Minersville's Derek Derenzo attempts to tackle Pine Grove's Omir Ballard (Photo by Kelly Wiley).

MINERSVILLE — The Battlin’ Miners wasted little time kicking off the homecoming party.

Minersville dominated from start to finish Friday night, celebrating a homecoming victory at Veterans Memorial Stadium with a 43-0 shutout of Pine Grove in a Schuylkill-Colonial Blue Division clash.

“I thought we did what we wanted to do; there was some stuff we wanted to work on,” Battlin’ Miners coach Justin Frantz said. “I thought we were pretty sharp on both sides of the ball. The kids came out flying around, they played physical and pretty fast. I was happy with our performance.”

The Battlin’ Miners (5-2, 4-2 Blue) set the tone from the start. On their opening drive, quarterback Dante Carr capped the march with a 2-yard touchdown run. Derek Derenzo then found Justin Cutler on a two-point conversion to make it 8-0. Minutes later, after forcing the Cardinals to turn the ball over on downs, Derenzo powered in from a yard out, and with Jordan Bowers’ extra point, the Miners quickly pushed the lead to 15-0.

Carr kept the offense rolling, finding Paiten LaPoint for a 13-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter. Minersville had already built a three-score lead and was in complete control.

The second quarter continued to showcase the Miners’ balanced attack. Carr scored again on a 5-yard keeper before hitting Matt Dube on a 19-yard touchdown pass to stretch the lead to 29-0. LaPoint capped the half with a 24-yard touchdown run, sending Minersville into the break ahead 36-0 with more than 200 yards of offense.

While the offense piled up points, the defense was just as dominant. Senior T.J. Bowers picked off two passes, while Derenzo, John Lutsky and edge rusher Ty Atkinson consistently applied pressure in the backfield. Minersville’s defense allowed only five first downs and 87 total yards all night, including just 24 through the air.

“A challenge for coach (Chad) Marquardt, we got on his case a little bit, and he comes out and has the boys ready to go,” Frantz said with a grin. “You can’t ask for anything more than a shutout. I love it.”

Carr turned in another strong dual-threat performance, rushing seven times for 66 yards and two touchdowns while completing 11-of-15 passes for 122 yards and two more scores. He spread the ball evenly, connecting with Dube (four catches, 52 yards, one touchdown) and LaPoint (four catches, 49 yards, one receiving TD, one rushing TD). Derenzo added a rushing touchdown and a 19-yard reception.

The ground game complemented Carr’s passing as LaPoint added 34 rushing yards and a score, Derenzo chipped in 33 yards on four carries, and Gavin Allan ran for 25 yards. Cutler also contributed in the passing game with three receptions for 28 yards. In total, Minersville racked up 305 yards of offense — 150 on the ground and 155 through the air.

With 13.7 seconds left in the opening half, @Dante_Carr6 finds Matthew Dube on a contested play. @Jordan_Bowers__ once again makes the PAT. @MinersFB lead 36-0.@D11Sports @EPAFootball @IamEliDoyle pic.twitter.com/DhEA1CJ5lr

— Robbie McGrath (@RobbieM_media) October 4, 2025

Pine Grove (1-6, 1-5) struggled to find rhythm against the Miners’ swarming defense. The Cardinals’ lone bright spot came from Wyatt Dixon, who ran for 50 yards on five carries, including a 35-yard burst in the first half. Outside of Dixon and Logan Troup, who added 21 rushing yards, Pine Grove finished with negative yardage on the ground. Dixon started his first game of the season at quarterback, completing 3-of-9 passes for 24 yards with two interceptions. Previous starter Wyatt Snyder had opened all six games under center for the Cardinals leading into the matchup.

The Battlin’ Miners will look to keep momentum rolling into the final stretch of the regular season as they remain firmly in the District 11 Class AA playoff picture.

“We just have to keep doing what we’re doing,” Frantz said. Keeping guys healthy, keep working hard at practice. Take things one week at a time, back to 0-0, and focus on next week.”

NOTE: The six girls who were part of Minersville’s homecoming court combined to raise more than $24,000 toward the Minersville Scholarship Fund. Cali Laudeman was selected queen and will join the other 524 Battlin’ Miners who’ve benefited from the scholarship fund. Any Minersville Area Jr./Sr. High School students are also eligible to apply for the scholarship.

Game Summary

Minersville 43, Pine Grove 0

PG (1-6, 1-5)         0          0          0          0  —    0

Min (5-2, 4-2)       15       21         7          0  —    43

Min — Carr 2 run (Cutler pass from Derenzo)

Min — Derenzo 1 run (J. Bowers kick)

Min — LaPoint 13 pass from Carr (J. Bowers kick)

Min — Carr 5 run (J. Bowers kick)

Min — Dube 19 pass from Carr (J. Bowers kick)

Min — LaPoint 24 run (J. Bowers kick)

Team Statistics

PG-Min

First Downs —- 5      13

Rushes-Yards — 23-63      25-150

Passes —- 13-17-0      3-9-2

Passing Yards —- 24      155

Total Yards —- 87      305

Fumbles/Lost —- 0-0      0-0

Penalties — 3-30      8-70

Individual Statistics

RUSHING: Pine Grove — Dixon 5-50, Troup 8-21, Ballard 9-(-2), Ditzler 1-(-6). Minersville — Carr 7-66, LaPoint 2-34, Derenzo 4-33, Allan 7-25, Eckert 3-(-4), Zaharis 1-(-4).

PASSING: Pine Grove — Dixon 3-9-2, 24. Minersville — Carr 11-15-0, 122; Derenzo 2-2-0, 33.

RECEIVING: Pine Grove — Schneck-Haines 2-15, Ballard 1-9. Minersville — Dube 4-52, LaPoint 4-49, Cutler 3-28, Derenzo 1-19, Allan 1-7.

INTERCEPTIONS: Minersville — T.J. Bowers 2.