Sports
Selinsgrove thrashes Southern
SELINSGROVE — One thing is for sure — Selinsgrove is not the same football team that lost by shutout on opening night to Mount Carmel.
BY CHUCK SOUDERS
SPORTS WRITER
chuck_s@newsitem.com
SELINSGROVE — One thing is for sure — Selinsgrove is not the same football team that lost by shutout on opening night to Mount Carmel.
Another thing isn’t so sure — is Southern Columbia the same team that was 6-0 until Friday night, or the one that got ambushed, 47-7, by the Seals at Harold Bolig Memorial Stadium?
In what was perhaps the worst performance by a Southern team in the Jim Roth era, the Tigers did very little right, and a lot of it, and came away embarrassed.
“We were never in it,” Roth said. “That was apparent right from the opening kickoff.”
That opening kickoff was returned 90 yards for a touchdown by the Seals’ Kyle Reinard, and in a scene that was to repeated many times, not a Tiger laid a hand on him.
And the Seals’ Ryan Keiser apparently decided, right then and there, that he would take advantage of that.
Keiser caught six passes for 193 yards and three touchdowns, on plays covering 36, 27 and 81 yards, and intercepted three passes, all in the first half, including one for a 45-yard touchdown and another which he returned 76 yards for a score that was called back for a block in the back.
The Seals intercepted a total of six passes, committed just one penalty (by the backups) and had the game in the mercy rule with 10:28 left in the third quarter after quarterback Cory Briggs (12-for-20, 265 yards, four touchdowns) threw a five-yard touchdown pass and two-point conversion to Kyle Shuck.
That touchdown came after 6-5, 245-pound Brandon Aungst, of all people, lumbered about 50 yards on an interception return to the five, the fifth pick thrown by Southern quarterback Jeremy Campbell.
“Keiser’s a great player, but we made him look like a man among boys,” said Roth. “We didn’t make mistakes because of missed assignments or things like that. We were getting outhustled, and outhit. They outplayed us in every phase of the game. Were they that much better than us? I hope not.”
Briggs’ first touchdown pass to Keiser came a little more than two minutes after the first touchdown, a 36-yarder after the Seals stopped the Tigers on downs on their first possession.
Southern caught a break when Keiser’s 76-yard interception was called back, and the Tigers kept the game close for most of the rest of the half, until everything fell apart.
Briggs and Keiser connected for a 27-yard touchdown with 4:06 left in the half, and after Southern stopped the Seals on downs late in the half, Keiser intercepted his third pass, returning it 45 yards for a touchdown with about a minute left in the half.
“I was just playing centerfield back there, reading the quarterback,” Keiser said.
At that point, it was 27-0, and Roth said later that he really wasn’t expecting any miracle comeback.
“We just talked about coming out and playing with some heart, and tried to make them realize how bad we looked,” he said. “But sometimes when kids get in a situation like that, they just don’t respond at all. I’ve seen that happen before and it happened tonight. We were never able to get any momentum.”
Southern did get a one-yard touchdown run by Steve Roth, set up by his 54-yard run, but once again, Briggs and Keiser took care of any possible momentum, hooking up on an 81-yard touchdown.
As if to seal the deal (pun intended), Roth muffed the ensuing kickoff, then kicked it out of bounds at the two trying to get it back. On the ensuing series, Austin Carpenter was tackled in the end zone for a safety.
“Southern’s not as bad as the score looked,” said Selinsgrove coach Dave Hess. “We got a lot of momentum early on, and we were able to take them out of their running game. I like where we are right now. This was a good win, but it doesn’t define our season.”
Another thing isn’t so sure — is Southern Columbia the same team that was 6-0 until Friday night, or the one that got ambushed, 47-7, by the Seals at Harold Bolig Memorial Stadium?
In what was perhaps the worst performance by a Southern team in the Jim Roth era, the Tigers did very little right, and a lot of it, and came away embarrassed.
“We were never in it,” Roth said. “That was apparent right from the opening kickoff.”
That opening kickoff was returned 90 yards for a touchdown by the Seals’ Kyle Reinard, and in a scene that was to repeated many times, not a Tiger laid a hand on him.
And the Seals’ Ryan Keiser apparently decided, right then and there, that he would take advantage of that.
Keiser caught six passes for 193 yards and three touchdowns, on plays covering 36, 27 and 81 yards, and intercepted three passes, all in the first half, including one for a 45-yard touchdown and another which he returned 76 yards for a score that was called back for a block in the back.
The Seals intercepted a total of six passes, committed just one penalty (by the backups) and had the game in the mercy rule with 10:28 left in the third quarter after quarterback Cory Briggs (12-for-20, 265 yards, four touchdowns) threw a five-yard touchdown pass and two-point conversion to Kyle Shuck.
That touchdown came after 6-5, 245-pound Brandon Aungst, of all people, lumbered about 50 yards on an interception return to the five, the fifth pick thrown by Southern quarterback Jeremy Campbell.
“Keiser’s a great player, but we made him look like a man among boys,” said Roth. “We didn’t make mistakes because of missed assignments or things like that. We were getting outhustled, and outhit. They outplayed us in every phase of the game. Were they that much better than us? I hope not.”
Briggs’ first touchdown pass to Keiser came a little more than two minutes after the first touchdown, a 36-yarder after the Seals stopped the Tigers on downs on their first possession.
Southern caught a break when Keiser’s 76-yard interception was called back, and the Tigers kept the game close for most of the rest of the half, until everything fell apart.
Briggs and Keiser connected for a 27-yard touchdown with 4:06 left in the half, and after Southern stopped the Seals on downs late in the half, Keiser intercepted his third pass, returning it 45 yards for a touchdown with about a minute left in the half.
“I was just playing centerfield back there, reading the quarterback,” Keiser said.
At that point, it was 27-0, and Roth said later that he really wasn’t expecting any miracle comeback.
“We just talked about coming out and playing with some heart, and tried to make them realize how bad we looked,” he said. “But sometimes when kids get in a situation like that, they just don’t respond at all. I’ve seen that happen before and it happened tonight. We were never able to get any momentum.”
Southern did get a one-yard touchdown run by Steve Roth, set up by his 54-yard run, but once again, Briggs and Keiser took care of any possible momentum, hooking up on an 81-yard touchdown.
As if to seal the deal (pun intended), Roth muffed the ensuing kickoff, then kicked it out of bounds at the two trying to get it back. On the ensuing series, Austin Carpenter was tackled in the end zone for a safety.
“Southern’s not as bad as the score looked,” said Selinsgrove coach Dave Hess. “We got a lot of momentum early on, and we were able to take them out of their running game. I like where we are right now. This was a good win, but it doesn’t define our season.”
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