H.S. FOOTBALL: Shamokin Area defeats Milton

Sept. 27--MILTON -- Shamokin coach Pat DiRienzo knew Milton had a power-running game that would be hard to stop.

For the first half it was, then Shamokin's strength in passing, some oppurtune turnovers and Logan Mirolli turned the tide in the Indian's favor.

All of that combined led to Shamokin's 35-14 win over Milton Friday night at Alumni Stadium.

The Indians first broke through in the third quarter. Trailing 14-7, they marched 80 yards down field to tie the game on a 3-yard run by John Demsko.

Later in the quarter, Demsko recovered a fumble by Black Panthers' running back Brandon Stokes. Two plays later, the Indians grabbed a lead they didn't lose on a 65-yard pass from Yost to Mirolli.

Yost and Thomas Campbell had connected for a touchdown earlier in the game, but it wasn't until the second half when the passing game really started working for Shamokin.

"(Milton) had a zone read," DiRienzo said. "They were keying in on Tucker and Johnny. Tucker made some good decisions later in the game. He's a veteran QB."

Yost only threw four times in the second half, but accumulated 174 yards through the air by the end of the night.

Mirolli's impressive night didn't end there, either.

Playing defensive end, Mirolli intercepted a pass from Hunter Snyder in the fourth quarter and ran it back 30 yards to give the Indians a two-touchdown lead.

"Logan really stepped it up," DiRienzo said. "He was determined. ... Maybe, for the rest of the year, it gives him confidence."

Preston Burns added on an insurance touchdown on an 18-yard run with 1:51 left in the game.

On defense, Shamokin allowed a touchdown on Milton's first drive of the game, but from there stymied the running. The Black Panthers scored one more touchdown on a kickoff return, which DiRienzo is concerned with moving forward for the Indians.

"That needs to be addressed," DiRienzo said. "Changes will be made this week on special teams."

Shamokin 0 7 7 14 -- 35

Milton 6 8 0 0 -- 14

M -- Stokes 4 run (kick failed)

S -- Campbell 40 pass from Yost (Washuta kick)

M -- Fogelman 80 kickoff return (Snyder pass to Fogelman)

S -- Demsko 3 run (Washuta kick)

S -- Mirolli 65 pass from Yost (Washuta kick)

S -- Mirolli 30 interception (Washuta kick)

S -- Burns 18 run (Washuta kick)

S M

First Downs 18 11

Rushes-Yards 37-119 37-180

Passes 8-16-0 5-16-2

Passing Yards 172 58

Total Yards 291 238

Fumbles-Lost 1-0 6-2

Penalties 9-85 12-100

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING: Shamokin -- Yost, 9-19; Demsko, 18-55; Burns, 9-39; Shurock, 1-6. Milton -- Garrison, 6-38; Snyder, 1-(-6); Z. Bennett, 9-61; Stokes, 17-101; L. Bennett, 2-(-4).

PASSING: Shamokin -- Yost, 7-16-0, 172; Burns, 0-1-0, 0. Milton -- Snyder, 3-12-1, 27; Stokes, 1-0-1, 0. L. Bennett, 1-4-0, 31.

RECEIVING: Shamokin -- Campbell, 4-91; Mirolli, 2-79. Demsko, 1-2. Milton -- Z. Bennett, 2-41; L. Bennett, 1-9; Stokes, 1-17.

INTERCEPTIONS: Shamokin -- Berge, Mirolli. Milton -- None.

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