Lawless, McMinn, Blasinsky lead Mikes to 37-0 shutout
WAYNESBURG – Brandon Lawless threw for 188 yards, Brennan McMinn rushed for 152, and Michael Blasinsky had 105 receiving yards to lead Carmichaels to a 37-0 shutout of West Greene in a Tri-County South Conference game.
In the regular season finale for both teams, the Mikes (8-1, 7-1) clinched a home playoff game next week with a total team effort. The defense forced six turnovers, and the offense registered 450 total yards.
“We’re excited about the home game,” said Carmichaels coach Ryan Krull. “I don’t know the last time we had a home playoff game, but when we came out of camp we expected to be in this position, and we’ve taken care of business.”
Dalton Wildman, the West Greene (2-8, 2-6) quarterback, went 1-12 passing for eight yards, and threw two interceptions, before switching to the running back position. Wildman was much more successful there, rushing for 107 yards on 27 carries.
Carmichaels came out of the gates stale, with three drops by receivers on their opening drive, and a lost fumble caused by a bad snap.
“We didn’t start out too hot,” said Krull. “But we got settled down, and were able to complete some balls downfield and get some effective runs and got first downs. I’d like to see us be more consistent going forward.”
The Mikes woke up in the second quarter, as Lawless threw two touchdowns to Robert Aeschbacher, and the defense recovered two Pioneer fumbles. Aeschbacher had five catches for 60 yards, an extra-point kick and a two-point conversion, to go along with the touchdowns.
The second touchdown pass came immediately after a spectacular run from Lawless. On fourth down, Lawless took the snap, and had no open receivers downfield, so it was time to improvise.
Lawless scrambled back about 20 yards, all while avoiding defenders and breaking tackles, for about 12 seconds. He then found a seam on the left side, and bolted for a 12-yard gain and a first down. A West Greene player committed a late hit on Lawless, setting up the Mikes in even better position to score.
On Carmichaels’ first play of the second half, McMinn took off down the left side for a 52-yard run before being tackled from behind. A couple plays later, Lawless rammed in a one-yard run for a touchdown.
West Greene got some life back when Tyler Baker made a tremendous interception of Lawless off a tip. However, the Pioneers turned the ball over on downs their next drive. Pioneer coach Paul Kreuzer attributes the mistakes to inexperience.
“We’re young,” said Paul Kreuzer. “We’re still growing. You saw great growth in the first half, now we need to learn to play four quarters. It’s going to get there”
Brandon McMinn scored on a four-yard run, and Nathaniel Baker scored on the longest play of the game, a 60-yard run, to cap off the scoring.
McMinn added an interception to his 152 rushing yards, and Baker rushed for 69 yards on seven carries.
While Carmichaels will play on into November, West Greene heads home for the season with a losing record. Kreuzer believes, despite finishing with a non-playoff season, the Pioneers are poised for success next year.
“We’re starting a new program,” said Kreuzer. “I’m very excited (for the future). If you saw, we lost four seniors. We’re all underclassmen. Nothing beats experience, and they’ll get it. Those freshmen out there making freshmen mistakes, you won’t see that in the future.”
Tri-County South Conference
Carmichaels 0-14-8-15 — 37
West Greene 0-0-0-0 — 0
Second Quarter
C: Aeschbacher 17 yard reception (Aeschbacher conversion)
C: Aeschbacher 16 yard reception (conversion failed)
Third Quarter
C: Lawless 1 yard run (Bowlan conversion)
Fourth Quarter
C: McMinn 4 yard run (Dulaney conversion)
C: Baker 60 yard run (Aeschbacher kick)
Records: Carmichaels (8-1, 7-1), West Greene (2-8, 2-6).