Mikes roll to 31-o win over Maples
Though both teams were 0-4 overall and 0-2 in conference play heading into the game, they were still very much alive in the race for the playoffs. When the dust finally settled after 48 minutes of play, the Mikes put together a dominant performance en route to a 31-0 win.
“It’s been a tough three weeks for us,” said Carmichaels coach Mike Bosnic. “We played some really tough teams and this was a nice win for us.”
After a scoreless first quarter of play, Carmichaels struck first. Senior Billy Hyatt capped a seven-play, 78-yard drive with a nine-yard touchdown run to put his team up 6-0. Sophomore quarterback Jon Krall fumbled on the two-point conversion try, but a fortuitous bounce in the end zone ended up in the arms of Carmichaels’ Jacob Penich to put the home team up 8-0 with 4:35 left in the half.
Still up just one score in the third quarter, Billy Hyatt struck pay dirt again, this time on defense. With Mapletown driving to tie the game, Hyatt intercepted a Cory Minnick pass and sprinted 58 yards the other way to the end zone.
“We didn’t play a very good first half, but we felt lucky to only be down 8-0,” said Mapletown coach George Messich, “That pick play really took the wind out of us.”
As if a pair of touchdowns weren’t enough, Hyatt caught a two-point conversion pass from Krall to run the score to 16-0 with 9:13 left in the period.
With just over a minute to go until the start of the fourth, Carmichaels put the game out of reach, thanks to a seven-yard scoring run by Josh Green. Green ran in the two-point conversion to put his team up 24-0.
With 5:13 left in the game, running back Michael Mays pounded in a score from seven yards out. Dan Antonelli booted the extra point through to bring up the final score of 31-0.
While he didn’t throw any touchdowns, Krall was the focal point of the Mike attack as he completed 12-of-17 passes for 224 yards and two interceptions. T.J. Harkins paced a rushing attack that totaled 172 yards with 58 yards on six carries.
Mapletown’s Zach Fecsko led the Maples with 61 yards on eight carries. Minnick completed three-of-13 passes for 15 yards and three picks.
As a team, the Mikes out-gained the Maples by the total of 396 yards to 99.
Next week, Carmichaels hits the road for their biggest rivalry game of the year, their annual showdown with the Jefferson-Morgan Rockets. The Maples return home to host California.