HS Football: Pottsville falls to Shamokin Area in opener
Pottsville's JuJu Bainbridge scores a touchdown during Friday's game against Shamokin Area at Veterans Memorial Stadium. (Photo by Jocelyn Barrett / Danie Mae Photography).
POTTSVILLE — Pottsville needed to control the line of scrimmage. It didn’t.
Pottsville needed to play clean football with few mistakes. It didn’t.
Pottsville needed to slow down the multi-talented Logan Steele. It didn’t.
Despite rallying to tie the game in the third quarter, Shamokin Area pulled away late to defeat the Crimson Tide 34-14 in the season opener for both teams Friday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
“Mistakes. Missed opportunities,’’ Pottsville coach Mike Brennan said. “It was a closer football game than 34-14. I thought we were a well-conditioned football team, and we’re cramping. They have some good football players. They’re a good football team. We had a hard time stopping their run game it appeared.
“We just have to make more plays,’’ Brennan added. “We have to get everybody ready to go next week. We have our first league game (at Jim Thorpe) in seven days, and it’s not good enough. We’re all extremely disappointed. There’s no shame in losing to a good Shamokin football team. We’ll get back to the drawing board as a staff (Saturday). We’ll get the kids back Monday like we always do, and we’ll have a better performance next Friday night.’’
The Indians (1-0), ranked in several preseason polls, jumped out to an early lead, just like they did in last season’s victory over Pottsville (0-1).
On their first possession of the game, Steele connected with wide receiver Colin Steinhart on a flea-flicker for a 42-yard touchdown pass and a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
A sequence in the second quarter that led to Shamokin’s second TD illustrates some of the Tide’s troubles. They made a great play to throw Shamokin’s Ryan Bickert for an 8-yard loss on a reverse, and a delay-of-game penalty put the Indians in a second-and-23 at their 33-yard line. Then Za’Kem Clinton, who finished with 103 yards rushing on 13 carries, ripped off an 18-yard burst. Steele ran for two yards on third-and-5, but a horse collar tackle penalty against Pottsville gave Shamokin a first down. Six plays later, Clinton powered in from the 4 to put the Indians up 14-0 with 5:18 left in the first half.
The Tide finished with eight penalties for 57 yards, including four false starts.
To its credit, Pottsville answered with one of its best drives of the game to cut the deficit to 14-7 at halftime. The Tide marched 84 yards in nine plays, deftly mixing the run and the pass. Running back JuJu Bainbridge converted third-and-9 when he took a screen pass 33 yards to midfield. Brody Eroh spelled Bainbridge with an 18-yard scamper, and wideout Christian Alvarez caught a pass short of the sticks on third-and-9, but extra effort by Alvarez turned the play into an 11-yard gain and a first down. On the next play, Bainbridge rushed 14 yards for the score, breaking a tackle at the 5 on the way to the end zone.
In the third quarter, Max Clews recovered a fumble at the Shamokin 27, and five plays later, Bainbridge plowed into the end zone from the 5 to tie the game at 14 with 8:21 to play in third quarter.
Bainbridge finished with 174 all-purpose yards: 89 rushing, 33 receiving and a 52-yard kickoff return.
Donovann Durham added a 44-yard kickoff return, but Pottsville couldn’t convert either of those drives into points.
Shamokin eventually took over, scoring the final 20 points of the game.
Steele rushed 18 yards for a score; Bickert scampered 11 yards for a TD; and Steele returned an interception 102 yards for a touchdown to put the Indians up three scores with 5:20 left in the game.
An Ole Miss and Penn State recruit, Steele did a lot of everything for the Indians. The speedster completed 5-of-10 passes for 85 yards and a touchdown; rushed eight times for 59 yards and a TD; caught two passes for 14 yards; had a 32-yard punt return; and added the 102-yard pick-6 as a defensive back.
“I love it. I love playing everywhere on the field,’’ Steele said. “Quarterback’s a great spot, but when you get to go out as a slot receiver or play safety it just kind of opens up everything. It’s a whole different point of view of the ball.’’
