Springdale outslugs Mikes in dynamic offensive affair
Carmichaels’ players react after Springdale scored a touchdown in the final seconds of Friday night’s game.
Carmichaels’ William Brown is tackled during Friday night’s game against Springdale.
Carmichaels’ head coach Ryan Krull talks to player Nathan Broadwater during Friday night’s game against Springdale.
Carmichaels’ William Brown runs past Springdale’s Ethan McFarland for a first down during the first half Friday night.
Carmichaels’ Jonathan Christopher ran for five touchdowns Friday night against Springdale.
Springdale’s Josh Harmon celebrates after the Dynamos defeated Carmichaels Friday night, as Mikes players react to the loss. Harmon scored a touchdown in the last three seconds of the game to win the game.
Carmichaels’ Jacob Turner celebrates after tackling Springdale’s Josh Harmon in the fourth quarter of Friday night’s game.
CARMICHAELS – Springdale and Carmichaels made a mockery of the concept of defense Friday night and ended up playing one of the wildest WPIAL playoff football games in recent memory.
Springdale’s Josh Harmon made a sliding seven-yard touchdown catch in the front right corner of the end zone on a pass from quarterback Sammy Carey with three seconds remaining to give the Dynamos a 50-44 victory over Carmichaels in the first round of the Class A playoffs.
Carey and Carmichaels quarterback Jonathan Christopher traded scores for much of the game as the offenses overwhelmed both defenses.
Carey completed nine of 12 passes for 231 yards and five touchdowns, including scores in the final five seconds of each half. He also ran for a two-point conversion that tied the score at 36-36 with 1:31 left in the third quarter.
Christopher ran for five touchdowns (6, 2, 1, 1 and 1 yards) and a pair of two-point conversions. He set the Carmichaels single-game scoring record with 34 points. His one-yard touchdown run off left guard and ensuing two-point conversion run around right end gave Carmichaels (7-3) a 44-43 lead with 5:32 remaining but the Mikes left too much time on the clock.
“Our last drive, we weren’t worried about how much time was left on the clock. We were losing, so we were just trying to score. We needed to get back in the lead,” Carmichaels coach Ryan Krull said after a lengthy postgame chat on the field with several of his broken-hearted and exhausted players.
Springdale, aided by a controversial pass interference penalty on a 3rd-and-14 play at the Dynamos’ 46, drove 60 yards in 11 plays for the game-winning score.
“That last drive was just a blur,” said Springdale coach Dave Leasure, who guided the Dynamos to their first playoff win since 2011. “That was the best game I’ve ever been a part of in 25 years.”
The pass interference penalty gave Springdale a first down at the Carmichaels 39. Two plays later, Carey connected with Harmon for a 30-yard gain down the left sideline to the Mikes’ one with less than a minute remaining.
Carey took a knee on first down, then the Dynamos were penalized for illegal procedure, moving the ball back to the seven. Springdale almost botched setting up a game-winning field goal by letting too much time run off the clock after the penalty but Carey rolled right and found Harmon for the game-winning score.
Springdale (6-5) will play Jeannette in the quarterfinals next week.
The game was chock full of offense and very little defense. The teams combined for 42 first downs (22 by Carmichaels). Neither team punted and only two drives failed to end in touchdowns. Springdale ran only three offensive plays in the first quarter – one resulting in a quarterback sack and another in an incomplete pass, but led 7-6 at its conclusion because of an 82-yard Carey-to-Devin Wilks TD pass.
Springdale, which trailed 22-7 late in the first half, turned the ball over on downs one time, that in the first half when a wide-open receiver dropped a fourth-down pass from the Mikes’ 15.
With the score tied 36-36, Carmichaels turned the ball over on downs at the Dynamos’ 36 on the first play of the fourth quarter. That play, on which Christopher was stopped a foot short of the line to gain on a fourth-and-four run, proved to be the difference for Springdale. It was the only Carmichaels drive that did not result in a touchdown.
“They couldn’t stop our offense,” Harmon said. “We knew that if we could get one stop then we would win.”
Carmichaels took a 22-7 lead on Christopher’s third TD run with 49 seconds left in the first half. But after a short Carmichaels kickoff, Springdale went 59 yards in six plays, including two spikes to stop a running clock. Carey passed to Harmon for a seven-yard score that made it 22-13.
Springdale trailed until Harmon caught a 15-yard TD pass from Carey that made it 28-28 midway through the third quarter.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed,” Krull said. “We did some things, they were mental things, silly things, like not covering the back coming out of the backfield, that hurt us. We weren’t reading our keys all the time.”
Carmichaels lost leading rusher Cody Brown to an ankle injury in the third quarter. Brown rushed for 89 yards on 16 carries.
Christopher led the Mikes with 144 yards on 25 carries. He also completed six of seven passes for 57 yards.
“He’s a big-time player,” Krull said. “He got to show what he can do. … if we would have been able to get one more stop, then we would have won.”