HS Football: Experienced North Schuylkill squad jolts past Mount Carmel
North Schuylkill's Luke Miller (1) takes a handoff Friday at Jazz Diminick Field at the Silver Bowl as the Spartans routed Mount Carmel 62-20 (Photo by Eli Doyle).
MOUNT CARMEL — Luke Miller, Caden Mengel, Angel Ortiz and North Schuylkill kick-started the 2025 season with a statement victory.
Miller, a senior tailback, scored four touchdowns to power North Schuylkill to a dominant 62-20 rout of Mount Carmel in a non-league football game Friday evening at Jazz Diminick Field at the Silver Bowl.
“(Miller and Ortiz) are a great 1-2 combination, they do a great job,” Spartan coach Wally Hall said. “Obviously they bring back a lot of experience. Another individual we want to get more in the mix there too, he played more defense, is Bryce Kile. So we do have that luxury and they’re obviously very capable guys, but you have to give it up front, some big dudes. They’re really familiar with the scheme and they’re obviously going to make a lot of things happen for them.”
Miller, who carried the ball 21 times, scored on runs of 23, 80 and 3 yards and returned a punt 86 yards for another score as the Spartans piled up over 400 yards of total offense. He also tacked on a pair conversion runs.
North Schuylkill pulled away in a big way with a 32-point second quarter. Mengel, a senior quarterback, tossed scoring passes of 20 yards to Ortiz and 33 yards to Landen Smith, while Miller’s long touchdown run and extra points from Ortiz and Smith capped the surge.
The Red Tornadoes stayed close early behind Gavin Marshalek and Jaylen Delaney. Marshalek connected with Aidan Brokenshire for a 25-yard touchdown and later found Delaney from 25 yards out. Delaney also broke free for a 61-yard scoring run.
But after trailing 27-20 in the second quarter, the Red Tornadoes were shut out the rest of the way. North Schuylkill’s defense held Mount Carmel to just eight first downs and forced two turnovers.
Mengel completed 6-of-11 passes for 120 yards and never felt pressured in the pocket, only breaking free to run the ball once throughout the contest. Smith led the Spartans’ receivers with three catches for 74 yards, while Ortiz rushed 12 times for 73 yards and caught a touchdown.
North Schuylkill iced the game in the second half behind Miller’s short touchdown run, his punt return score, and a 3-yard run by Cadyn McGraw. The Spartans also converted seven of eight on two-point conversion attempts.
Another key area where the Spartans thrived was in the trenches — on both sides of the ball.
Aiden Zilker and David Martinez wreaked havoc in the Mount Carmel backfield all evening, while Zilker also anchored the offensive line. He and fellow tackle Kaiden Knox, along with guards Cameron Hutnick and Gavin Wall and center William Wysoski, paved the way for North Schuylkill’s 354 rushing yards and gave Mengel plenty of time to operate.
“There are a lot of seniors and experienced guys who’ve played a lot of football games,” Hall said. “Two individuals — Zilker and Miller — are four-year starters. A lot of others are three-year and two-year starters. There’s a lot of experience, but more than their play, they’re doing a great job leading the team. That is the most important part. Their senior leadership has been outstanding.”
Linebackers Chase Slotcavage and Seth Hubler also turned in standout performances, flying to the football and setting the tone defensively throughout the night.
The Spartans host Tamaqua (0-1) next week looking to build on their strong start, while Mount Carmel seeks to regroup at Central Columbia (0-1).
“We learned from last year,” Hall said. “We had a good Week 1 win and we really let our guard down Week 2. And Tamaqua’s a good football team, but something we can’t do is get too comfortable.”
Game Summary
North Schuylkill 62, Mount Carmel 20
NS (1-0) 8 32 14 8 — 62
MC (0-1) 7 13 0 0 — 20
NS — Ortiz 3 run (L. Miller run)
MC — Brokenshire 25 pass from Marshalek (J. Miller kick)
NS — Ortiz 20 pass from Mengel (Smith pass from Mengel)
MC — Delaney 61 run (pass failed)
NS — L. Miller 23 run (L. Miller run)
MC — Delaney 25 pass from Marshalek (J. Miller kick)
NS — L. Miller 80 run (Ortiz run)
NS — Smith 33 pass from Mengel (Miller run)
NS — L. Miller 3 run (run failed)
NS — L. Miller 86 punt return (Souchak pass from Mengel)
NS — McGraw 3 run (McNally pass from Mengel)
Team Statistics
NS-MC
First Downs — 21 8
Rushes-Yards — 39-354 19-157
Passes — 6-10-0 8-11-0
Passing Yards — 120 119
Total Yards — 474 299
Fumbles/Lost — 2-1 2-2
Penalties — 4-30 6-55
