Southern scores 49 straight points to whip Line Mountain
larry deklinski/Staff Photo Southern's Jake Townsend (19) follows the lead block of fullback Jake Morton (28) on his way to a gain during the Tigers 49-20 season-opening victory Friday night at Line Mountain.
MANDATA - Southern Columbia head coach Jim Roth called it the whackiest game he'd ever been a part of.
That's because the season opener for Line Mountain and Southern Columbia was a game of unexplainable runs.
Line Mountain opened with a 20 point first quarter, but didn't score another point, while Southern Columbia was in awe for the first 12 minutes but snapped back in time to rattle off seven straight scores for the 49-20 win on Saturday at Line Mountain.
The Eagles' offense, whose transition to a spread system was much ballyhooed in the preseason, was much the same once the ball was snapped and Line Mountain starting quarterback Marty Beninsky used the veer-option attack to engineer three scores in the game's first 10 minutes.
Joey Hukill scored on a 30-yard run to open the scoring. Beninsky added a 17-yard keeper just five minutes later, and after a Southern 3-and-out, Kyle Troutman turned on the afterburners for a 37-yard scoring run.
And just like that, the lights seemingly went out in Eagle Stadium.
Whether it was because of fatigue or injury, Line Mountain could never regain the momentum it had in the first quarter before Beninsky left the game for the entire second frame with a tweaked shoulder. He
returned, but not nearly with the same effectiveness.
"It took it us out of rhythm, and give them a lot of credit over there," Line Mountain head coach Mike Carson said. "They didn't panic, and they physically took control of the football game. There was a point at which our wheels fell off and they exposed all of our weaknesses and inexperience with this offense."
Line Mountain's starting center Bryce Martz left the game with concussion-like symptoms, while Beninsky was whalloped repeatedly while both running and when he dropped back to pass.
"They just kept coming and coming and we didn't have an answer for them."
Southern had trouble moving the ball with any consistency in the first quarter, but after the defense forced the second of its seven turnovers the offense started to click.
Tigers' running back Aaron Zigarski started the scoring bonanza for Southern with a five-yard scoring run in the second quarter.
When all was said and done running backs Tyrell Thomas and Jake Morton combined for four more touchdowns and 184 yards, with Thomas getting the lion's share of those with 109 markers.
"I was kind of disgusted for a while," Roth said. "The defense has been a question mark since the first scrimmage. We have enough people back on defense that we should have a pretty solid group.
"To start the game tonight we were back on our heels, we weren't reacting, we weren't tackling and we weren't getting off the ball. Eventually we turned it around. We got some turnovers that helped gain momentum. I told the kids that in 30 years of coaching football this was one of the most incredible games I'd ever been a part of."
Southern's Alex Fidler both recovered a fumble on a bad snap and intercepted a pass at the end of the third quarter to set up yet another Tigers' score, and Tim Benner snagged two interceptions.
Tigers' quarterback Jake Townsend completed 7-of-20 passes for 91 yards, and ran for 35 yards and a touchdown.
To comment you must first create a profile and sign-in with a verified DISQUS account or social network ID. Sign up here.
Comments in violation of the rules will be denied, and repeat violators will be banned. Please help police the community by flagging offensive comments for our moderators to review. By posting a comment, you agree to our full terms and conditions. Click here to read terms and conditions.
Copyright ©2012 The News Item | 707 N. Rock St. | Shamokin, PA 17872 | (570) 644-6397
Privacy Policy | Opinion Posting Policy | About our ads | Questions or comments? Contact Us
