Under the Friday night lights on Lake-Lehman’s black turf, the non-conference visiting foe the Shamokin Indians dominated from start to finish in their commanding 49-0 shutout road triumph over the Black Knights to put a damper on their home opener.
Shamokin head coach Marc Persing was happy with his football team’s effort on the night and how his offense spread the ball around so well.
“We are fast and we are going to use our speed,” Persing said. “You hear coaches say speed in space, and it’s our job to get the ball to the right guys in the right situations. We are lucky enough to have six or seven guys that can take it, and they’re track fast, not just football fast.”
Both gridiron squads came into this contest on a high note, as Shamokin had a home 27-13 win over Pottsville in Week 1 and Lake-Lehman had a thrilling last minute 13-7 comeback road victory over Berwick in the 2024 season opener.
After Lake-Lehman was stopped on a crucial fourth-and-goal on the 3-yard line as the Knights were knocking on the doorstep to an early lead, Shamokin seized the early momentum right back.
And on the opening offensive drive, Shamokin kicked off an explosive scoring barrage. Shamokin’s sophomore signal caller Logan Steele connected with senior wide out Chase Pensyl on a wide open deep ball for an electric 74-yard touchdown pass to give his team a 6-0 advantage with 6:22 remaining in the first quarter.
The road warriors continued their scoring prowess by putting up an awe-inspiring 22 points in the second quarter to take a 28-0 lead into the half-time locker room. Their junior tailback Zakem Clinton scampered into the end zone from 9 yards out with 6:05 left in the half to up his team’s lead to 14-0.
Then for Shamokin’s next score, Steele scored a touchdown from the defensive side of the ball this time, as he jumped the route and intercepted senior Lehman quarterback Hayden Evans for the 36-yard return pick-six to stretch his club’s lead to 21-0 with 5:06 left in the period.
For Shamokin’s final points of the half, Clinton barreled his way for the 1-yard goal line score with 21 seconds left before the whistle to give his squad the comfortable 28-0 cushion at the break in the action.
To start the second half action, Shamokin continued its dynamic offensive display, as Clinton completed the hat trick and tallied his third touchdown of the ball game, this one from 12 yards out, just 37 seconds into the third quarter to increase the advantage to 35-0.
For the final points of the third stanza, junior running back Jayce Ginck sprinted into the end zone for a lightning quick 38-yard rushing touchdown to give his guys a whopping 42-0 lead with 5:30 remaining in the quarter.
Shamokin finished up its impressive showing on offense with their final score of the night, this time a 3-yard rushing touchdown from sophomore wide receiver Colin Steinhart to give the Indians the 49-0 huge lead with 6:22 left in regulation, a sizeable advantage they would enjoy when the game clock hit all zeroes.
“We are in a good situation, these kids deserve it,” Persing said. “They busted their humps the last nine months and they’ve bought in to everything we’ve asked. So it’s just them benefitting from all the hard work.”
Coach Jerry Gilsky and his 1-1 Black Knights will look to bounce back and return to their winning ways in Week 3 when they host Northwest next Friday.
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