Carmichaels runs over Jefferson-Morgan in opener
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CARMICHAELS – Like every other team in the WPIAL, Carmichaels had to make major adjustments during the offseason in order to prepare for the 2020 season.
Add into the mix the promotion of former Carmichaels defensive coordinator Ron Gallagher to head coach this past January, and that leaves room for plenty of adjustments on the fly.
Gallagher and the Mighty Mikes were up for the challenge.
Carmichaels rode running back Bailey Jones and utilized dual-threat quarterback Trenton Carter to roll to a comfortable 41-6 win against Jefferson-Morgan Friday night.
“I’m excited, but this isn’t about me,” said Gallagher. “These kids have worked hard and been on-and-off due to COVID. These kids lifted the whole time through. They found ways to lift in their basement, they worked out. I gave them workouts virtually and they actually did it.
“These guys,” he added, “they worked hard and it’s all them.”
Jones carried the ball 22 times for 168 yards and a touchdown, while Carter finished his night 6 of 12 passing for 50 yards and two touchdowns with 51 rushing yards on eight carries.
Carmichaels rushed for more than 300 yards and had four touchdowns on the ground from three different players.
“Bailey was a hard runner last year and we knew he was going to be our workhorse going forward,” Gallagher said. “We feel good about our passing game. We do want to be a balanced offense and I think that’s the big weapon.”
Jefferson-Morgan had a difficult time stopping Carmichaels’ rushing attack because of the Mighty Mikes’ strong offensive line.
“I thought Carmichaels’ offensive line … came off the ball much better than I anticipated and they really took it to us,” said Jefferson-Morgan head coach Aaron Giorgi. “We just didn’t execute. We had a couple fumbles, a couple dropped passes there, and the o-line really got off the ball well for them and really made a difference tonight.”
The Mighty Mikes came out strong, scoring on their opening drive with a five-yard touchdown run by Jones before following that up with a Carter-to-Michael Stewart 21-yard touchdown pass. Carter then added his second passing touchdown of the night on the third-drive of the game, this time an 11-yard strike to Tyler Richmond, to build the team’s lead up to 20-0 with 7:41 left in the second quarter.