Central Mountain's Connor Foltz unable to stop him over the final 10 yards. Snyder rushed 20 times for 162 yards.

Central Mountain opened the second half with a 65-yard drive capped by a Foltz scoring grab to lead 17-7, but Shikellamy answered with a flourish.

Braves freshman Thomas Pollock, who had 161 yards of offense, turned a flanker screen into a 66-yard Houdini job through the Wildcat defense with cuts and a spin to the end zone. Snyder leveled Foltz on the ensuing kickoff, causing a fumble that Shik turned into a 20-17 lead.

"It turned everything around for us," Snyder said of the hit. "I was just thinking I have to make a play."

Brody Rebuck threw passes of 24 yards to Snyder, 8 yards to Pollock and 5 yards (TD) to Asher Moyer on the go-ahead series.

Rebuck finished 14-of-27 for 177 yards. He also intercepted a pass in Wildcats territory to set up his own drive-ending QB sneak that made it 26-17. The two-point rush attempt failed.

The Braves' defense stood up after a fumble midway through the fourth, but Brady Wolfrom's interception with less than three minutes to play led to a 59-yard scoring pass from Thomas Sprague to Serafini.

After Snyder's second TD and Connor Steese's PAT made it 32-24, Sprague hit Foltz in stride on a 33-yard streak down the sideline with 53 seconds left to tie it.

"The kids gutted it out," said Keiser. "I thought they played well. They competed, and I have nothing but praise for them.

"It just sucks for them because as much work as they put in, they're not seeing the success yet."

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CENTRAL MOUNTAIN 39, SHIKELLAMY 32 (OT)

At Kemp Memorial Stadium, Shamokin H.S.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Central Mountain (2-1, 1-0);0;10;7;15;7 — 39

Shikellamy (1-2, 0-1);0;7;13;12;0 — 32

SCORING SUMMARY

Second quarter

CM-Rocco Serafini 1 run (Peyton Jones kick), 5:05

CM-Jones 25 field goal, 2:11

S-Luke Snyder 69 run (Connor Steese kick), 1:52

Third quarter

CM-Connor Foltz 12 pass from Thomas Sprague (Jones kick), 8:42

S-Thomas Pollock 66 pass from Brody Rebuck (kick blocked), 7:15

S-Asher Moyer 5 pass from Rebuck (Steese kick), 5:10

Fourth quarter

S-Rebuck 1 run (run failed), 10:09

CM-Serafini 41 pass from Sprague (Jones kick), 2:21

S-Snyder 1 run (conversion failed), 1:27

CM-Foltz 33 pass from Sprague (Xavier Persun from Sprague), 53.4

Overtime

CM-Serafini 1 run (Jones kick)

TEAM STATISTICS

;CM;S

First downs;13;13

Rushes-yards;33-93;36-224

Passing yards;248;177

Comp.-att.-int.;14-33-3;14-27-2

Fumbles-lost;4-1;3-3

Penalties-yards;6-67;9-95

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Central Mountain: Rocco Serafini 26-98, 2 TDs; Carnell Noone 1-8; Thomas Sprague 5-(-1); Team 1-(-12). Shikellamy: Luke Snyder 20-162, 2 TDs; Thomas Pollock 2-50; A.J. Benedict 2-17; Brody Rebuck 9-2, TD; Bysaire Baez 3-(-7).

PASSING — Central Mountain: Sprague 14-33-3, 248 yds., 3 TDs. Shikellamy: Rebuck 14-27-2, 177 yds., 2 TDs.

RECEIVING — Central Mountain: Connor Foltz 8-108, 2 TDs; Serafini 3-70, TD; Dominic Longworth 2-56; Ashton Bennett 1-14. Shikellamy: Pollock 5-111, TD; Asher Moyer 4-12, TD; Snyder 3-48; Benedict 1-6; Owen Elliott 1-0.