WPIAL Class A Playoffs
Mikes, Rangers square off in quarterfinals With its first postseason victory in 22 seasons in tow, Carmichaels now turns its attention to Fort Cherry, which has played in the WPIAL Class A title game twice in the past five years.
So, does that mean the monkey’s gone but King Kong’s waiting around the corner?
“You don’t know how big that game was,” Mikes coach John Menhart said of his team’s first-round win over Canevin a week ago. “It’s like having the weight of the world lifted off our shoulders.
“We have nothing to prove now. We’re just going to go and play. This game is just like we’re playing Monessen or Mapletown. We’re just going to have fun, leave it on the field and whatever happens, happens.”
Carmichaels (10-0) started off slow against Canevin, but turned a 7-6 halftime-deficit into a 30-7 lead by the end of the third quarter. The Mikes rushed for 405 yards, including 202 from Colby Giles and 140 by Bobby Hathaway.
Hathaway leads the Herald-Standard’s coverage area and is among the WPIAL leaders with 1,265 yards on 141 carries (9.0). Giles isn’t far behind with 984 yards on 102 carries, and another 340 yards of receiving yardage.
Both Hathaway and Giles have scored 136 points, and are eight away from tying former standout Rocky Doman’s single-season mark.
Fort Cherry, meanwhile, ground out a 19-14 first-round win over Clairton, as Joshua Kemp carried 34 times for 147 yards and two touchdowns. Kemp has rushed for 1,531 yards and 18 touchdowns, but on 104 more carries (245) than Hathaway.
If you haven’t picked up on it by now, these teams like to run. Love to run. Live by the run. Win by the run.
Get it?
“I think we pride ourselves in the fact we run the football,” said Fort Cherry offensive coordinator Tim Garry. “And at this point in the season, you have to go with what got you here. They’re (Carmichaels) very similar to us. It’s probably going to come down to whose line gets a better push. I think it’s a very even matchup on paper.
“It’s an old clich’, but this game should be one that is won or lost in the trenches.”
Fort Cherry quarterback Jeremy Kemp has attempted only 32 passes, but has rushed for 432 yards and 12 touchdowns. Carmichaels signal-caller Jono Menhart has let the ball fly more, throwing for 693 yards and seven touchdowns. But Menhart’s fleet with his feet as well, rushing for 435 yards and seven touchdowns.
“You never know what will happen,” John Menhart said. “We’ve had games where we’ve thrown the ball 18 times. California did some things early against us and forced us to throw. A big part of why we haven’t been throwing the last five weeks has been the weather. It’s been so sloppy, we’ve been kind of fortunate we haven’t had to pass.
Menhart then added, “But you know how I am. I don’t care if my kid is the quarterback, I like to run first.”
The game may very well be decided by the defense, with Hathaway and Fort Cherry’s Mike Harrington being two of the WPIAL’s best linebackers.
Hathaway proved that last week, and perhaps turned the game against Canevin in the Mikes’ favor when he stopped Crusaders’ running back Shawn McDonald behind the line of scrimmage on a crucial fourth-and-one play with seven minutes left in the first half.
“At this level, teams will move the ball on you,” Menhart said. “We weren’t coming off the ball real well early last week, but once our kids got some confidence, I think they knew they belonged and started playing.”
Which is all Menhart asks of his players once they put on the their uniform.
“I tell these kids every day that football is just a game,” Menhart said. “When you’re between the lines, do as best as you can do, but when you’re off the field, there are other things in your life that are far more important.
“When you’re on the football field, there’s nothing more important. But football is not 24/7. I tell the kids when they are home, focus on something else … spend time with their families, do their homework.”
NOTES:Fort Cherry’s Jim Garry has been at the helm of the Rangers since the program’s inception in 1959 and has posted a 265-152-14 mark … Thomas Jefferson’s field has a surface very similar to that of Uniontown’s Bill Power Stadium.