Kemmerer, defense strong for Shore

JERSEY SHORE - Kasey Kemmerer single handidly made the entire Jersey Shore sideline leap into the air Friday night.

After stalling on their first two drives of the second quarter, the Bulldogs punted the ball away deep into Mifflinburg territory.

On third-and-10, the Wildcats let the ball slip away and fall to the field. As the pigskin spun around on the grass, Kemmerer scooped it up near the 6-yard line and ran it back to the 1, setting up the tie-breaking score for Shore.

It was one of those big play nights for the Bulldogs, especially on defense.

While the Bulldogs had a breakout night offensively with a 31-10 win, the offense has the defense to thank for keeping the Wildcats at bay.

Mifflinburg was held to 10 points - including only a field goal in the second half. Wildcat signal-caller Barry Tomasetti was sacked five times - including an assisted sack by Kemmerer and Logan Shay. Shay had one solo takedown, while Jake Heck and Kyle Miller combined for the other three.

"I had a tough time in the first half getting started and stuff," said the senior linebacker, who had eight tackles Friday night. "The second half, I came around and got my head on straight and played a little better. We did a good job overall. The offensive line had a good game, so it was a great job overall."

Shay led the defense with a team-high five tackles, followed by Kemmerer with eight and Clark Thompson with seven. Jake Potter and Logan Mariano also contributed with five a piece. Shay leads the Bulldogs with 67 tackles, and is averaging 11.2 tackles-per-game.

The Bulldogs' ability to sniff out plays and rush Tomasetti in the pocket helped keep the offense fresh and on cue to drive down the field for paydirt.

Along with Kemmerer's big recovery in the second, the Bulldog defense also did its job on fourth down.

After going for it on fourth-and-6, Shore turned over the ball early in the stanza, with the pigskin on the Mifflinburg 36.

Two rush plays later, the Wildcats needed just one yard for a first down.

The defense didn't budge.

After Shore's score with 7:03 left in the second, Mifflinburg surged from its own 43-yard line to the Shore 29. On second-and-10, Jake Potter came up with a big tackle for loss, pushing Wildcat Matt Brouse back three yards. Two plays later on fourth-and-13, the Bulldog defense rushed Tomasetti on the QB keeper, and the Wildcat fell down under pressure.

While Mifflinburg was feeling the heat, Shore was feeding off it.

"We had a good, stiff defense," Kemmerer said. "We stopped them on fourth down a couple of times and got a big turnover there. That makes the offense ready to drive down and score. We had a good defensive game. We held them to 10 points. It was probably our best defensive game of the year."

While the Bulldogs gave up seven points to Shikellamy in their second game of the season, the victory Friday night gave the home crowd the chance to see their orange and black in action.

Even in the fourth with the win securely in sight, the defense kept applying the beat.

Kyle Miller forced a fumble late in the fourth quarter, which led to a Shore field goal by Eli Skinner.

On the Wildcats' last drive of the game, Ian Berry intercepted the ball in the end zone, keeping Mifflinburg off the scoreboard.

The win Friday gave Steve Eck a reason to keep pushing his Bulldog squad toward better things, especially with Mount Carmel Area on the schedule next.

"I think our kids were coming off the ball, offensively and defensively," Eck said. "We were controlling things a little bit. That's what we have to do because we have a huge game coming up next week. We are really going to have to play well.

"I was pleased with the way Taylor stepped up and threw the ball, and we spread it around with a lot of different guys catching the ball. We made things happen. Kasey had a huge game running off that fullback on a smash, and he popped through there and took off."

Defense will be huge against the undefeated Red Tornadoes.

The PHAC Division II squad is averaging 42 points-per-game and has shut out three teams this season - Loyalsock, Warrior Run and defending District IV Class AAA champ Selinsgrove.

"(Friday's win) gives us momentum. We are going to have to work hard this week," Kemmerer said. Mount Carmel is a good, solid team. If we keep our head on straight it should be a good game."