Sep 21, 2019 3 min read

CHARLEROI – Charleroi coach Lance Getsy has been talking about the family concept when discussing the Cougars.

Friday night at Myron Pottios Stadium, it came to fruition as five different Cougars scored touchdowns as they defeated Carmichaels in an Interstate Conference game, 57-7.

Despite the lopsided win, Carmichaels controlled the game early.

“We came out sluggish,” said Getsy. “We didn’t have great energy in pregame and it showed early.”

Charleroi’s Brayden Mihalcin rushed for 129 yards and two scores on 15 carries, Alex Conrad completed 10 of 14 passes for 132 yards and a pair of scores to Legend Davis.

Davis caught one touchdown and rushed for another.

“Coach always tries to spread the ball around and we execute better that way,” said Davis, who played the game despite being sick. “When we do our jobs, we do well and Coach stresses the family mentality.”

Carmichaels coach Ryan Krull said his team could have had a bigger lead early in the game.

“We have been getting the first drive and scoring every game so far this year,” he said. “A couple of things went our way, but we were not able to convert. We had some missed opportunities.”

Getsy liked how his team responded.

“The kids never buckled,” he said. “And I like how our kids battled.”

Carmichaels (1-3, 1-3) took the opening kick and went 69 yards on 13 plays to take a 7-0 lead on a one-yard keeper by quarterback Kevin Kelly. The drive was keyed by a 26-yard completion from Kelly to Bailey Jones on fouth-and-16.

Carmichaels recovered the ensuing kickoff on a squib kick at the Charleroi 33 but could not convert.

Then the Mikes recovered a Charleroi fumble on the next drive, but again they came away scoreless.

Charleroi (2-1, 3-1) got on the scoreboard with four seconds to go in the first quarter when Davis scored on a 47-yard reverse.

The Cougars took their first lead with 8:54 left in the second quarter on a 39-yard touchdown pass from Conrad to Malik Nails.

Charleroi extended its lead to 28-7 at the half on a pair of Mihalcin touchdown runs. The first was from 14 yards and the second from 52 with 1:42 to go before halftime.

Conrad scored on a 51-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second half, and then he hit Davis with a 19-yard pass with 6:30 to go in the third to enact the running clock.

Nikko Pellegrini closed Charleroi’s scoring with a pair of touchdown runs and finished with a career-high 113 yards on 11 carries.

Charleroi finished with 490 yards on 48 plays while Carmichaels gained 172 yards on 47 plays.

The Mikes’ Bailey Jones ran for 86 yards rushing on 14 carries.

Darius Cooper (13) and Ethan Codeluppi (11) combined for 24 tackles for Charleroi while Jones led Carmichaels with 11.

“Carmichaels has been putting some points on the board,” Getsy said. “Our defense has played well the last two weeks.”

Krull said his team will keep fighting.

“We were in the same position last year and our guys know how to respond and know what to do,” he said. “We have to just keep taking shots.”